Hagan Earns Provisional Pole at Epping as He Seeks to Extend his New England Record to Four-in-a-Row

Published June 12, 2021

DSR NHRA Epping Qualifying Report

EPPING, NH – Matt Hagan entered the NHRA New England Nationals looking to extend his New England Dragway track record of three consecutive Funny Car triumphs, and based on his Friday night performance, the reigning world champion appears to be well on his way to making it four-in-a-row at the Epping, N.H. facility.

Aboard the DSR Performance Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye, Hagan unloaded with a stout 3.891-second at 331.53-mph pass to earn the provisional pole and three qualifying bonus points. Hagan was one of only two Funny Car drivers to clock a pass in the three-second zone, and one of only three to make a full pull during Friday’s lone qualifying session.

“New England Dragway has shown us a lot of love these past couple of years. When you put Don Schumacher Racing Performance and Dickie Venables together, that’s the kind of results you can expect,” said Hagan, a 36-time Funny Car winner who is hopeful history will repeat itself on Sunday, and he’ll be able to break through for his first victory of the season.

“We’ve got great parts, great people, and I’m glad we laid down a great run tonight. A lot of people had trouble making it down the track with it being so cold. There was a lot of shaking, a lot of smoking, a lot of stuff going on, but Dickie had a really good combo for that. It just builds a lot of confidence going into tomorrow. Hats off to my guys for putting a great race car underneath me.”

Two more qualifying sessions are scheduled for Saturday, but Hagan and his Venables-led team are prepared to defend their position at the top of the ladder in hopes of securing their first pole position of the season, and Hagan’s 41st overall.

Provisional Qualifying Position: No. 1

Bonus Points: Three

The Results:
Q1: 3.891 E.T. at 331.53 MPH

Driver Information:

Top Fuel:

ANTRON BROWN
Driver of the Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster

Provisional Qualifying Position: No. 4

The Results:
Q1: 6.610 E.T. at 88.28 MPH

LEAH PRUETT
Driver of the DSM Precision Manufacturing Top Fuel Dragster

Provisional Qualifying Position: No. 10

The Results:
Q1: 16.497 E.T. at 37.37 MPH

Funny Car: