NHRA

Pomona II: Matt Hagan preview

Winning to end season is rookie Hagan's goal CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (Nov. 10, 2009) - Matt Hagan is ready to finish off his rookie season in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series by winning his first national event in the ...

Published: Nov 11, 2009, 5:10 PM

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Winning to end season is rookie Hagan's goal

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (Nov. 10, 2009) - Matt Hagan is ready to finish off his rookie season in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series by winning his first national event in the Valvoline/shelor.com Dodge Funny Car at this weekend's NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif.

Hagan, a contender for the 2009 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award as an NHRA rookie-of-the-year frontrunner, has enjoyed two runner-up finishes this year along with two No. 1 qualifiers. The winner's circle has eluded him, however, and he aims to add that accomplishment to his resume this weekend.

"I'm looking forward to getting to Pomona for the simple reason that the Valvoline/shelor.com team has set a goal this season and that's to win a national event before my rookie season is over," said Hagan, who did not make the Countdown to 1 playoffs and stands in 12th place. The highest he can finish out the year is in 11th. "You can wish a win all you want to, but if it's going to happen, it's got to be a team effort. The team has to do what it has to do, and I have to do what I'm supposed to do to make sure that happens.

"We've proven that we've had the race car to go out there and win; that victory has just slipped through our fingers, and it's a little bit disappointing.

"On the other hand, we've had a great year coming into this last race. We've had two No. 1 qualifiers and two final rounds. The opportunities for us to reach our goal have been there; we just need to sew it up a little tighter.

"I'm really excited about Pomona. It's a good race track, it will be fast and I hope we have better weather conditions than what we were hit with at the beginning of the year (events were rained out until mid-week). Anything other than that will be a plus."

-credit: dsr

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