Making the transition to the nitro Funny Car Class hasn't been easy for Matt Hagan, made even stressful considering he is driving for the vaunted Don Schumacher Racing organization.

“Last year I had my own deal and when you go out there and have a bad light or something … the expectations are high … but you don’t get down on yourself as much," the 26-year-old Hagan said. "Now, you have to perform for the team owner, crew chief, the crew, and everyone else. You want to do that anyway. You have to take more time now and make sure you are doing your job the correct way and be more professional out here.”

This weekend, Hagan's task is to try and tame the mountain at Bandimere Speedway. Making the transition to the nitro Funny Car Class hasn't been easy for Matt Hagan, made even stressful considering he is driving for the vaunted Don Schumacher Racing organization.

“Last year I had my own deal and when you go out there and have a bad light or something … the expectations are high … but you don’t get down on yourself as much," the 26-year-old Hagan said. "Now, you have to perform for the team owner, crew chief, the crew, and everyone else. You want to do that anyway. You have to take more time now and make sure you are doing your job the correct way and be more professional out here.”

This weekend, Hagan's task is to try and tame the mountain at Bandimere Speedway.

“For me it’s a brand new race track and we are going to have a brand new deal, so it will be a new experience for me to come into a new experience like this," Hagan said. "I don’t know if getting used to the altitude is going to affect my driving. So far, so good."

Hagan is debuting a new car this weekend, the chassis was front-halved.  “I have raced the back-half,” Hagan explained. “Brand new body, brand new paint scheme … everything is brand new. If it’s like the others [have been] … everything out here is cookie cutter.”

Hagan has had a solid season to date. He's tied for 10th in the points standings with Cruz Pedregon, last year's champion.

Hagan's crew chief, Tommy Delago is upbeat about what his driver can accomplish today.

“We were runner-up here last year,” said Delago, who tuned 2008 Denver runner-up Jack Beckman. “We’ve worked on our program so much in the last year and so much has changed so you can’t do exactly as you did last year. It gives you an estimated guess of what direction to go."

In terms of goals, Hagan is keeping everything in perspective.

“I definitely want to qualify in the top half as much as I can,” Hagan said. “I want to win some races but it’s awfully hard to win a championship if you can’t win races. We would like to get a couple of wins under our belt. The biggest thing I have in mind is gaining experience. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is the program. We have a really good head start in being associated with Don Schumacher. They [DSR] put the best around you and that really takes you a long way.”

When Hagan isn't racing, he's on the opposite end of the spectrum.

He has a 500-acre farm outside of Christiansburg, Va. He works with cows, horses and baling hay. He’s even helped to birth cows.

“It’s a pretty nice thing because out here your adrenalin is always going and you’re in intense situations.”

Delago didn't hestitate to poke fun at his driver's "other" job.

“He’s always said that driving my car is like driving a tractor,” Delago said.

Hagan countered with the following comment: “The tractor gets about six miles an hour,” Hagan said. “Drag racing’s totally different because it’s a release for me. It’s a polar opposite for me. Here it’s intense and at home it’s at your own pace.”

Hagan did admit that driving and farming has become a 24/7 combination.

“I don’t have time to plan much of a vacation when I am at the races because I am usually burning the candle at both ends," Hagan said. "I get home and do as much as I can and then I get here and do the same.”

Hagan is married and he his wife Rachel have a 2-year-old son. Rachel also is expecting a daughter in September, which they will name Penny.

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