Hagan exits in Vegas second round, takes home track records

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2009 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 5 of six in Countdown to 1 Playoffs
Round 23 of 24 for season
Ninth annual NHRA Las Vegas Nationals
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Oct. 30-Nov. 1, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438;
jstropus@earthlink.net

HAGAN EXITS IN VEGAS SECOND ROUND IN VEGAS; TAKES HOME TRACK RECORDS

LAS VEGAS (Nov. 1, 2009) - No. 1 qualifier Matt Hagan exited in the second
round of eliminations today at the ninth annual NHRA Las Vegas Nationals at
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, driving the Valvoline Engine
Guarantee/shelor.com Dodge Funny Car.

After defeating Grant Downing in the opening round with a solid, straight
pass of 4.131 seconds at 303.50 mph, he was bumped out by his Don Schumacher
Racing teammate Jack Beckman in the second stanza by a margin of just 11
feet. The pair launched with nearly identical reaction times, but a dropped
cylinder slowed Hagan to a 4.242/287.35 pass, while Beckman took the win
with a less-than-stellar 4.210/285.41.

"We went out there and had every intention of going down the track, but the
Valvoline/shelor.com Dodge dropped a cylinder. It doesn't usually do that,
so it was pretty surprising.

"We have a good race car, we qualified well, and qualifying No. 1 is great,
but it's even better when you go rounds on race day. We got past the first
round and did what we needed to there, and Jack was having problems in the
other lane, too. I don't know if he tagged the wall or not, but he got
pretty close. He said he might have tagged the headers, but it was after the
finish line. So, we didn't luck out there, either.

"Stuff happens. These Funny Cars have a lot of variables and you never know
what can cause it sometimes, but we'll go to the next race and see what
happens," added Hagan, who is still seeking his first victory of his rookie
season and is a contender for the 2009 Automobile Club of Southern
California Road to the Future Award as an NHRA rookie-of-the-year
frontrunner.

He did, however, leave this event holding both ends of the track record:
4.030-second elapsed time and 313.88 mph - the fastest speed in NHRA history
racing to 1000 feet.

Next up is the 45th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., Nov.
12-15.

UNOFFICIAL FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS, after 23 of 24 season events:
1. Robert Hight, 2485 (winner today)
2. Ashley Force Hood, 2380
3. Tony Pedregon, 2372
4. Jack Beckman, 2371 (runner-up today)
5. Ron Capps, 2358
6. Tim Wilkerson, 2353
7. Del Worsham, 2299
8. Bob Tasca III, 2294
9. John Force, 2268
10. Mike Neff, 2235
11. Cruz Pedregon, 1034
12. Matt Hagan, 1020

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