Hagan qualifies Aaron's Dream Machine Dodge fourth heading to Sunday's Arizona Nationals eliminations

February 18

CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 18, 2012) - The champ is chompin' at the bit and it has nothing to do with horses on his Virginia cattle farm.

Matt Hagan is ready to defend his 2011 NHRA Funny Car championship and it helps that he qualified his Aaron's Dream Machine Dodge Charger R/T fourth for Sunday's championship elimination rounds of the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway near Phoenix.

His Aaron's Dream Machine team led by crew chief Tommy DeLago lost in the first round to Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps a week ago in the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series opener at Pomona, Calif.

A subpar qualifying effort at Pomona put Hagan in the No. 9 position that gave Capps the choice of lanes and an unlikely early date with another DSR Funny Car.

That won't be a problem in Sunday's first round of eliminations that begin at 11 a.m. (PT) because Hagan and the Aaron's Dream Machine Dodge Charger R/T are in the top-half of the field after the team ran a best 4.110 seconds at 305.66 mph on Saturday.

Hagan's first run Saturday was 4.114 seconds (297.94).

"Our Aaron's Funny Car made two good, smooth runs Saturday and we're pretty happy with it in these conditions. It was hot and that's what it should be like on Sunday."

Hagan faces Todd Lesenko in the first round.

"That run was one of many we have to make on Sunday. Everything lined up for us to be in a good position.

"We're relaxed, but we know the pressure is there for us."

The following are qualifying results and other DSR notes:

FUNNY CAR

Matt Hagan, Aaron's Dream Machine Dodge Charger R/T
Qualifying position: No. 4
Sunday's first-round opponent: Todd Lesenko
Friday
Session 1: 4.181 sec., 291.01 mph
Session 2: 9.753, 68.27 (lost traction)
Saturday
Session 3: 4.114, 297.94
Session 4: 4.110, 305.6
No. 1 qualifier: Gray

SCHEDULE:
Sunday: Pro eliminations, 11 a.m.
WEATHER.COM FORECAST:
Sunday: High of 69, partly cloudy, 0 percent chance of rain

ON ESPN2:
Saturday qualifying
8-10 p.m. (ET), 5-7 p.m. (PT)
Sunday eliminations
7 p.m.-midnight (ET), 6-9 p.m. (PT)

About Aaron's
Aaron's, Inc. (NYSE: AAN), the nation's leader in the sale and lease ownership of residential furniture, computers, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories. Aaron's Inc., which celebrates its 57th anniversary this year, has over 1,940 company-operated and franchised stores in 48 states and Canada. Founded in 1955 by entrepreneur and current Chairman R. Charles Loudermilk Sr. and headquartered in Atlanta, Aaron's has been publicly traded since 1982. For more information, visit www.aarons.com.

About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., consists of seven professional NHRA teams: in Top Fuel, the U.S. Army dragster driven by seven-time world champion Tony Schumacher, the FRAM/Prestone dragster of Spencer Massey and the Matco Tools dragster of Antron Brown; and in Funny Car, 2011 NHRA Funny Car champion Matt Hagan in the Aaron's Dream Machine/Mopar Dodge Charger R/T, Valvoline NextGen Dodge piloted by Jack Beckman, the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge of Ron Capps and the Service Central Dodge of Johnny Gray. DSR has won 174 NHRA national event titles and nine world championships.