Matt Hagan, driver of the American Rebel Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car, showcased an exceptional performance at this weekend’s NHRA event while representing his new sponsor.
Hagan initiated his race on Friday by securing the No. 7 provisional qualifying position with a run of 4.040 ET at 312.93 mph. On Saturday’s Q2, maintaining his No. 7 provisional qualifying position, he clocked 4.065 ET at 302.75 mph. This session, part of the NHRA’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, saw Hagan clinching a victory against J.R. Todd with a remarkable 4.307 ET, 219.83 mph run. This led him to score two bonus points for having the second-quickest run of the session.
The next highlight came during Saturday’s Q3 when Hagan achieved the No. 3 qualifying position with a brilliant 3.960 ET at 318.24 mph. This session, which doubled as the NHRA’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge Finals, saw Hagan defeating Chad Green, registering another win. As for the points, he scored three additional bonus points for the quickest run of the session.
Sunday’s final was packed with excitement. In round one, Hagan defeated Alex Laughlin with 4.039 ET at 283.85 mph. Then in round 2, he surpassed Tim Wilkerson with 3.987 ET at 317.64 mph. J.R. Todd was outpaced by Hagan’s 3.933 ET at 329.34 mph in the semifinals. In the climactic finals, Hagan raced valiantly but lost to Bob Tasca III.
Despite the setback in the finals, Hagan is currently leading the Funny Car championship standings, a commendable 61 points ahead of Ron Capps. Hagan’s triumphs of the weekend include his recent title as the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge Funny Car winner, marking his second win of the season in just four appearances.
Hagan will next compete in the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, once again facing off against J.R. Todd in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.
Sharing his thoughts on the weekend, Hagan expressed, “It was great to have American Rebel as a new sponsor this weekend. What an amazing weekend to have a new group on-board and be able to take them to the final round. I hate that we didn’t get it done in the Finals. (Bob) Tasca III really stepped up against us and did well. It’s great to have new blood in the NHRA with American Rebel. They’re a great group and we loved having their support at the track all weekend. It was a good points weekend for us being able to put a 61-point lead on (Ron) Capps. You have to take away the positives each weekend. I can’t wait to get to Brainerd and keep the momentum going. We’ve been very consistent all year long and I think we’re going to continue that the rest of the year. Hopefully we go a lot more rounds and see a lot more win lights come on. My crew did an amazing job this weekend with the tricky track conditions. We had one extreme to another with hot conditions to cool air in the Final. Dickie (Venables – crew chief), Mike (Knudsen – co-crew chief) and Alex (Conaway – car chief) adapt to changing conditions. Congratulations to Tasca. They did a great job and we just got outran out here. We have great sponsors and a great team. We’re hopefully going to chase down this championship and win number four.”
This story was originally published on August 14, 2023. 
