- Earned No. 17 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (4.837 ET at 164.59 mph)
- Earned No. 8 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Saturday (3.918 ET at 329.50 mph). Q2 also served as Round 1 of the NHRA’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, where Hagan faced J.R. Todd. Todd defeated Hagan on a holeshot with a run of 3.918 ET at 323.12 mph.
- Maintained No. 8 provisional qualifying position based off of Saturday’s Q2 run. In Q3 on Saturday, Hagan ran a 3.951 ET at 326.32 mph.
- The Pep Boys All-Star Funny Car Callout served as Round 4 of qualifying, where Hagan maintained the No. 8 provisional qualifying position. Hagan ran a 3.931 ET at 327.19 mph, defeating Alexis DeJoria (4.812 ET at 166.66 mph).
- Scored two bonus points for second-quickest run of the session
- In the Pep Boys All-Star Funny Car Callout Semifinal, which did not serve as Round 5 of qualifying, Hagan ran 3.972 ET at 326.00 mph, losing to Paul Lee’s 3.968 ET at 323.35 mph.
- Secured No. 8 qualifying position in Q5 on Sunday (3.908 ET at 327.66 mph)
- Eliminated following Round 1 on Monday:
- Round 1: 4.225 ET at 229.31 mph, lost to Alexis DeJoria (3.886 ET at 327.98 mph)
- Currently third heading into the Countdown to the Championship, behind Funny Car leader Austin Prock (there will be a points reset for the Countdown to the Championship)
- Hagan has advanced to the Countdown to the Championship for the 12th consecutive year.
- Hagan made his ninth #2Fast2Tasty appearance of the season, having collected eight Mission Foods points in 2024. Those points will be added to the reset heading into the start of the Countdown to the Championship at Maple Grove Raceway.
- Hagan is the track record holder at Indianapolis in both time and speed (3.799 seconds, 338.77 mph), which he set on Friday, Sept. 1, 2017. The 3.799-second mark is a personal best and it made Hagan just the second Funny Car driver to break the 3.800 second barrier.
“We were trying to run hard in the first round with the cooler air, and I let the car get inside a little too much in the lane, so I smoked the tires. For me, I felt a light rattle with the tires, and I got in the marbles a bit. That one is on me. We looked at it on video and we have learned from that run. We always learn with every run. The faster you run, the harder these cars are to drive. The car was on a good pass, maybe 3.86 or so. We are ready for the Countdown now, and we had a good performance last year with wins at St. Louis and Dallas taking us to a championship. You have to win races in the Countdown to win a championship. This TSR Dodge Direct Connection team is experienced, and they know how to win titles too. We just have to keep our heads down and the wins will come to us. We know we can do that.”
30-31 August 2024, 1-2 September, Indianapolis, Indiana USA, XXX, ©2024, Will Lester Photography
30-31 August 2024, 1-2 September, Indianapolis, Indiana USA, XXX, ©2024, Will Lester Photography
30-31 August 2024, 1-2 September, Indianapolis, Indiana USA, XXX, ©2024, Will Lester Photography
The post Indianapolis Event Recap for the NHRA U.S. Nationals appeared first on Matt Hagan Racing.
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