Last year's Concord runner-up Hagan not sold o four-wide racing

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 4 of 23
Inaugural NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
ZMax Dragway
Concord, N.C.
March 26-28, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

LAST YEAR'S CONCORD RUNNER-UP HAGAN NOT SOLD ON FOUR-WIDE RACING

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (March 23, 2010) - Matt Hagan is coming on strong in his
first non-rookie season driving the DieHard Dodge Charger Funny Car for Don
Schumacher Racing. He's already set a national top-speed record, was low
qualifier once, and matched a track-record elapsed time in the first three
races of the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. He's ready to
improve on his and the team's performance, but he's not high on racing
four-wide in this weekend's Inaugural NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Concord,
N.C. 

"It's one thing to race the guy beside you, but when you have to race three
others, you don't know what's going on two lanes over," said the 27-year-old
Angus Cattle farmer from Christiansburg, Va. "Now, you're going to have to
put yourself in a situation where you have to make it go to the end no
matter what, because you can't see what's going on in the other lanes,
versus just racing the guy beside you.

"It puts you in a tough situation to make the decision of whether you have
to pedal at the top end or not, because you can't see what's going on and
you have a real good chance of the car blowing up. But, that's the official
decision, so we just have to deal with it as drivers.

"I think we have a great race car and I think that, when we get back to the
format that we're used to running, it's going to be great. But, somebody's
got to win in Concord, so it might as well be us.

"I'm looking forward to going racing again. I think four-wide racing is
great for the fans, and I am impressed that Bruton and Marcus Smith and the
NHRA are willing to try something so radical. We all have to learn to change
and adapt to it. We'll try to go up there and concentrate and focus.
Everybody's in the same boat and we just have to do as well as we possibly
can."

The Concord event marks the second race with John Medlen as co-crew chief
with Tommy DeLago. "I think that Medlen coming on board is great," said
Hagan, who went out in the quarterfinal after starting No. 1 at the last
event in Gainesville, Fla. "He's going to bring a lot of knowledge and
experience to the team. He and Tommy went back after the last race and
looked at everything and hopefully changed some stuff around, so we can
start going rounds on Sunday."

MATT HAGAN QUICK FACTS:
* No. 5 in 2010 Funny Car standings, after three quarterfinal finishes in
first three events of season
* Set national top-speed record (to 1000 feet) of 316.15 mph in Gainesville
2010
* Qualified No. 13 in 2009 Concord event; was runner-up to Robert Hight
* No. 11 in 2009 Funny Car point standings, as a Rookie-of-the-Year
frontrunner. Was first finisher outside the Countdown to 1 contenders
* Had two runner-up finishes, 13 first-round, eight quarterfinal, and one
semifinal in 2009
* Low qualifier once so far in 2010, in Gainesville. Qualified on pole twice
in 2009: in Sonoma, Calif., and Las Vegas 2
* Has a career round-win record of 18-27
* 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
* 2010 is second 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), one daughter Penny Louise
(9/28/09)
* Quickest elapsed time to 1000 feet so far: 4.030 seconds (Las Vegas 2
2009)
* Fastest speed to 1000 feet so far: 316.15 mph (Gainesville 2010)
* Manages family 500-acre Angus Cattle farm in Virginia

WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, March 26 - FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at 1:15 p.m. and 3:45
p.m.
SATURDAY, March 27 - FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at 11:45 a.m. and 2:15
p.m.
SUNDAY, March 28 - Pre-race ceremonies, 11 a.m. FULL THROTTLE SERIES
eliminations begin at noon.
 
TELEVISION:  
Saturday, March 27, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying
highlights at 7 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, March 28, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute
news magazine show, at 10 a.m. (ET)
Sunday, March 28, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two and a half hours of
coverage starting at 5 p.m. (ET).
                   
SATELLITE:    
Friday, March 26, 6 - 6:30 p.m. (ET), AMC 6 / Transponder 21K (12120 MHz,
vertical) (Analog feed)
Saturday, March 27, 6:30 - 7 p.m. (ET), AMC 6 / Transponder 21K (12120 MHz,
vertical)
Sunday, March 28, 6 - 6:30 p.m. (ET), AMC 6 / Transponder 21K (12120 MHz,
vertical)
Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winnersą
interviews on Sunday.

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