Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals Winners Edition
Seattle Matt Qualifies Number One and Loses to Teammate in the 2nd
Qualified: No. 1 (3.913 E.T. at 324.75 MPH)
The Results:
E1: 4.045 E.T. at 316.52 MPH defeated Cruz Pedregon 4.854 E.T. at 166.11 MPH
E2: 4.032 E.T. at 311.27 MPH defeated by Ron Capps 3.998 E.T. at 320.43 MPH
Race Recap:
With his first Pacific Raceways No. 1 qualifier, Matt Hagan earned the advantage of lane choice to start Sunday versus his first-round opponent, Cruz Pedregon. In his Sandvik Coromant Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, Hagan eclipsed Pedregon at the 60-foot block and charged down the track for the decisive win.
In round two, the 2013 event champ faced teammate Ron Capps. It was a very close race between the two Pennzoil-powered Dodges, but Capps was able to set off the win light, ending Hagan’s chances at picking up his fourth victory of the season.
Quotable:
“Great qualifying position with this new Mopar Hellcat body. There’s a lot of tough draws out here, we had Cruz (Pedregon) first-round, (Ron) Capps second-round, and none of them are easy. Capps and the Pennzoil/NAPA team have had our number for the last few races. They ran strong beside us, he had a good light, and that’s just a hard combo to beat right now. Their car is running well; our car is running well too. It was a good drag race; we just happened to be on the back side of it. We’ll move on to the next one and hopefully do big things at (the next event in) Brainerd.”
SONOMA POST-RACE RECAP
Qualified: No. 4 (3.956 E.T. at 319.98 MPH)
The Results:
E1: 3.958 E.T. at 320.89 MPH defeated Jim Campbell 4.115 E.T. at 310.13 MPH
E2: 4.512 E.T. at 190.59 MPH defeated by Ron Capps 3.969 E.T. at 322.65 MPH
Race Recap:
With a new sponsor on-board, Matt Hagan blasted to a session-best 3.958-second pass in his Southwind Builders Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat in the first round against Jim Campbell.
After running low E.T. of the round, Hagan found himself in the unfortunate situation of having to face teammate Ron Capps in the quarterfinals. Capps and the NAPA team had been near-perfect throughout the entire race weekend, and round two was no exception. Capps ran a 3.969-second pass, defeating Hagan’s 4.512 effort. Hagan leaves Sonoma having clinched a berth in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship.
Quotable:
“Had a really good opening lap but it got a little loose in the second round. It was great to have a new sponsor on the car, Southwind Builders. Obviously with the fires and all the folks who have lost their homes out here, it's really unfortunate. I think if you're drag racing and you support what we do and these guys are supporting what we do, definitely hit them up and give them a call if you're in the area. They're a great group of people and work really hard so we're proud to have them on as a sponsor this weekend.
“We need to move onto Seattle. We've done well there a time or so and always seem to qualify pretty well there, so let's focus on that. This [race] is behind us now. (Ron) Capps went around us in points but it's going to be battle down to the end no matter what."
Matt Debuts the New Charger SRT in Denver
“It was nice to shake the new Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat body down some more. Obviously, the mountain has been brutal to us. It doesn’t show us much love up here but it’s one race out of the whole series, and it’s totally different from any of the other conditions we see. We come up here and we try some new things every year, some of it works, some of it doesn’t. We still have a phenomenal race car. We’re coming up at a point where things are starting to click at the right time. I don’t think this race is a reflection of what we’re capable of.
“We’ll get back down to sea level where we’ve been running good and strong. I’m excited for these next two races on the swing. Should be having a brand-new baby when I get home. We’re going to induce my wife on Monday night if she doesn’t have it before then, so it’s going to be a super exciting week for me. I’m looking forward to holding the baby for a little bit before we head back out. Things are just really good right now.”
Next NHRA Event 2018
FC Mello Yello Points
Funny Car (Unofficial)
1. Courtney Force (1197)
2. Ron Capps (1032)
3. Robert Hight (1024)
4. Matt Hagan (1001)
5. Jack Beckman (967)
6. J.R. Todd (863)
7. Tommy Johnson Jr. (819)
8. John Force (807)
9. Shawn Langdon (680)
10. Bob Tasca III (656)
