<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/Hagen.jpg" alt="Hagen" align="left"borders="0"/>
August 6, 2007 - MARTIN, MI--The mood in the Hagan pits today is one of celebration and anticipation after Matt and crew advanced to their first-ever IHRA final at the TORCO Northern Nationals in Martin, Michigan.
"We're very proud of our performance this weekend," said Hagan. "We really came together as a team."
Hagan started off the weekend by qualifying his TORCO ACCELERATOR 1963 Corvette solidly in the middle of the field with a 6.189 @ 231.12 mph.
In an interesting plot twist Hagan found himself matched up against Mike Janis in the first elimination round. Matt signed on earlier in the year to the Jan-Cen motor/blower program that is run by Janis and his crew. The two have been working along side each other all year to develop the Jan-Cen engine program.
"When we had to race Mike I knew that would be interesting," said Matt. "We've raced a few times this year in match races on smaller tracks, and we've basically been working together like teammates, so we definitely know a lot about each other's styles."
Janis has some tire shake and Hagan ultimately came away the victor, moving on to face Mark Nielsen in round two. After a commanding victory there, Hagan advanced to the semifinals against Ed Hoover.
Hoover experienced a great deal of tire shake while Hagan had a solid pass at 6.183/228.69, advancing him to the final round against Jason Hamstra.
"We were thrilled at that point," said Hagan. "We'd been working so hard, making smart decisions all weekend long, and it had finally paid off for us."
Despite his consistency all weekend long Hagan would then experience mechanical failure and give Hamstra a free run for the win.
"We had a fuel pump come loose during the burnout," explains Hagan. "I was disappointed but it didn't lessen our accomplishments any."
"I want to say congratulations to Jason Hamstra, neither one of us had won a national event so it was pretty much going to be a toss-up at the end," said Hagan. "He had a great car and a great weekend."
"It would have been nice to win this race right here in Evan Koll's back yard, but we're happy with our performance and it feels good to keep improving," Hagan siad. "I want to say thank you to Evan and TORCO for all they've done for us this year and I'm proud that we gave them our best performance to date at a TORCO-sponsored event."
Hagan and crew will be back in action this weekend at the IHRA AMALIE MOTOR OIL North American Nationals at New England Dragway, with a focus on continuing to build momentum towards winning their first national event.
Matt Hagan Racing is sponsored by TORCO Race Fuels Mach Series Accelerator. For more information on TORCO Mach Series Accelerator, Skull Shine, Skull Gear, and other Knoll Gas Enterprises, please visit www.TORCO.com.
Photo: Jason Sharp, Drag Illustrated
Hagan Advances To First IHRA Final!
August 6, 2007 - MARTIN, MI--The mood in the Hagan pits today is one of celebration and anticipation after Matt and crew advanced to their first-ever IHRA final at the TORCO Northern Nationals in Martin, Michigan.
"We're very proud of our performance this weekend," said Hagan. "We really came together as a team."
Hagan started off the weekend by qualifying his TORCO ACCELERATOR 1963 Corvette solidly in the middle of the field with a 6.189 @ 231.12 mph.
In an interesting plot twist Hagan found himself matched up against Mike Janis in the first elimination round. Matt signed on earlier in the year to the Jan-Cen motor/blower program that is run by Janis and his crew. The two have been working along side each other all year to develop the Jan-Cen engine program.
"When we had to race Mike I knew that would be interesting," said Matt. "We've raced a few times this year in match races on smaller tracks, and we've basically been working together like teammates, so we definitely know a lot about each other's styles."
Janis has some tire shake and Hagan ultimately came away the victor, moving on to face Mark Nielsen in round two. After a commanding victory there, Hagan advanced to the semifinals against Ed Hoover.
Hoover experienced a great deal of tire shake while Hagan had a solid pass at 6.183/228.69, advancing him to the final round against Jason Hamstra.
"We were thrilled at that point," said Hagan. "We'd been working so hard, making smart decisions all weekend long, and it had finally paid off for us."
Despite his consistency all weekend long Hagan would then experience mechanical failure and give Hamstra a free run for the win.
"We had a fuel pump come loose during the burnout," explains Hagan. "I was disappointed but it didn't lessen our accomplishments any."
"I want to say congratulations to Jason Hamstra, neither one of us had won a national event so it was pretty much going to be a toss-up at the end," said Hagan. "He had a great car and a great weekend."
"It would have been nice to win this race right here in Evan Koll's back yard, but we're happy with our performance and it feels good to keep improving," Hagan siad. "I want to say thank you to Evan and TORCO for all they've done for us this year and I'm proud that we gave them our best performance to date at a TORCO-sponsored event."
Hagan and crew will be back in action this weekend at the IHRA AMALIE MOTOR OIL North American Nationals at New England Dragway, with a focus on continuing to build momentum towards winning their first national event.
Matt Hagan Racing is sponsored by TORCO Race Fuels Mach Series Accelerator. For more information on TORCO Mach Series Accelerator, Skull Shine, Skull Gear, and other Knoll Gas Enterprises, please visit www.TORCO.com.
Photo: Jason Sharp, Drag Illustrated
