“I have to thank Dodge Power Brokers for putting a great racecar underneath me all season and Tony Stewart Racing for their phenomenal work. To be able to work for a guy like Tony Stewart has been, hands down, one of the best experiences of my life. He’s a solid guy and such a good dude and creates a great work environment. I’m just excited to be able to drive for him and to continue to drive for him. I’m proud of my crew guys for the blood, sweat and tears they put in all year long. It’s really, really tough to lose the first round like that in a championship hunt and just know that when you watch him cross the finish line over there that your season’s over. It’s just one of those things where it’s tough because you can taste it, you know you’re there and that you’re capable, but it just wasn’t meant to be today. At the end of the day, we got a lot of work ahead of us this offseason and a lot of innovation to work on. I’m just really proud of my guys, really proud of our sponsors, and proud of the season we’ve had. We won four races this year, but it can always be better. All in all, I just know these guys are going to come back and we’re going be better and stronger.”
- Earned No. 10 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (4.199 ET at 220.66 mph).
- Earned No. 2 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Friday (3.844 ET at 323.58 mph).
- Scored four bonus points for quickest run of the session.
- Maintained No. 2 provisional qualifying position in Q3 on Saturday (3.867 ET at 326.56 mph).
- Secured No. 3 qualifying position based off Friday’s Q2 run. In Q4 on Saturday, Hagan ran a 4.057 ET at 245.32 mph.
- Ran a 6.075 ET at 124.87 mph in Round 1 of eliminations on Sunday, lost to Steven Densham (4.170 ET at 269.94 mph).
- Finished third in the Funny Car championship standings, 95 points behind champion Ron Capps.
- Matt earned his 10th straight top-10 finish in the championship standings. It was also his ninth top-three finish in 14 seasons.
- Matt earned a career-high 42 round wins this year. His previous high was 40 round wins, set in 2013 and again in 2016.