After an electrifying start to their season Matt Hagan and crew have experienced three consecutive weekends of coming up short. The worst of it came last weekend at Martin, Michigan as Hagan failed to qualify for the Northern Nationals at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park.

"The car has been at Murf McKinney's shop for 2 weeks for a rebuild after the explosion in Grand Bend," explained Hagan. "We lost our first qualifying run because we were still wiring the car on Friday afternoon and we overlooked an oil line and got penalized."

It didn't get much better for the team as Hagan's second and third runs didn't have what it took to get him into the field.

"We could tell that something was off about the car, that something had been changed but we couldn't find it. Bodie and Paul Smith were tuning on it between rounds but we couldn't figure out what wasn't working on the car."

Despite posting their first DNQ of the season the Hagan team stayed on until the end of the event in order to continue to diagnose the problems with the car.

"On Sunday night we discovered a bad points box on the car. After we got it swapped out I ran a 5.02 at 306 which would have been a low qualifying time had we done it on Friday instead of after the event was over," joked Hagan.

Regarding the championship that seemed within their grasp, the Hagan team remains optimistic.

"We haven't given up yet, but we know it's going to take 3 stellar performances in a row for us to be able to contend for the championship," reasoned Hagan. "We certainly aren't going to have a shot at it if we perform in the next 3 races the way we have in the last 3."

Matt Hagan and crew will once again be put to the test on August 22nd through the 24th at Tulsa Raceway Park for the Sooner Nationals. It will be a make-or-break outing for the rookie team in regard to their championship hopes.

Matt Hagan racing is sponsored by TORCO Mach Series Accelerator. For more information on TORCO fuel products, Skull Shine, Skull Gear, and other Knoll Gas enterprises, log on to www.TORCO.com.

Matt Hagan racing is sponsored by SHELOR.COM. For all your automotive needs visit WWW.SHELOR.COM or call 1-866-SHELOR1. Over 3,000 new & used vehicles from Chevy, Ford, Dodge, Chrysler, Toyota, Scion, Subaru, and Kia. SHELOR.COM, the official vehicle provider for the IHRA and ADRL.

Matt Hagan racing is also sponsored by Rupture Streetwear, Hedman Hedders, and PolyDyn TX7 Oil Additive.

A first round elimination was not what Matt Hagan and crew had in mind for their showing at the Canadian Nationals, but the disappointing outing has once again put the team in a position to battle for points. Hagan and crew are hoping for a better outcome as they head to U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan for this weekend's TORCO Northern Nationals.

"We're not out of it by any means," Hagan said. "With 4 races left in the season anything can happen."

Hagan has fallen from second in points to fourth, but is only 6 points out of third place.

"Every time we've had an opportunity to close the gap we haven't been able to," said Hagan. "I don't want this to be a season of missed opportunities for us, we need to get it done this weekend."

For full results log on to www.IHRA.com. For more information on Matt Hagan log on to www.MattHaganRacing.com.

Matt Hagan racing is sponsored by TORCO Mach Series Accelerator. For more information on TORCO fuel products, Skull Shine, Skull Gear, and other Knoll Gas enterprises, log on to www.TORCO.com.

Matt Hagan racing is sponsored by SHELOR.COM. For all your automotive needs visit WWW.SHELOR.COM or call 1-866-SHELOR1. Over 3,000 new & used vehicles from Chevy, Ford, Dodge, Chrysler, Toyota, Scion, Subaru, and Kia. SHELOR.COM, the official vehicle provider for the IHRA and ADRL.

Matt Hagan racing is also sponsored by Rupture Streetwear, Hedman Hedders, and PolyDyn TX7 Oil Additive.