Four-time Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan delivered a relentless performance at Rockingham Dragway on Sunday, driving his Dodge//SRT Hellcat to a victory at the NHRA Nationals at The Rock. The win marks Hagan’s fourth national event victory of the season, his 59th career Funny Car title, and further cements his points lead in the Countdown to the Championship chase.
“What a great weekend, man,” Hagan said. “To come out here for The Rock and to see a sold-out crowd on Saturday, and just to see this sport grow, I think that’s a big thing. We’re here for loud, fast billboards, and people showed up to see it. We had a camera crew here this week doing a mini-documentary. I was trying to explain to them how cool this is, how fast and loud it is. They got in it and were like, ‘Oh my God, you’re right.’ That’s the response we get from everybody who comes for the first time, and then they’re like, ‘I’m buying tickets for next year.’” Hagan said. “That’s been real important to me as far as the fans go and trying to grow the sport. As much as you like winning and holding up trophies and everything else, it’s about what we do for the future of the sport, how we grow it, how we put butts in the seats, and how we put on that show.”
In his fourth consecutive final round, Hagan faced off with Paul Lee. Hagan powered down the track to post a 3.922-second pass at 327.75 mph. Lee, who was making a strong run of his own, lost traction near mid-track for a 4.534 pass at only 183.37.
Hagan opened eliminations with a victory against Dave Richards (3.916 at 329.19 def. 4.407 at 205.48). In the second round, Hagan faced off against his former teammate and title contender Ron Capps in a high-stakes matchup. Hagan secured the win (3.941 at 328.23 def. 4.035 at 309.07) before going on to defeat J.R. Todd (3.916 at 331.86 def. 3.931 at 336.83) in the semifinals.
“We had a great race track out there. (Crew chief) Mike Knudsen navigated it flawlessly. We did a really good job as a team putting four runs together on Sunday and executing on what we needed to do,” Hagan noted. “Mike is super young in this sport, but to get a kid that’s a year and a half in, and we’ve won so many races already together, the 1000th Funny Car race, the regular season championship, and here we are battling it out with four races to go for championship number five – it’s super special. I want it so bad for him because he deserves it and it solidifies him as a crew chief.
“Mentally, this stuff is stressful, man. The older I get, the more stress I feel with it. But you do get to be blessed to be in these situations. Most people kind of win one, and I think this is our 59th Wally, how blessed are we?” Hagan continued. “It’s unbelievable that I get to have a great race car underneath me, and it’s going down the racetrack, and I know that every time I sit in that car every Sunday morning, I have an opportunity to win, and that’s huge.
“The points chase is super competitive. There’s six cars that could just change the landscape at any given moment. As much as I’d love to sit here and say how great we’re doing, it takes one or two races of going out the first round, and it changes it. We have to keep working hard and keep putting that foot forward. I want to win this fifth championship not just for me but for my crew chief and the team. I’m excited for what we have. I’ve been very, very successful in this sport as far as four championships and so many races and a bunch of world records and all other stuff that’s happened, but I’ve never had what I have right now with this group.”
Hagan leaves Rockingham Dragway sitting atop the Funny Car standings, looking to build on his momentum as the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season moves down the home stretch. Up next is race three of the six-race Countdown to the Championship, the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway, October 2-4.
This story was originally published on September 28, 2026. 
