Hagan qualifies No. 9 in Reading

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2009 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 17 of 24
25th annual NHRA NATIONALS
Maple Grove Raceway
Mohnton, Pa.
Aug. 21-23, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

HAGAN QUALIFIES NO. 9 IN READING

READING, Pa. (Aug. 22, 2009) - Matt Hagan, a contender for the 2009
Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award as an NHRA
rookie-of-the-year frontrunner, qualified the shelor.com Dodge Funny Car No.
9 today at the 25th annual NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, outside of
Reading, Pa.

Only two rounds of qualifying were held in two days, as rain and water
seepage on the track surface caused delays in the action. Hagan recorded his
quickest pass of 4.167 seconds at 292.14 mph in Friday¹s single round, which
placed him No. 6 at the time. Today¹s run produced a 4.182/291.95, which
landed him in ninth place.

Hagan will face 14-time champion John Force in the opening round of Sunday's
eliminations, becoming the 123rd different driver to face Force in
eliminations rounds in his career.

"I would have loved to have improved on today's pass," said Hagan, 26, who
runs his family's Angus Cattle farm in Christiansburg, Va., "but
unfortunately we spun the tires. We overpowered the track a little bit at
the top end. Even though it went down the track, there's still lots of room
for improvement.

"I know Tommy  (DeLago, crew chief) found some areas where I know we can
improve on in the morning. I feel pretty confident and I'm really excited to
run John Force tomorrow. It will be the first time for me. I have a lot of
respect for the guy, but we also have to make sure that we beat him
tomorrow. It's a huge race for us. We have to capitalize on winning this
thing and going rounds tomorrow." Hagan is aiming to move into No. 10 in the
point standings from No. 11 in order to compete in the Countdown to 1
playoffs, which begin following this event and the next one in Indianapolis.

"I know we have a good race car we qualified well, and we're going to go out
there and have a good race."

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