Hagan, A.J. turn Denver into 'Mopar Mountain'
Craig Wack, Senior Editor
Saturday, 24 July 2010
 Matt Hagan |
Matt Hagan went around John Force in Saturday's final round of qualifying to steal away the No. 1 qualifying position in Funny Car at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals.
Hagan’s super run of 4.161 at 301.33 mph sealed a great day for Mopar. Both Hagan’s Mopar-sponsored Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car and Allen Johnson’s Mopar Dodge Avenger Pro Stocker are atop Sunday’s elimination ladders at Denver’s Bandimere Speedway.
"With us and Allen both No.1, how does that get any better?" Hagan said. "Now we’ve just got to go out and win that race.
"No. 1 kind of comes with a bad omen (in Funny Car). I would have kind of liked to be No. 2 or 3, to be honest, but I’ve got all the confidence in the world in my team."
Other No. 1s on Saturday were Antron Brown in Top Fuel and Michael Phillips in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Hagan is set to go up against No. 16 qualifier Jack Wyatt in the first round of Sunday’s eliminations. Wyatt barely made it down the track (a 28 second ET) during his lone qualifying attempt.
"These Mopar Dodges, I'm glad we're out-doing these Fords, you know, because they've been making us look bad a little bit," Hagan said. "We got our Mopar running good and (crew chief) Tommy Delago is doing a great job. Really the whole crew, we're just reaping the benefits of all of their hard work. I just hang onto a fast racecar."
 Allen Johnson |
Johnson is on track to defend his Pro Stock title in Denver after running a 6.966 at 198.64 mph. Johnson goes up against Bob Yonke in the first round of eliminations on Sunday. Yonke ran a best lap of 7.049 at 195.28 mph.
"The cloud cover came over, the track really got cool, and my Mopar Dodge Avenger was really cooking," Johnson said. "The same thing happened last year in the fourth session. You know, we got a lot of good luck charms here this weekend with all the Mopar and Dodge people on hand and we want to show off for them.
"I'm hoping this is our breakthrough race for the year. We've figured out every way in the world to lose. Maybe this time we can carry the banner for Mopar and bring home our first win of the season and jump into this championship chase."
No one expected Brown’s best pass of 3.961 at 286.19 mph from Friday night to stick, but there Brown stood at the end of it, king of the Top Fuel mountain.
Conditions got better as Saturday went along and ETs in the other classes got lower, except in Top Fuel.
"I'm not a betting man, which is good, because I would have bet everything I own that my time wouldn't have held today," Brown said. "I'm in shock, really. The thing is the Bandimere's (track owners) put that cooling system under the starting line so the starting line is kick butt, but when you get out there where it's hotter it makes it tough.
"I thought we'd step up for sure, and I'm sure everyone else did too, especially when the clouds came in, but we were all just a little too aggressive. The track wanted none of it."
Brown is paired with Terry Haddock in the first round of eliminations on Sunday. Haddock’s best lap was a 4.356 at 270.81 mph.
Phillips set the track ET record for a second consecutive day with a best pass of 7.238 at 186.41 mph on the Racers Edge Suzuki. Friday he lowered the track mark to 7.28 seconds.
"When I saw Karen Stoffer run a 7.28, I knew it would be pretty fast," Phillips said. "I thought I could run at least a 7.24 or 7.25. I hit all my shift points, it was a perfect run."
Phillips draws Rendell Harris’ Buell in the first round. Harris had a best run of 14.305 seconds at 69.96 mph.
Eliminations for the Mopar Mile-High Nationals begin at 11 a.m. MDT on Sunday from Bandimere Speedway.
SUNDAY'S PAIRINGS
Top Fuel -- 1. Antron Brown, 3.961 seconds, 286.19 mph vs. 16. Terry Haddock, 4.356, 270.81; 2. Doug Kalitta, 3.962, 308.21 vs. 15. Terry McMillen, 4.217, 283.67; 3. David Grubnic, 3.970, 304.67 vs. 14. Steven Chrisman, 4.207, 278.40; 4. Tony Schumacher, 3.974, 312.42 vs. 13. Mike Strasburg, 4.162, 288.64; 5. Larry Dixon, 3.974, 297.61 vs. 12. Morgan Lucas, 4.158, 288.58; 6. Shawn Langdon, 3.982, 304.94 vs. 11. Rod Fuller, 4.113, 280.66; 7. Steve Torrence, 3.983,299.13 vs. 10. Bob Vandergriff, 4.027, 302.62; 8. Brandon Bernstein, 3.992, 297.61 vs. 9. Cory McClenathan, 4.018, 308.64. Did Not Qualify: 17. Rob Passey, 6.672, 125.75.
Funny Car -- 1. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.161, 301.33 vs. 16. Jack Wyatt, Dodge Stratus, broke; 2. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.191, 297.42 vs. 15. Paul Lee, Chevy Impala SS, 5.710, 118.42; 3. Del Worsham, Toyota Camry, 4.191, 294.75 vs. 14. Jeff Diehl, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.349, 148.20; 4. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.218, 295.72 vs. 13. James Day, Stratus, 5.228, 153.63; 5. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.221, 297.29 vs. 12. Tony Pedregon, Impala, 4.341, 280.14; 6. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara, 4.238, 296.96 vs. 11. Jeff Arend, Solara, 4.267, 290.44; 7. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.240, 293.86 vs. 10. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.263, 289.01; 8. Ashley Force Hood, Mustang, 4.247, 298.87 vs. 9. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.251, 290.51.
Pro Stock -- 1. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.966, 198.64 vs. 16. Bob Yonke, Pontiac GXP, 7.049, 195.68; 2. Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cobalt, 6.981, 197.54 vs. 15. Erica Enders, Ford Mustang, 7.042, 195.19; 3. Jason Line, GXP, 6.993, 197.10 vs. 14. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 7.039, 196.19; 4. Mike Edwards, GXP, 7.002, 197.45 vs. 13. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 7.018, 196.07; 5. Johnny Gray, GXP, 7.002, 197.16 vs. 12. Larry Morgan, Mustang, 7.016, 196.64; 6. Shane Gray, GXP, 7.004,196.64 vs. 11. Warren Johnson, GXP, 7.013, 196.56; 7. Vinnie Deceglie, Avenger, 7.005, 197.51 vs.10. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 7.012, 196.24; 8. Greg Anderson, GXP, 7.007, 197.28 vs. 9. V. Gaines, Avenger, 7.008, 196.90. Did Not Qualify: 17. Greg Stanfield, 7.052, 195.90; 18. Danny Gruninger, 7.129, 194.18; 19. Steve Kalkowski, 7.175, 191.46; 20. Jim Cunningham, 15.034, 191.10.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.238, 186.41 vs. 16. Redell Harris, Buell, 14.305, 108.15; 2. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.246, 185.21 vs. 15. Katie Sullivan, Suzuki, 7.647, 174.01; 3. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.268, 183.64 vs. 14. Angie Smith, Buell, 7.612, 176.40; 4. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 7.280, 181.74 vs. 13. Mike Berry, Buell, 7.557, 175.32; 5. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.286, 182.72 vs. 12. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 7.400, 178.45; 6. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 7.295, 182.11 vs. 11. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.362, 181.94; 7. David Hope, Buell, 7.297, 182.43 vs. 10. Shawn Gann, Buell, 7.347, 182.77; 8. Matt Smith, Buell, 7.316, 182.97 vs. 9. Hector Arana, Buell, 7.319, 184.45.
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