Hagan high on Sunday's win, heads to E'town

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 11 of 23
41st annual NHRA SuperNationals
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park
Englishtown, N.J.
June 11-13, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

HAGAN HIGH ON SUNDAY'S WIN, HEADS TO E'TOWN

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (June 10, 2010) - Matt Hagan had little time to take a
breath after winning the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Ill., last
Sunday. From there he went straight to the DieHard headquarters in Chicago
on Monday to present the winner's trophy to the company employees, worked on
his 500-acre Angus Cattle farm on Tuesday, then headed to Englishtown on
Wednesday for media events preceding this weekend's 41st annual NHRA
SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

"It's still really early in the season to get that second win of the year
and my career," said Hagan, who moved into third place in the Funny Car
class standings after earning 20 bonus points for setting a national
elapsed-time record. "It's huge for the whole DieHard Dodge racing team. The
guys are doing a great job. (Crew chiefs) Tommy DeLago and John Medlen are
working well together, and I'm just glad to have that confidence that comes
with winning in a great car that's going down the race track.

"I was glad to hear going into Chicago that we weren't going to be testing
anything any more and that we were going back to the combination that we had
been working on for all last year. And that was great because we had a lot
of information with it. On top of that, it was very beneficial to have John
on board to help massage it and really make it better. Having those two
great minds (DeLago and Medlen) working together has made it really come
together and the DieHard Dodge is very, very consistent now.

"I'm just excited to be able to hang on to that fast hot rod like that, set
a national record and win the race. The only thing that would have made it
better was if that race was for the championship." (Note: While Hagan set a
national record with his 4.022-second pass after backing it up with a second
pass within one percent during the weekend, Robert Hight still is credited
with the quickest-recorded pass to 1000 feet of 4.005 seconds, set in 2008.
His run, however, was not backed up.)

"Englishtown is a great race. I know quite a few people in the New York area
and it will be great to see them again,² added Hagan, who is in his second
full season driving for Don Schumacher Racing. ³I'm really looking forward
to getting back in this hot rod and going some more laps, having more fun,
and hopefully qualifying well.

"You can't get too big-headed about any of this stuff because next thing you
know you don't get qualified. So we'll just take it one lap at a time to
make sure that we secure our spot in the top 10 for the Countdown to 1
playoffs (final six races of the year)."

MATT HAGAN QUICK FACTS:
* No. 3 (tied with Ashley Force Hood) in 2010 Funny Car standings, after two
victories (in four career final rounds), four quarterfinal finishes, one
"semifinal" and three first rounds in first nine events of season
* Is 109 points behind leader Robert Hight
* Set national top-speed record (to 1000 feet) of 316.15 mph in Gainesville
2010
* Set national elapsed-time record in Chicago 2010: 4.022 seconds
* Qualified No. 11 in 2009 E'town race; lost first round to Del Worsham
* 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 30-33
* 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: 4.022 seconds (Chicago 2010)
* Fastest speed to 1000 feet so far: 316.15 mph (Gainesville 2010)
* Manages family 500-acre Angus Cattle farm in Virginia
SCHEDULE:  
FRIDAY, June 11  FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.
SATURDAY, June 12  FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at noon and 3 p.m.
SUNDAY, June 13 - Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m.
FULL THROTTLE SERIES eliminations begin at 11 a.m.
 
TELEVISION:   
Saturday, June 12, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying
highlights at 11 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, June 13, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute
race preview show, at 3:30 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, June 13, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours of coverage
starting at 4 p.m. (ET).
 
SATELLITE:  
Friday, June 11, 8:30 - 9 p.m. (ET), AMC 9 / Transponder 5K
(Digital SD feed)    Saturday, June 12, 6:30 - 7 p.m. (ET), AMC 9 /
Transponder 5K 
Sunday, June 13, 7:30 - 8 p.m. (ET), AMC 9 / Transponder 5K (11800 MHz,
horizontal; Data Rate: 18.295441161 Mbp; Symbol Rate: 13.235 Ms; FEC: 3Ž4;
Bandwidth: 18 Mhz)
Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winners¹
interviews on Sunday.
 
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