Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals Winners Edition
Reading Post Race Recap
Qualified: No. 10 (3.960 E.T. at 321.12 MPH)
The Results:
E1: 4.164 E.T. at 257.97 MPH defeated by John Force 4.007 E.T. at 326.87 MPH
Race Recap:
The two-time Funny Car world champion’s campaign for a third title got off to a rocky start at the first race of the NHRA playoff series.
Matt Hagan entered the race weekend fresh off of a runner-up finish and ranked second in the Funny Car standings. The 2014 Reading champion qualified 10th for race day and faced John Force in the opening round. Hagan and Force were locked in a close race until just past halftrack when Hagan’s machine slowed to a 4.164 E.T. and Force was able to take the win with his 4.007 second pass.
Hagan will enter Countdown race No. 2 ranked fifth.
Quotable:
“Life is full of bounce back situations. You have to be down in order to be up sometimes. Obviously, going out first round like that is not how we wanted to start this Dodge race. At the end of the day, it comes down to digging deep and working hard and figuring out what the issues are and racing our car the way we know how. I came in this morning thinking that we really had the car to beat John (Force). He’s a good racer and I have a lot of respect for him, but at the end of the day, I feel like I have the best crew chief out there, and I think that’ll show at the end of the season. We’ve got another race coming up really quick, we don’t have to worry about sitting on this loss for a whole weekend. Thank you so much to Mopar and Dodge for what they put into this deal.”
The Countdown Begins
Qualified: No. 10
The Competition: No. 7 John ForceThe Results:
Q1: 8.756 E.T. at 77.86 MPH
Q2: 3.960 E.T. at 321.12 MPH
Q3: 4.556 E.T. at 189.52 MPH
Q4: 4.973 E.T. at 154.23 MPH
Matt is runner-up at Indy
Driver of the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
E1: 4.401 E.T. at 217.56 MPH defeated Jonnie Lindberg 9.208 E.T. at 80.50 MPH
E2: 4.397 E.T. at 219.58 MPH defeated Courtney Force 4.557 E.T. at 219.15 MPH
E3: 4.129 E.T. at 298.60 MPH defeated Shawn Langdon 4.148 E.T. at 307.16 MPH
E4: 4.141 E.T. at 300.60 MPH defeated by J.R. Todd 4.062 E.T. at 311.70 MPH
Matt Hagan raced the new Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to its first ever final-round appearance at the 64th annual NHRA U.S. Nationals.
Hagan earned the No. 3 starting spot and the 2016 event winner at Indy began race day by defeating Jonnie Lindberg in a challenging run that saw Hagan deftly manage traction and engine issues to lock down the round win. Matched up against points leader Courtney Force in the quarterfinals, both drivers hazed the tires near halftrack with Hagan once again using his driving skills to pedal his car to the finish line for his 330th round win.
In the semifinals, three-time 2018 race winner Hagan recorded his best run of the day, a 4.129-second elapsed time at 298.60 mph, to knock off Shawn Langdon and advance to his sixth final round of the year and 53rd of his career. Lacking lane choice in the final against J.R. Todd, Hagan was first off the starting line but Todd soon pulled ahead, and Hagan’s solid 4.141 second run wasn’t enough to close the gap. Hagan will start second when the six-race NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs begin at the next race, the Dodge NHRA Nationals in Reading, Pennsylvania.
"We’re going into the Countdown with some good points and a good lead on some of the heavy hitters. All we can focus on now is these next six races coming up. They’re important, but like I was telling my guys, it’s so easy to get wrapped up in points. We all want to do the best job we can and want nothing more than to put this new Hellcat body in the winner’s circle, and I feel like we’re going to do it two or three times in the Countdown, it’s just a matter of time. My take on it is to have some fun. The Countdown is always tough. You’ve got to figure out how to just enjoy the ride. We all deal with pressure and different things in a different way, but for me, it’s just rising to the occasion when the opportunity is there. We’re going to make opportunities for ourselves, we’ll capitalize on them, and hopefully turn that it into win lights on race day."
Next NHRA Event 2018
FC Mello Yello Points
Funny Car
1. J.R. Todd (2166)
2. Robert Hight (2143)
3. Courtney Force (2141)
4. Ron Capps (2137)
5. Matt Hagan (2112)
6. Tim Wilkerson (2101)
7. Tommy Johnson Jr. (2090)
8. Jack Beckman (2080)
9. John Force (2064)
10. Shawn Langdon (2054)
