Hagan hoping for a move up in standings in Seattle
DON SCHUMACHER RACING 2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES Round 14 of 23 23rd annual NHRA Northwest Nationals Pacific Raceways Kent, Wash. July 9-11, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438; jstropus@earthlink.net HAGAN HOPING FOR A MOVE UP IN STANDINGS IN SEATTLE CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (July 6, 2010) - Matt Hagan is sitting in third place in the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings as the circuit heads to the 23rd annual NHRA Northwest Nationals in Washington State this weekend. He'd like to move up the roster before the Countdown to 1 playoffs kick in for the top 10 in points in the final six races of the season. The 27-year-old Angus Cattle farmer from Christiansburg, Va., is well-grounded and wise, however, about what it would take to realize his dream of winning a championship in his second full season of NHRA pro competition. Driving the DieHard Dodge Charger Funny Car for Don Schumacher Racing, he's already won two national events this year in as many final rounds and qualified No. 1 once. He knows he's got the team, crew chief and car to get the job done. "Obviously, I want to be No. 1," he said. "But, being realistic about it, I would love to be in the top five. We're already in third, so it is very doable. The better we do, the more chances we'll have of not only locking in a spot in the Countdown early but securing a high position as we enter the playoffs. So, I'd love to be No. 1, and No. 3 is pretty good, but we're barely holding on to that. We're only about one race out of No. 2, so, if we have a good race or two on this Western Swing I think things will come together for us. We have a potential championship-winning car. We're right there. It's not out of reach." Seattle is the first of three back-to-back events making up the Western Swing (followed by Sonoma, Calif., and Denver), and it follows an off weekend after a four-race back-to-back stretch, in which Hagan won his second race of the year in Chicago, then earned a semifinal, quarterfinal and first-round finish in the ensuing events. "I'm excited coming into Seattle," said Hagan. "We had some time off and we're going right back into a three-race swing. The DieHard Dodge is running good. We are down a crew chief (John Medlen was moved over to the NAPA team) and I don't know whether that affected us last week in Norwalk or not, but we have three races to get back on track to make sure we continue moving forward. "I have 100-percent confidence in (crew chief) Tommy DeLago and I know he's going to get it done for us, so I'm excited to get this Western Swing started." MATT HAGAN QUICK FACTS: * No. 3 in 2010 Funny Car standings, after two victories in two final rounds (four career final rounds), five quarterfinal finishes, two semifinal and four first rounds in first 13 events of season * Is 185 points behind leader John Force, 102 in back of Robert Hight in second * Set national top-speed record (to 1000 feet) of 316.15 mph in Gainesville 2010. It has since been eclipsed by Ashley Force Hood with a 316.38 mph * Set national elapsed-time record in Chicago 2010: 4.022 seconds * Qualified No. 3 in 2009 Seattle race; lost first round to Jack Beckman * 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 33-36 * 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, July 9 - FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. SATURDAY, July 10 - FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at noon and 3 p.m. SUNDAY, July 11 - Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m. FULL THROTTLE SERIES eliminations begin at 11 a.m. TELEVISION: Saturday, July 10, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 10 p.m. (ET). Sunday, July 11, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute news magazine show, at 11 a.m. (ET). Sunday, July 11, ESPN3.com will televise three hours of coverage starting at 7 p.m. (ET). Sunday, July 11, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of coverage starting at 11:30 p.m. (ET). SATELLITE: Friday, July 9, 10 - 10:30 p.m. (ET), AMC 1 / Transponder 18K (Digital SD feed) Saturday, July 10, 9:30 - 10 p.m. (ET), AMC 1 / Transponder 18K Sunday, July 11, 10:30 - 11 p.m. (ET), AMC 1 / Transponder 18K (12060 MHz, vertical; Data Rate: 18.295441161 Mbp; Symbol Rate: 13.235 Ms; FEC: ?; Bandwidth: 18 Mhz) Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winnersą interviews on Sunday. ***