MOHNTON, Pa. – Being the quickest competitor in NHRA Funny Car isn’t new to the driver of the DieHard Dodge Charger. Matt Hagan has reset his own national e.t. record three times, but he’d like to do a few more things, including make more history of his own as the Countdown to the Championship continues with the 27th annual Auto-Plus® NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa.
The defending event winners of the third of six events in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship are Larry Dixon (Top Fuel), Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), Dave Connolly (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle).
During last season’s stop at Maple Grove, Hagan set the national e.t. record and earned a runner-up finish, which set him up for a spectacular run for the championship. Unfortunately for Hagan, the team couldn’t turn that success into his first championship, but he doesn’t plan to let those struggles hurt this year.
“Last season was a perfect example that it doesn’t matter until the last day is over at Pomona,” Hagan said. “When things change, they change quickly in this sport. To me, the Countdown is nothing to worry about until it’s all said and done, but it is great to know, though, that we might have a chance to win a few more races and see where we are when we head to Pomona.”
The team has dealt with many struggles this season, collecting its first win just two races ago, in Charlotte, N.C., as well as setting the national e.t. record. After testing different combinations all season, crew chief Tommy DeLago decided to go back to the car they ran last season, and Hagan couldn’t be happier.
“This is a huge confidence boost for me and our guys,” Hagan said. “We’re back in last year’s car where we set two national records, and then we go out to Charlotte two weeks ago and set another one and get the win. If that’s not a good change, I don’t know what is. I’m not saying we’re going out and going to run the table every weekend, but it’s nice to know we have a car that can go out there and have a chance to win these races.”
Four races remain in the Countdown, and although Hagan suffered a second-round loss in Dallas, he knows that Maple Grove Raceway has been good to him, and he hopes to build on that success.
“We love running at Reading,” Hagan said. “We’d love to repeat our record run from last year — those 20 bonus points would be great for the Countdown. It’s a great track, and considering we’re in the fall, it’s probably going to be fast. We’re looking to go rounds, gain points and improve our Countdown position.”
Hagan’s goals are the same as those of the nine other Funny Car drivers in the Countdown: They all plan to do what they can to be championship contenders. His teammates Jack Beckman and Ron Capps are fourth and fifth, respectively. Mike Neff still leads the point standings, and Cruz Pedregon, who won the last event in Dallas, is right behind Hagan in third. Robert Hight, Bob Tasca, Jeff Arend, John Force and Tim Wilkerson round out the playoff field for Funny Car.
With the tightening of the points two races into the Countdown, the standings have been shaken up not only in Funny Car, but in Top Fuel as well. Del Worsham led the points from the second race of the season until the first race of the playoffs but is now third. Spencer Massey and Antron Brown have capitalized on his early exits at the last two races and sit first and second, respectively. 2010 champ Dixon has moved up to fourth, and Tony Schumacher is fifth. Brandon Bernstein, Doug Kalitta, Shawn Langdon, David Grubnic and Morgan Lucas round out the Top Fuel playoff field.
Pro Stock is dominated by the one-two punch that is the KB Racing team of Jason Line and Greg Anderson. They seem to have a combination that others are doing their best to figure out but just haven’t been able to. Though Anderson has suffered two first-round losses in the Countdown, no other competitors have capitalized on his struggles, and he still sits second. Erica Enders moved up to third with her success in Dallas. The top 10 also includes Mike Edwards, Vincent Nobile, Greg Stanfield, Allen Johnson, Rodger Brogdon, Shane Gray and Ron Krisher.
The playoff drama is getting to all of the Pro Stock Motorcycle riders. After two rounds of the Countdown, Eddie Krawiec still leads the class despite his semifinal exit in Dallas. Karen Stoffer, who sits second, didn’t capitalize on Krawiec’s misstep as she exited in round two. Rookie Hector Arana Jr. is third, Matt Smith is fourth, and Krawiec’s teammate, Andrew, Hines, is fifth. 2010 world champ LE Tonglet sits sixth, Dallas winner Michael Phillips is seventh, followed by Jerry Savoie, Hector Arana Sr. and Jim Underdahl.