Force vs Hagan

[BOO BOO]

That was just great. Made my day.

 

[yoda]

It'll be interesting to watch Matt hang John out to dry next time they meet.

Go late on the second pump and wait

 

[TSK]

Well, it wasn’t quite Cale Yarborough/Bobby Allison - Daytona 1979, but I’m sure it is going to be rehashed on the next broadcast(s).

 

[Jack]

Hey, I thought it was pretty entertaining. Matt's sure looking like a WWE wrestlling champ these days. Bet he can bench press his funny car, with no problem!

 

[vegasnitro]

"I'm John Force, I do what I want!"

Cracks me up, quote of the day for sure.

 

[zippy]

Roid rage.. haha

 

[z28]

Hagan's mistake was going in so quick after John. He could have waited and really put pressure on him. As it was Hagan had a much better light and John was fortunate to get by him

 

[jimbo]

Haven't had one of those in awhile. As both announcers pointed out"John did'nt do anything wrong"! The replay did not show how the flair up started. There is no rule that says who stages first, how deep or wether you double bulb or not. John said it best - "I'm John Force, I do what I want!". And if I remember right did an excellent job on pedaling the car. Hagen says next time they race we'll see what happens. Money talks, BS walks! No one in TF or AA/FC is intentionally getting into a burn down today and chance being light on fuel/ballast on the front of the car.

By the way, while watching the race before the replay in slow motion, I was shocked that John came up the winner. It just appeared he leapfrogged past Hagan the last 150 ft.

 

[Dragracer]

I have watched it over and over and haven't seen anything done from the fire up, burn out and staging that was a problem. John is know to double bulb at times and regularly deep stages like he did with Capps. Hagan had the better reaction time and was winning until his car put a hole out and John was lucky enough to go by him and win. John's car was running better at every increment and drove by him. Unless I missed something it looks to me like Hagan got beat and is a poor looser.

 

[Leebone]

Wow, Hagan is usually a lot cooler than that. He looked like Whit Bazemore. Just glad a fight didn't break out. Hagan would've decked Force.

 

[John Smillie]

When John deep stages, I see it almost as a sign of respect. Don’t recall him turning both bulbs on very often like what happened against Hagan but he frequently deep stages Capps. He knows how good these teams/drivers are and he wants to win. The guy is 72 years old! He’s the . I like Hagan, but as mentioned above, he could have taken a bit more time getting in. Regardless, he had a hole out and lost. On to Topeka…..

 

[Luke Nieuwhof]

I just watched the NHRA.tv replay and couldn’t see anything. Was there something on the Fox show that showed what happened on the line?
If no one goes into stage, well that’s on both drivers. They are both making that choice - no one has a God given right to stage second. But from the comments above it seems like John went in first.
As for double bulbing, if you’re an elite driver you should be able to handle that. This is a sport, and one that is more a mental game than most, so I’m with Force. Any advantage a driver can get, within the realms of safety, is acceptable.

 

[mikebcurve]

A lot of the drivers do seem to take issue with double bulbing. You see them going to apologize after the fact when they say it’s an accident. I don’t see the issue. I think it would be better to go in second with no rush to time out.
Tasca double bulbed Hagan at the finals many years back. He was hot about it then too. I would never let the other drivers know what rattles me.

 

[you]

I may be wrong, but my understanding is, after the first driver lights up the second bulb, the other driver only has 7 seconds to get their second bulb on. I may be wrong though.

 

[Nunz]

I may be wrong, but my understanding is, after the first driver lights up the second bulb, the other driver only has 7 seconds to get their second bulb on. I may be wrong though.

I think that's only once both drivers are pre staged, but I may be wrong.

 

[Tybamf]

It's obvious to me that Hagan was just butt hurt over losing and lashed out. A bit of poor sportsmanship in my opinion, but we are all guilty of losing our cool at one time or another. One thing I have learned over the years is to not react in the heat of the moment. Go back, cool down, and think about it. If a response is needed at that time, then plan it out. Never been a huge Hagan fan but don't dislike him either. I think he probably just let the moment get the best of him and most likely regrets it.

 

[Nunz]

I like Hagan a lot, but I agree, I believe he let his emotions get the best of him. But if you watch his style, he gets AMPED when he's racing, so it's not surprising that he reacted the way he did.

 

[Paul]

It's hilarous watching a old man lose his sh*t when someone questioned his tactics. Force is going to have a stroke if he doesn't calm down and he needs to realize he's a grandpa now and can't throw down like he could have 30 years ago. TV drama, that's all it was and it was good to see .

 

[Butch]

Starting line tactics have been used since the beginning. I don't see the issue here.

 

[TD5023]

I may be wrong, but my understanding is, after the first driver lights up the second bulb, the other driver only has 7 seconds to get their second bulb on. I may be wrong though.

I think that's only once both drivers are pre staged, but I may be wrong.

Once three bulbs are on (i.e. one driver is fully staged and the other is pre-staged), that's when auto-start kicks in. If the first racer double-bulbs, then the other can take as much time as he wants until his own pre-stage light is on, at which point the clock is triggered.