Hagan Captures first St. Louis Victory; Moves into the Points Lead
MADISON, IL – Three-time and defending Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan drove the New Holland Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat 
straight from the pole to the NHRA Midwest Nationals winner’s circle on Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway. Hagan’s triumph was his first at the suburban St. Louis venue, third of the year, and allowed him to surpass teammate Ron Capps and take over the Funny Car point lead.
Hagan’s Midwest Nationals campaign began when he recorded the best E.T. of both Q2 and Q3 in addition to Friday night’s second-seeded Q1 effort, which allowed him to capture eight out of nine available bonus points during the weekend and the coveted No. 1 qualifying position. Starting from the top of the timing sheets for the third time in 2021, and 43rd time of his career, Hagan’s race day began with a Bye run where he posted a 3.940-second E.T. He then faced two fellow Countdown-contenders in rounds two and three, soundly defeating J.R. Todd and Cruz Pedregon by powering the Dickie Venables-tuned Dodge Hellcat to its 16th-consecutive sub-four second pass in the semifinals, a streak that dates back to Reading Q2.
In the final round, Hagan rocketed the New Holland Dodge to another stout lap, lighting up the scoreboard with a 3.933 at a top event-speed of 333.49 mph to outrun Bob Tasca’s 3.967-second effort.
“When you’ve got a combination and a package like we do, it’s hard to beat. The way Dickie’s got this car running, as long as I do my job, it’s going to turn the win light on,“ said Hagan of his team’s stellar performance, which includes three wins over the last five events, including the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals in Reading, Pa. where former teammate Tommy Johnson Jr. filled in as a stand-in driver while Hagan was recovering from COVID-19.
By capturing the Midwest Nationals hardware, his 39th Wally trophy, Hagan put a margin of 59 points between him and his teammate, No. 2 ranked Ron Capps, heading into the upcoming Texas NHRA Fall Nationals, the NHRA’s fourth of seven Countdown to the Championship events where he returns as a three-time event winner.
“You try not to focus too much on the points because it changes so fast from day to day, and race to race out here,” said Hagan of taking over the point lead for the first time in the 2021 Countdown. “You can be on top of the points one day and then you go out first-round the next day, so we take it in stride. Over the years, the championships that I won, I’ve really just tried to focus on what I can control, and everyone else has to do their job, and I’m fortunate in that I’m in a situation where I truly can depend on my team.
“We only have four more races left after this, so the pressure is there, but I’ve been there before, I understand the hunt, and I know that our car is going to be a really serious contender. I honestly really think we can win this championship with the way Dickie’s got this thing running. Capps is going to be tough, (John) Force is going to be tough, all of them, really. These crew chiefs are throwing down, it’s like a slugfest out there.”
Qualified: No. 1 (3.868 E.T. at 333.25 MPH)
The Results:
E1: 3.940 E.T. at 234.90 MPH defeated Bye
E2: 3.894 E.T. at 332.18 MPH defeated J.R. Todd 4.571 E.T. at 182.21 MPH
E3: 3.922 E.T. at 328.30 MPH defeated Cruz Pedregon 3.954 E.T. at 323.58 MPH
E4: 3.933 E.T. at 333.49 MPH defeated Bob Tasca 3.967 E.T. at 329.99 MPH
