Hagan excited about "Hometown" race as NHRA comes to Charlotte area

April 12

The positives of friends and family being able to attend this week’s 2^nd annual VisitMyrtleBeach.com NHRA 4-Wide Nationals here this weekend at zMAX Dragway are diminished – slightly – for Matt Hagan by competing in the unique four-lane race, not his favorite form of drag racing.

“I’m excited about everyone who’ll be here since it is the closest thing to a hometown race for me,” said the 28-year-old cattle farmer from Christiansburg, Va., about 175 miles from here. “It’ll get hectic, seeing everyone and spending time with them, but it’s worth it.

“They’ll hang out, come to the track, which is a great one, and see what I do on the weekends.”

What he has done so far in the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Race Series is reach the final round in the opening race of the season and accumulate 210 total points, enough for fourth place in the Funny Car championship; 28 out of third and 79 from the lead.

“We obviously have a competitive car,” said the driver of the DieHard Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car.  “We’re doing well, but still have a few things to iron out.”

The Don Schumacher Racing driver did well in last year’s initial four-wide race, making it to the third – and final – round, but he did not like the setup, despite his relative success.

“We have a good baseline of data for this track and event,” he said.  “Tommy (DeLago, crew chief) has a good handle on it, but I just don’t like racing when I can’t see [all] the other cars.

“I think it can be dangerous. If you have a problem in a regular race, you might shut off if you see you can’t beat the guy in the other lane. On race day in the four-wide, you have to take it to the end just in case the drivers you can’t see [beyond the wall in the center of the four lanes] are in worse shape than you; you can’t shut it off, you have to take it to the finish. 

Hagan’s major concern, like many of his colleagues, is not simply running four-wide, but doing so for championship points.

“It’s tough to race like this, in such an unnatural setting, for points,” he said.  “At least it is early in the season.”