DSR Phoenix Friday Qualifying Report
NHRA Arizona Nationals
Event 2 of 24 (Phoenix)
Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park
Chandler, Ariz.
February 21-23, 2020
DSR Phoenix Friday Highlights:
- For the third event in a row, and second in 2020, Matt Hagan powered to the provisional Funny Car pole
- Hagan’s Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat ran the quickest E.T. in Q2 and was second-quickest in Q1
- Tommy Johnson Jr. clocked the third-quickest Funny Car pass in Q1 to earn a provisional spot in the top half of the field; Jack Beckman also closed out the day in the top half of the field
- In Top Fuel, Leah Pruett powered to the third-quickest Q2 E.T. and sits third heading into day two of qualifying
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Hagan’s No. 1 Streak Continues at NHRA Arizona Nationals
CHANDLER, Ariz. (February 21, 2020) – Matt Hagan rocketed the Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to a 3.859-second pass on Friday at the NHRA Arizona Nationals to claim the provisional No. 1 spot heading into day two of qualifying.
Hagan, a three-time event champion, is getting used to closing out his Friday evenings as the No. 1 qualifier. He captured the provisional pole at the last two events (Pomona 1, 2020, and Pomona 2, 2019), and on both occasions, he remained at the top of the leaderboard to start Sunday’s elimination rounds. He is confident the trend will continue this weekend at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, especially given his track record of success at the Chandler, Ariz. facility where he returns as the defending event champion.
“I wish we could race all 24 events here,” joked Hagan. “Sometimes things just click at certain tracks. We just always seem to do well here. It seems like we knock the rust off in testing, then at Pomona, we’re working the kinks out, and by the time we get here, we just seem to have found our groove. Some tracks you just do really well at, and this is one of those places for us.”
Right out of the gate on Friday, Hagan’s Mopar machine was quick and consistent. Crew chief Dickie Venables tuned Hagan’s Hellcat to a 3.882-second at 324.75 mph Q1 run, which held up to be the second-quickest pass of the session. Knowing they were safely in the field, Venables opted to put it all out on the line for Q2, and his boldness paid off when Hagan’s 3.859 E.T. was enough to score the provisional pole.
“The conditions were great today,” said Hagan, who entered the weekend sitting third in the Funny Car standings due to his strong Pomona showing which included a semifinal finish in addition to the Funny Car pole. “Dickie went into Q2 tonight no-holds-barred, just ready to lay it down. He looked in the car at me, opened up the flows, and let it eat. And, it stuck. The car is good, the track is good, just all around a really good pass for this Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. I’m glad to be putting on a show for these fans, and I’m enjoying hanging on to a really fast race car right now.”
Q1: 3.882 E.T. at 324.75 MPH (Two bonus points for second-quickest run of the session)
Q2: 3.859 E.T. at 331.61 MPH (Three bonus points for quickest run of the session)
Bonus Points: Five |
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Driver Information:
Top Fuel:
ANTRON BROWN
Driver of the Matco Tools/Global Electronic Technology Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
Q1: 11.189 E.T. at 66.17 MPH
Q2: 3.786 E.T. at 324.44 MPH
Provisional Qualifying Position: No. 12 |
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LEAH PRUETT
Driver of the Mopar Dodge Top Fuel Dragster
Q1: 4.096 E.T. at 214.96 MPH
Q2: 3.680 E.T. at 328.06 MPH (One bonus point for third-quickest run of the session)
Bonus Points: One
Provisional Qualifying Position: No. 3 |
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JACK BECKMAN
Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Q1: 6.511 E.T. at 107.15 MPH
Q2: 3.889 E.T. at 329.42 MPH
Provisional Qualifying Position: No. 5 |
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RON CAPPS
Driver of the Pennzoil Synthetics/NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Q1: 5.473 E.T. at 127.20 MPH
Q2: 3.953 E.T. at 326.40 MPH
Provisional Qualifying Position: No. 10 |
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TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the MD Anderson Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Q1: 3.915 E.T. at 324.12 MPH (One bonus point for third-quickest run of the session)
Q2: 9.578 E.T. at 75.57 MPH
Bonus Points: One
Provisional Qualifying Position: No. 7 |
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