“We had a pretty strong weekend. We qualified No. 5, so the biggest thing we have to focus on is qualifying in the No. 1, 2 or 3 spot. It really sets the tone for the weekend to put yourself on the correct side of the ladder that works in your favor. We had to get through some really tough cars this weekend by qualifying fifth. There are no easy rounds out there. All in all, I’m really happy with what my guys are doing. As far as putting the car together, we had two turns today that only lasted 35 minutes breaking the car apart, putting it back together and firing it up. The guys are working so well together and I’m really proud of them.
We moved back up to second in the Countdown. Anytime you’re gaining, I think it’s positive. Robert (Hight) and those guys will be tough all season long. They have been tough and will continue to be. I think our clutch combination is what we’re struggling with a little bit right now, but that’s way above my pay grade. We’ll keep working on it more and I have nothing but faith in Dickie (Venables, crew chief), Mike (Knudsen, co-crew chief) and Alex (Conaway, car chief). We always run strong and are in the hunt, so I’m expecting the next five races we will run well and turn the win lights on.”
- Earned No. 5 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.906 ET at 326.32 mph).
- Maintained No. 5 provisional qualifying position after Q2 on Saturday (3.947 ET at 327.90 mph).
- Secured No. 5 qualifying position based off Friday’s Q1 run. In Q3 on Saturday, Hagan ran a 3.907 ET at 302.28 mph.
- Advanced to Semifinals on Sunday:
- Round 1: 3.909 ET at 334.65 mph, defeated Jim Campbell (4.445 ET at 207.53 mph).
- Round 2: 3.935 ET at 329.67 mph, defeated Bob Tasca III (3.941 ET at 330.63 mph).
- Semifinals: 4.123 ET at 255.34, lost to Robert Hight (3.908 ET at 331.69 mph).
- Currently second in the Funny Car championship standings, 81 points behind leader Hight.