Venables puts Hagan, Magneti Marelli team on E-Town pole; points leader Schumacher, U.S. Army lead DSR in Top Fuel

ENGLISHTOWN, NJ – Summer arrived early Friday but the timing was appropriate for the 44th annual NHRA Toyota Summernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park at Englishtown, N.J.

And one of this season’s hottest Funny Cars continues to be the Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger R/T driven my Matt Hagan and tuned by crew chief Dickie Venables and rookie assistant Michael Knudsen.

Hagan recorded the quickest run through Friday’s two qualifying sessions when he recorded a 4.050-second pass at 315.64 mph after the track cooled by about 20 degrees to 101 from the late afternoon session and the ambient air temperature dropped from 90 to 85.

Hagan, the 30-year-old cattle farmer from Christiansburg, Va., is in position to earn his second No. 1 qualifying position of the season and 12th of his career. He ranks third in NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series championship points after eight of 24 events.

“Dickie is just doing a great job,” said Hagan, the 2011 NHRA Funny Car world champion who fell to 11th in points after the past season. “I just get to hang on to a fast racecar, and there’s nothing better than that.”

Joining Hagan in the top-five heading to Saturday’s two final qualifying sessions are DSR Dodge teammates Jack Beckman third in the Valvoline NextGen/Rocky Boots Dodge followed by Pitch Energy’s Johnny Gray in sixth and NAPA AUTO PARTS Ron Capps in 10th.

The closest elapsed times to Hagan were matching 4.074s by Beckman and Del Worsham of Kalitta Motorsports. Worsham’s faster speed of 312.78 mph to Beckman’s 308.35 earned Worsham the No. 2 provisional spot and dropped Beckman to No. 3.

In Top Fuel, points leader Tony Schumacher in DSR’s U.S. Army dragster tuned by Mike Green and assistant Neal Strausbaugh led the three DSR dragsters with a run of 3.805 at 317.72 that ranks No. 3 behind provisional pole winner Clay Millican, whose time of 3.792 (321.27) was the only sub 3.80-second pass of the day.

DSR’s Spencer Massey in the Battery Extender Powered by Schumacher rail ranks fifth and reigning world champion Antron Brown is 12th.