For first time since 2009, drag racers able to enjoy Father’s Day at home

Matt Hagan is combining Father’s Day and a family vacation this weekend in South Dakota with his wife and their four children, sons Colby (13 years old) and Tucker (3) and daughters Penny (10) and Nelly (1).

“This will be my first Father’s Day not at the racetrack in 15 years,” Hagan said. “I’m currently on vacation in South Dakota with my family, so I’m taking full advantage of this time off and soaking in as much time with them as possible right now because it’s going to get crazy when we start racing again next month.

The NHRA will return to racing July 11-12 and again July 18-19, both times at Lucas Oil Raceway in suburban Indianapolis. Those will be the first races back for the drag racing sanctioning body since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There’s beautiful scenery and wide open spaces out and an amazing amount of animal and wildlife here,” Hagan told NBC Sports. “The kids are just really enjoying it and having fun.”

The two-time NHRA Funny Car champ readily identifies with the experiences of both Capps and Brown.

“This is the first time in a long time that I haven’t been in a race car,” Hagan said.

And as much as he’s enjoying quality time with his family, he also is itching to get back on a drag strip in three weeks. “I’m ready to get back and turn on win lights.

“When I won Bristol (in 2015) my family was there; my dad, my wife, my kids, it was just really special and one of the most memorable races of my career.

“It meant more to me than winning the U.S. Nationals (the sport’s biggest race of the season each Labor Day weekend in Indianapolis) or any of these other really big races because to win on Father’s Day and have your family around to experience that with you, it doesn’t get any more special than that.

“But this year, we’re going to take advantage of the cards we were dealt and make this weekend super special too.”

NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing returns beginning with two Indianapolis events in July

NHRA Drag Racing will return to the world stage in a major way in mid-July, relaunching its Mello Yello Drag Racing Series and associated programs with events on back-to-back weekends at famed Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis that will serve as the launch point for 15 more NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events that will follow.