Rookie Hagan aims for victory in Concord

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2009 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 1 of Countdown to 1 Playoffs (six in total)
Round 19 of 24 for season
NHRA CAROLINA NATIONALS
zMax Dragway
Concord, N.C.
Sept. 18-20, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

ROOKIE HAGAN AIMS FOR VICTORY IN CONCORD

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (Sept. 1, 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, missed a spot in the Countdown to 1 playoffs
which begin for the top 10 in points at this weekend's NHRA Carolina
Nationals in Concord, N.C. But his ambition to win his first national event
in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series has not diminished one iota.

Ending the regular 18-event season in 12th in the standings driving the
Valvoline Engine Guarantee/shelor.com Dodge Funny Car has not dampened the
26-year-old Angus Cattle farmer's determination to take home a winner's
trophy before his rookie season is over.

"I'm very, very disappointed about not being in the Countdown, but my main
goal all year was to win a race," said the affable Hagan, whose wife Rachel
is expecting their second child any day. "Obviously, winning a championship
would have been spectacular, if I had had the chance to fight for it, but I
want to win races and earn my first Wally (event championship trophy named
after NHRA's founder Wally Parks).

"We also wanted to qualify at every race, and so far we've done that. I just
want to start focusing on the positive; it's so easy to focus on the
negative. 

"We have a good team and a good car," added Hagan, who was runner-up and low
qualifier once each this season. "We just didn't show it this year and I
think that maybe we can come on strong at the end of the year and improve
our skills and look forward to next year."

MATT HAGAN QUICK FACTS:
* No. 12 in 2009 Funny Car point standings, as a Rookie-of-the-Year
frontrunner
* Has 11 first-round, five quarterfinal, one semifinal and one runner-up
finish so far in 2009
* Entered 2008 Concord inaugural event, but failed to qualify
* Qualified on his first pole in Sonoma, Calif., this year
* Entered NHRA Funny Car class four times in 2008, qualifying once at the
U.S. Nationals
* 2006 NHRA AMS Pro Mod Challenge Rookie of the Year
* First season with Don Schumacher Racing
* Won class-best three Funny Car events in 2008 IHRA series, ending season
third in point standings
* Born Nov. 11, 1982 in Salem, Va., lives in Christiansburg, Va.
* Married to Rachel; one son, Colby (10/27/06), daughter on the way
* Quickest elapsed time to 1000 feet so far: 4.068 seconds (Sonoma 2009)
* Fastest speed to 1000 feet so far: 307.51 mph (Sonoma 2009)
* Manages family 500-acre Angus Cattle farm in Virginia

SCHEDULE: 
Pro qualifying will run at 2:30 and 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, and will
continue at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19. Final professional
eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 20.

TELEVISION: 
ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 11:30
p.m. (ET) on Saturday, Sept. 19. On Sunday, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will feature
NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, at 11 a.m. (ET), and three hours
of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. (ET).

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