[coverattach=1]CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. - Matt Hagan, a contender for the 2009 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award as an NHRA rookie-of-the-year frontrunner, missed a spot in the Countdown to 1 playoffs which begin for the top 10 in points at this weekend's NHRA Carolina Nationals in Concord, N.C. But his ambition to win his first national event in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series has not diminished one iota.
Ending the regular 18-event season in 12th in the standings driving the Valvoline Engine Guarantee/shelor.com Dodge Funny Car has not dampened the 26-year-old Angus Cattle farmer's determination to take home a winner's trophy before his rookie season is over.
"I'm very, very disappointed about not being in the Countdown, but my main goal all year was to win a race," said the affable Hagan, whose wife Rachel is expecting their second child any day. "Obviously, winning a championship would have been spectacular, if I had had the chance to fight for it, but I want to win races and earn my first Wally (event championship trophy named after NHRA's founder Wally Parks).
"We also wanted to qualify at every race, and so far we've done that. I just want to start focusing on the positive; it's so easy to focus on the negative.
"We have a good team and a good car," added Hagan, who was runner-up and low qualifier once each this season. "We just didn't show it this year and I think that maybe we can come on strong at the end of the year and improve our skills and look forward to next year."
MATT HAGAN QUICK FACTS:
* No. 12 in 2009 Funny Car point standings, as a Rookie-of-the-Year frontrunner
* Has 11 first-round, five quarterfinal, one semifinal and one runner-up finish so far in 2009
* Entered 2008 Concord inaugural event, but failed to qualify
* Qualified on his first pole in Sonoma, Calif., this year
* Entered NHRA Funny Car class four times in 2008, qualifying once at the U.S. Nationals
* 2006 NHRA AMS Pro Mod Challenge Rookie of the Year
* First season with Don Schumacher Racing
* Won class-best three Funny Car events in 2008 IHRA series, ending season third in point standings
* Born Nov. 11, 1982 in Salem, Va., lives in Christiansburg, Va.
* Married to Rachel; one son, Colby (10/27/06), daughter on the way
* Quickest elapsed time to 1000 feet so far: 4.068 seconds (Sonoma 2009)
* Fastest speed to 1000 feet so far: 307.51 mph (Sonoma 2009)
* Manages family 500-acre Angus Cattle farm in Virginia
SCHEDULE:
Pro qualifying will run at 2:30 and 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, and will continue at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19. Final professional eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 20.
TELEVISION:
ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 11:30 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, Sept. 19. On Sunday, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will feature NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, at 11 a.m. (ET), and three hours of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. (ET).
Ending the regular 18-event season in 12th in the standings driving the Valvoline Engine Guarantee/shelor.com Dodge Funny Car has not dampened the 26-year-old Angus Cattle farmer's determination to take home a winner's trophy before his rookie season is over.
"I'm very, very disappointed about not being in the Countdown, but my main goal all year was to win a race," said the affable Hagan, whose wife Rachel is expecting their second child any day. "Obviously, winning a championship would have been spectacular, if I had had the chance to fight for it, but I want to win races and earn my first Wally (event championship trophy named after NHRA's founder Wally Parks).
"We also wanted to qualify at every race, and so far we've done that. I just want to start focusing on the positive; it's so easy to focus on the negative.
"We have a good team and a good car," added Hagan, who was runner-up and low qualifier once each this season. "We just didn't show it this year and I think that maybe we can come on strong at the end of the year and improve our skills and look forward to next year."
MATT HAGAN QUICK FACTS:
* No. 12 in 2009 Funny Car point standings, as a Rookie-of-the-Year frontrunner
* Has 11 first-round, five quarterfinal, one semifinal and one runner-up finish so far in 2009
* Entered 2008 Concord inaugural event, but failed to qualify
* Qualified on his first pole in Sonoma, Calif., this year
* Entered NHRA Funny Car class four times in 2008, qualifying once at the U.S. Nationals
* 2006 NHRA AMS Pro Mod Challenge Rookie of the Year
* First season with Don Schumacher Racing
* Won class-best three Funny Car events in 2008 IHRA series, ending season third in point standings
* Born Nov. 11, 1982 in Salem, Va., lives in Christiansburg, Va.
* Married to Rachel; one son, Colby (10/27/06), daughter on the way
* Quickest elapsed time to 1000 feet so far: 4.068 seconds (Sonoma 2009)
* Fastest speed to 1000 feet so far: 307.51 mph (Sonoma 2009)
* Manages family 500-acre Angus Cattle farm in Virginia
SCHEDULE:
Pro qualifying will run at 2:30 and 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, and will continue at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19. Final professional eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 20.
TELEVISION:
ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 11:30 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, Sept. 19. On Sunday, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will feature NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, at 11 a.m. (ET), and three hours of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. (ET).
