Qualified: No. 1 (3.859 E.T. at 331.61 MPH)

The Results:
E1: Foul (made contact with a timing block), defeated by Jeff Diehl 

Race Recap:
By earning the No. 1 starting position for the third consecutive event, Matt Hagan and the Mopar team put themselves in prime position to defend their 2019 NHRA Arizona Nationals title. Hagan began Sunday morning by lining up opposite No. 16 qualifier Jeff Diehl in round one, and it was clear crew chief Dickie Venables wasn’t taking their first opponent lightly. The Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat was on a tremendous run but charging hard to the left toward the centerline. Hagan did his best to muscle it back over, but narrowly brushed a timing block just before the finish line, which caused his opponent to claim the automatic round win by default.

Quotable:
“My guys did a heck of a job today; the car was on a really good run. It was just one of those deals where it got inside on me, and I couldn’t get it back. I thought I lifted soon enough not to hit anything, but a header brushed a timing block, and that DQ’d us. But, a heck of a job for this Mopar team to run such a good number like that on race day. We were No. 1 qualifier, have such a good race car, and I hate that I let my team down like that. It’s race day; I was just trying to get to the finish line first. All in all, we’ve got a great car, things are going in the right direction, the guys are working hard, the parts and pieces are working well, and it’s all coming together.”