Hagan falls in St. Louis opening round

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 7 of 23
14th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals
Gateway International Raceway
Madison, Ill.
April 30-May 2, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

HAGAN FALLS IN ST. LOUIS OPENING ROUND

MADISON, Ill. (May 2, 2010) - After a tough qualifying effort at this
weekend's 14th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International
Raceway, in which he fought to qualify No. 12, and without lane choice, Matt
Hagan fell in the opening round to Del Worsham.

Driving the DieHard Dodge Charger Funny Car for Don Schumacher Racing, Hagan
had the edge at the starting lights (.077 to .082) but was soon in trouble,
as he tried valiantly to recover from a loss of traction. He whipped the car
in every direction, but avoided the wall for which it appeared he was
aiming. He crossed the finish line in 6.539 seconds at 122.40 mph, while
Worsham, who also struck the tires, recovered first to take the win with a
5.202/205.16.

"It kind of went out there, shook the tires, I stepped off the pedal, and
stepped back on the pedal," he said. "It smoked the tires and got me all
kind of crossed up. I got off the pedal again and then got it straightened
out. I saw Del smoke the tires and I tried to get back on the pedal, and it
smoked the tires again.

"A very, very disappointing run all together. I know we're better than we're
showing out here. I know that we'll get our stuff together and show what we
can really do.

"Everybody in that right lane struggled early on, it seemed," added the
27-year-old Angus Cattle farmer from Christiansburg, Va., "but that's why we
have to qualify well. It's our own fault. We have to go out there and make
it happen in qualifying. We were actually testing a lot of new DSR stuff
this weekend, and it helped us, but it was so discouraging to not qualify in
the top half and go out early.

"We have to get back to the basics. (Crew chiefs) Tommy (DeLago) and John
(Medlen) are both smart - we have plenty of brain power over here - so I'm
not worried. I'm just upset right now."

Hagan remains second in the point standings, 151 points behind John Force
and one marker ahead of his teammate and today's runner-up, Jack Beckman.

Next up is the 30th annual NHRA Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga., May
14-16.

UNOFFICIAL FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS, after seven events:
1. John Force, 616
2. Matt Hagan, 465
3. Jack Beckman, 464 (runner-up today)
4. Ron Capps, 459
5. Ashley Force Hood, 455
6. Robert Hight, 427 (winner today)
7. Tony Pedregon, 405
8. Tim Wilkerson, 387
9. Del Worsham, 378
10. Jeff Arend, 285

***