FUNNY CAR

(Chris Haverly photo)

Matt Hagan used a holeshot to beat Del Worsham for his first U.S. Nationals trophy with the Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car led by crew chief Dickie Venables and assistant Michael Knudsen.

"It's been tough but we went to the final two weeks ago in Brainerd and shook our car apart,” Hagan explained. “We came to a test session here, pulled out a brand new car and after two laps Dickie said put it in the box, we're good to go. I was like, 'what?'

"But to see the confidence in his eyes, with a brand new race car, we come in here and qualify No. 1 and the car is just on kill the whole weekend. Being able to have that confidence and see that in Dickie and this whole Mopar team, it's been great. That's what it takes to win races and to win the championship. I really feel like this car is starting to peak at the right time."

Hagan qualified his horsepower-heavy Mopar Dodge on the pole in Indianapolis and used the momentum to knock-out his opponents on raceday, beginning with a first-round meeting with John Bojec. His opponent left the starting line with a small advantage, but Hagan soon took the lead with a demolishing 3.894-second pass at 327.59 mph to a traction-troubled 11.32. Next to fall was Robert Hight, 3.942/324.59 to 4.572/183.42.

The semifinals brought a head-to-head battle for DSR teammates Hagan and Tommy Johnson Jr., who was at the helm of the Riley Kid's Dodge Charger R/T. Johnson was awesome at the starting line, clocking a remarkable .054-second reaction time that wasn't far off of the .051 he used to complement a strong 3.966 pass in the second round. At the top end, Hagan got the nod, 3.945/323.81 to 3.970/321.65.

Hagan had low elapsed time in each of the first three rounds, but in the final it was a .039-second reaction time that did the trick. Del Worsham's quicker 3.958/324.20 wasn't quite enough for Hagan's 3.964/327.43.

"It's just incredible, this is something that we've been trying to accomplish for a long time," Hagan said. "Dickie Venables - that guy put a hot rod under me all weekend along. The guys do their job, and I'm just proud to be part of it.