Disappointed Hagan out in Las Vegas first round

April 03

Matt Hagan shook the tires a third of the way down the track in his DieHard Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car and lost to rival Jeff Arend in the first round of eliminations today at 12^th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals here on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Hagan posted a 4.324-second/292.77-mile-per-hour pass, while Arend turned in a 4.233/294.50 run.

“We had the car to win today, but we just missed the mark,” said the cattle farmer from Christiansburg, Va. “The combination of getting beaten at the start line and tire shake sealed our fate today on a track that should have been faster than Friday’s surface, when we turned in a 4.180-second pass at 298.73 mph.

“We are really disappointed – our DieHard crew worked hard to get this car to this point, but we just couldn’t cash in today. You can’t win every race, but you do everything you can to do so.”

His fifth-place-starting position earned him the first-round match with Arend – the third time in as many races in the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season he had raced the Kalitta Motorsports Driver. Hagan is now 2-1 against Arend this year, with second-round victories in both the Winternationals and the Gatornationals.

The 28-year-old Don Schumacher Racing driver travels east for the VisitMyrtleBeach.com NHRA Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, N.C., April 14-17, fourth in the NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car championship race with 210 points. Hagan trails points leader Robert Hight, winner today, by 79 points.