Hagan halted in Concord quarterfinal
DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 19 of 23
Round 2 of six in Countdown to the Championship
Third annual NHRA Carolinas Nationals
zMAX Dragway
Concord, N.C.
Sept. 17-19, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438;
jstropus@earthlink.net
HAGAN HALTED IN CONCORD QUARTERFINAL
CONCORD, N.C. (Sept. 19, 2010) - Racing the bright-orange FRAM/DieHard Dodge
Charger Funny Car at this weekend's third annual NHRA Carolinas Nationals,
the second of six events of the Countdown to the Championship, Matt Hagan
was halted in the quarterfinal round against Jeff Arend.
Without lane choice, Hagan lost traction early in the run, resulting in the
deployment of his parachutes and stalling on the race track, as Arend
claimed the win.
In the opening round under hotter conditions today at zMAX Dragway, Hagan
also struck the tires, but pedaled to victory over John Force Racing's
Robert Hight, posting a 4.486/266.64 pass.
"It was a tough weekend," said Hagan, who actually gained ground on points
leader John Force, who exited in the opening round, and remains third. "It's
hot out there. We qualified well and we ran well in the heat and I think it
just got a lot hotter today.
"The track prep seemed different today. The FRAM/DieHard Dodge was going
down the race track yesterday when it was also hot and we were able to apply
the same amount of power to the race track. Then we came out here today and
it seems that few people in the nitro class were getting down the track.
"We know how to improve and we expect to do well at the next race in Texas,
because that's what we're going to do.
"As far as our weekend went, we gained some ground in points and we earned
some great qualifying bonus points (four). We'll just go to the next race
and put this one behind us."
Said crew chief Tommy DeLago: "It wasn't as good a day as we wanted. The
track wasn't a ton warmer than yesterday; it was 10 degrees warmer. But, for
some reason, I don't think the track prep was the same as yesterday because
everybody was running good on Saturday; it wasn't just us. There were a lot
of guys throwing mid-teen numbers out like they were easy to get.
"And the left lane is not impossible to go down. I think I had the car lined
up a little bit in the bald spots where I should have straddled them a
little bit more. If I had, we might have had a better chance to actually go
down the track."
Next up is the 25th annual NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex in Ennis,
Texas, Sept. 24-26.
UNOFFICIAL FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS, after two of six Countdown to the
Championship events:
1. John Force, 2245
2. Jack Beckman, 2241 (runner-up today) - Cruz Pedregon was the winner
3. Matt Hagan, 2203
4. Ashley Force Hood, 2192
5. Bob Tasca III, 2160
6. Robert Hight, 2157
7. Ron Capps, 2123
8. Tony Pedregon, 2085
9. Tim Wilkerson, 2182
10. Del Worsham, 2077
***