AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Matt Hagan, the reigning NHRA Funny Car world champion, fought through a tough field Sunday to capture his 52nd NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series victory at the wheel of his Tony Stewart Racing Dodge//SRT Hellcat-powered race car in the NHRA Texas Fall Nationals.
Hagan enjoyed a stellar weekend at the Texas Motorplex by scoring his second consecutive Texas Fall Nationals win and fifth overall at the concrete-surfaced drag strip south of the Dallas Metroplex. In addition, the four-time NHRA champion recorded his quickest elapsed time of the year with a 3.823 in qualifying for the No. 2 starting position in the 16-car field.
The Texas Fall Nationals triumph was his third NHRA national event win of the 2024 tour with earlier victories at Charlotte (N.C.) (April) and Joliet (Ill.) (May) and Hagan’s 98th career NHRA final round appearance.
In Sunday’s final round, Hagan took on former champion Ron Capps in a day of tough conditions that reached 95 degrees and a nearly 130-degree track surface, but the Dickie Venables-led TSR crew fought through the heat issues. Hagan proved his talent again with a holeshot victory over Capps, cutting a 0.064 light to a 0.084.
At the finish line, it was Hagan’s 3.943 bettering Capps’ 3.934 to claim the fifth Texas NHRA Wally (2010, 2015, 2019, 2023-2024). In the earlier rounds, Hagan defeated Bobby Bode, Cruz Pedregon and Daniel Wilkerson to advance to the final round.
“This win was really special,” said Hagan. “We’re always building great relationships with our partners, and we have really great partners with Dodge//SRT in our Hellcat Funny Car. I’ve been with them almost 15 years and won four championships with them. We had JHG on the car and had Andy Ross from American Rebel at the race.
“I love (Ron) Capps, but I was ready to take him out before the final. I’m just like ‘Let’s Go.’ You feel like you’re going in like a gladiator. This is kind of like rodeo stuff. You get in this crazy machine, and you never know what it’s going to do. We have a great crew, and they did a super job this weekend to get this win. Life is about people and those relationships are what really matter.”
The win for Hagan moved him back in the third position (168 points behind leader Austin Prock) in the current Funny Car points standings with two races remaining in the 20-event season at Las Vegas (Nov. 1-3) and Pomona, Calif. (Nov. 14-17).