Hagan runs strong in Chicago, qualifies No. 3

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 10 of 23
13th annual United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals
Route 66 Raceway
Joliet, Ill.
June 4-6, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

HAGAN RUNS STRONG IN CHCAGO, QUALIFIES NO. 3

JOLIET, Ill. (June 5, 2010) - With only three of four qualifying sessions
run because of a rain delay on Friday, Matt Hagan ran strong in qualifying
for the 13th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals, placing the DieHard Dodge
Charger Funny Car into No. 3.

He clocked his quickest lap, a 4.128-second run at 299.40 mph, in the final
session, which also topped the charts for that round. Hagan was never out of
the top three all weekend, first posting a 4.142/304.53 (No. 2) on Friday's
single run, and a 4.740/171.40 (No. 3) earlier today.

He will face Tony Pedregon in the opening round of Sunday's eliminations.

"This is the best race car the DieHard crew has put under me in three
races," said Hagan. "It's up to me now to go up there and do my job on the
starting line and I'm really excited. (Crew chief) Tommy DeLago is back, so
is (co-crew chief) John Medlen. It's good. It's a great confidence builder
for our team, and it's a great confidence builder for me.

"Yes, we were going for No. 1," added the 27-year-old Angus Cattle farmer
from Christiansburg, Va. "Tommy goes for No. 1 every lap, and John does too.
They're working well together. I'm just really glad that this race car is
back running again the way it had been all year. We're going to leave it
where it is and see what happens tomorrow.

"It's all about qualifying well, and we've done that today. Tony Pedregon is
a good competitor, but we have a great, consistent race car right now, and
we've put ourselves in position to do well."

***