Matt Hagan is firmly in the fight to win a fifth NHRA Funny Car championship and he couldn’t be happier with his Tony Stewart Racing team.
Hagan won his fourth race of the season Sunday at Rockingham Dragway and leads the standings by 84 points over Jordan Vandergriff. With four titles on his resume, Hagan is tied with legendary racers Don Prudhomme and Kenny Bernstein. And with 59 wins under his belt he ranks third all-time behind John Force and Ron Capps.
Hagan, who earned his fourth Funny Car title last season, credits crew chief Mike Knudsen for his team’s success.
“We had a great race track out there and (crew chief) Mike Knudsen navigated it flawlessly,” said Hagan. “We did a really good job as a team putting four runs together on Sunday and executing on what we needed to do. Mike is super young in this sport, but to get a kid that’s a year and a half in, and we’ve won so many races already together, the 1,000th Funny Car race, the regular season championship, and here we are battling it out with four races to go for championship number five — it’s super special.
“I want it so bad for him because he deserves it and it solidifies him as a crew chief.”
But racing on the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series is not easy for the 43-year-old Hagan.
“Mentally, this stuff is stressful. The older I get, the more stress I feel with it. But you do get to be blessed to be in these situations,” Hagan said. “Most people kind of win one, and this is our 59th ‘Wally’ trophy. The points chase is super competitive. There are six cars that could just change the landscape at any given moment. I’m excited for what we have.
“I’ve been very successful in this sport as far as four championships and so many race wins and a bunch of world records. But I’ve never had what I have right now with this group.”
