NHRA
Reading: Matt Hagan Saturday report
HAGAN HANGS ON TO NO. 1, BACKS UP PROVISIONAL NATIONAL RECORD IN READING MOHNTON, Pa. (Oct. 9, 2010) - Matt Hagan wowed the crowd in the final round of Funny Car qualifying for the 26th annual NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway when he planted ...
Edited: Oct 10, 2010, 2:12 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
HAGAN HANGS ON TO NO. 1, BACKS UP PROVISIONAL NATIONAL RECORD IN READING
MOHNTON, Pa. (Oct. 9, 2010) - Matt Hagan wowed the crowd in the final round of Funny Car qualifying for the 26th annual NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway when he planted the DieHard Dodge Charger Funny Car not only firmly on the pole but backed up his 4.011-second pass at 311.56 mph (both track records) from yesterday with a 4.046/308.99 for a provisional national record.
If he holds on to the national record through Sunday's eliminations, he will earn 20 bonus points. He will also break his own track record of 4.022 seconds, which he had set earlier this year when he won in Joliet, Ill. At this stage, following the qualifying rounds and counting the national record, Hagan holds a slim four-point lead over John Force entering Sunday's eliminations. Only three races remain before a 2010 Funny Car championship is crowned, including this Sunday's event.
"This is stuff you dream about out there," said Hagan, who collected his fourth No. 1 of the year, and the ninth of his short two-year full-time NHRA career. "It's just great that we have the car that's capable of coming up here and laying that kind of number down even with the sun out like that. It's a real testament to how smart (crew chief) Tommy DeLago is and how hard these DieHard guys are working.
"I was on pins and needles up there. It was just, try to do everything right to make this car go down, keep it in the groove and make it go to the other end. So, when we went through the trap I saw the mile-per-hour. I was trying to duck to see the E.T. and I couldn't see it. But the guys came over real quick on the radio and said, 'We got it done.' It was just an overwhelming feeling to be in the Countdown and I guess this evens up the points [with John Force] as for now. We still have a lot of racing to do, but, as of tonight, that's huge for us.
"We'll put this behind us after we do a little bit celebrating and focus on tomorrow.
"I have a lot of respect for John Force and the whole Force camp. He walked right over and shook my hand. He was one of the first ones to come over and say, 'Good job, kid.' That goes a long ways when you've got a guy that's been leading the points all year long [congratulating you]. He's the 14-time champion. He knows how to win and he's a good competitor."
Hagan admitted that the DieHard team was aiming for the national record in that final pass. "Absolutely," he said. "Tommy told me today, after we went .08 in the heat (in the first session) that we have a great baseline for tomorrow. He said, 'I feel very confident about what we're going to do, so, pull your seatbelt down tight because we're going to go for it this evening.'
"I thought that even if we didn't get it done this evening, I figured first round tomorrow he would probably step up. That's just Tommy's nature. He's [got] no fear, he's going to go for it, whether it's race day or qualifying. I'm tickled."
Hagan faces Phil Burkart in the opening round of Sunday's eliminations.
-source: dsr
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Reading: Jeg Coughlin Jr. Saturday report
Next article Reading: Jack Beckman Saturday report
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Matt Hagan
Hagan, Torrence, McGaha emerge victorious at Epping
NHRA
NHRA
New England
Hagan, Torrence, McGaha emerge victorious at Epping
Hagan, Brown, Enders lead first day of NHRA Spring Training
NHRA
NHRA
Hagan, Brown, Enders lead first day of NHRA Spring Training
Beckman wins Funny Car Traxxas Nitro Shootout
NHRA
NHRA
Indianapolis
Beckman wins Funny Car Traxxas Nitro Shootout
Latest news
NASCAR warned nearly the full field at Talladega for minimum speed violations
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
2 h
NASCAR warned nearly the full field at Talladega for minimum speed violations
Carson Hocevar credits tow truck driver for saving his race at Talladega
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
6 h
Carson Hocevar credits tow truck driver for saving his race at Talladega
Brad Keselowski to address questions about NASCAR future and RFK exit at Martinsville
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
7 h
Brad Keselowski to address questions about NASCAR future and RFK exit at Martinsville
Hamlin says Chevy teams 'suck at the teat' of Hendrick on superspeedways
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
10 h
Hamlin says Chevy teams 'suck at the teat' of Hendrick on superspeedways
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe