Matt Hagan drove his Mopar-sponsored Dodge Charger R/T funny car to the race win,and captured the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Funny Car Championship at the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.


 

The Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) star captured the first championship for a Mopar Dodge Funny Car since DSR driver Gary Scelzi brought home the 2005 FC title in a Mopar.

Hagan clinched the title with his defeat of Cruz Pedregon in the semifinals, and went on to win the event, posting a 4.009-second elapsed time, the third quickest 1000-foot pass in NHRA Funny Car history.

Hagan rose to the occasion, qualifying Number 1 and defeating Ron Capps in the opening round. In the quarterfinals Hagan took out fellow Mopar-powered DSR driver Jack Beckman, who was also in the hunt for the championship, motoring to a 4.107/307.55 run to Beckman’s losing 4.142/310.27.

Hagan then knocked off Pedregon to clinch the title, and eliminate the sour taste in his mouth from last year's NHRA Finals at Pomona, when the championship slipped from his grasp on the final day of the season.

“That race against Jack (Beckman) was one of the biggest races of my life,” said Hagan from the winner's circle after scoring his second win of the season and first Funny Car championship. “Jack has a strong car--that Mopar of his has been running strong, and our Dodge
has been strong as well. We’ve really had to step up. If we didn’t get
past Jack, we wouldn’t have had to worry about Cruz.

“It really is truly amazing this weekend to win the event and the race," Matt continued. "We had some phenomenal things happen this year, and to win is amazing. I hate the phrase 'you have to lose one to win one' but that really happened here.”

"Hats off to Matt Hagan for bringing home the 2011 NHRA Funny Car championship," says Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar. "His championship is a true testament to the performance and reliability of our Mopar Hemi engines. We look forward to expanding our relationship with Matt and with Don Schumacher Racing for the 2012 season."

Mopar-powered DSR Funny Car drivers finished 1-2 in the standings, with Beckman taking the runner-up spot. Ron Capps finished sixth in his DSR Mopar Dodge. 

DSR Funny Car drivers racked up eight wins in 22 events this season, with Hagan also becoming the first Funny Car driver to break the three-second barrier on NHRA's 1000-foot course for fuel cars, when he posted a 3.995-second run at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte in September.

(Info courtesy Mopar; Photo courtesy NHRA)