Hagan hauls to No. 3 in Bristol qualifying

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 12 of 23
10th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway
June 18-20, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

HAGAN HAULS TO NO. 3 IN BRISTOL QUALIFYING

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 19, 2010) - Local boy Matt Hagan, of Christiansburg,
Va., grabbed the No. 3 spot in qualifying for the 10th annual NHRA Thunder
Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, recording his quickest pass of 4.185
seconds at 292.58 mph during the Friday-night session.

With track temperatures reaching almost 130 degrees on Friday and 140 on
Saturday, Hagan and the DieHard Dodge Charger Funny Car team benefited from
Friday night's 111-degree track temperatures to secure No. 3 and hold it
through two more sessions in Saturday's hot conditions.

His other laps included a 4.311/274.22 (No. 3), and a 4.268/284.87 (third
quickest of that round) and finally a 4.753/175.30, in which the car ejected
its burst panel. He earned a total of three bonus points for his efforts.

"I think we have a great race car to go down a hot race track," said the
27-year-old who manages a 500-acre Angus Cattle farm in Christiansburg. "We
ran some good numbers. I was really excited to run those .20s in the heat of
the day like that. I think that will carry over into tomorrow.

"In that last lap we were just really going for it, to see what the track
would hold and trying to go low for the session. I was getting a little bit
behind the car maybe and it was pretty bumpy out there in the left lane and
it went out there and started spinning the tires a little bit. It dropped a
couple of holes (cylinders), the boost went up, and put a panel out.

"Hopefully I'll have a little better feel for it tomorrow and Tommy and John
(DeLago and Medlen, crew chiefs) will have a great setup for the heat."

Hagan faces No. 14 qualifier Jeff Arend in the opening round of Sunday's
eliminations.

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