CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 21, 2010) - Starting from the No. 2 qualifying position, Matt Hagan made it to the quarterfinal round today at the 26th Annual NHRA Arizona Nationals before bowing out to his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Jack Beckman.

In his opening match-up against Paul Lee, the driver of the DieHard Dodge Charger Funny Car won the round despite a parts failure on the car which caused the burst panel to pop and the parachutes to deploy, slowing him to a 4.307-second pass at 216.90 mph. Lee struck the tires and crossed the finish line with a losing 7.147/92.14.

Hagan and Beckman launched in the second round with nearly identical reaction times, but a loss of traction at the hit of the throttle ended Hagan's day, as he watched his teammate take the win with a 4.136/303.78 to his own 6.968/126.84 pass.

"On the first lap we had a parts failure, but we still won the round," said Hagan. "And we were really scrambling in the pits. It was a mad dash to get everything back together. We didn't have a whole lot of time between rounds to look at everything, and it went out and smoked the tires.

"I know we have a really fast race car; we just have to find that sweet spot out there and when we do, look out!”

The final rounds of Top Fuel and Funny Car eliminations have been postponed until Monday morning because of lateness caused by rain and on-track incident delays. No matter the result, Hagan will be in fifth place in the unofficial NHRA Funny Car point standings.

Next up is the 41st annual NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., March 13-15, 2010.

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by Judy Stropus