Matt Hagan has the physical stature of a linebacker and a heart to match.

The former Pro Modified racer turned Nitro Funny Car rookie tackled the toughest assignment of his budding career by graduating to the nitro ranks.

Hagan, from Christianburg, Va., validated the move by qualifying at the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals.

What more can a rookie ask for than to contend for a title and qualify at Indy?

Matt Hagan has the physical stature of a linebacker and a heart to match.

The former Pro Modified racer turned Nitro Funny Car rookie tackled the toughest assignment of his budding career by graduating to the nitro ranks.

Hagan, from Christianburg, Va., validated the move by qualifying at the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals.

“To be able to have the potential to come over here and run with these guys, I'm still blown away,” Hagan said. “I was sitting in the car last night and I was looking at all the crowd and I said ‘Man, you've got all these names on this entry list and I'm racing on Sunday.”

“This is Indianapolis, everybody in the world is here and to think that a little dealership from Christiansburg, VA can come out here and run with these guys, that just was pretty awesome.  I was just sitting and thinking that I can't believe this is happening.  Once I get past the awe factor I think we'll be fine.” 

That’s where the Smith family’s influence comes in.

John is the crew chief, but the large factor behind the scenes is the influence of budget racing Funny Car icon Paul Smith.

The inclusion of Smith, by precedent, provides Hagan a factor he’s yet to experience in the first months of his career.

“It was tough,” Hagan admitted, discussing his learning months. “We were a new team and with a new crew. Everybody was learning at the same time and they say you have to pay your dues and I think we put in a good deposit anyway.”

Hagan has been making more than his share of withdrawals lately.

“You know this thing it runs up and down the race track whether it’s hot, cold, it doesn't matter, they’ve got a good tune up for it,” Hagan said, talking about his Shelor.com Toyota Solara Funny Car. “There no pressure this weekend, we're just having a lot of fun. I'm still in awe right now.”

“All I've got to do is just pull it on the high side and the next thing is the end, so it makes my job really easy.”

Hagan might have described the experience is easy, but the real factor he wanted to convey was confidence. A consistent car will generate a sense of security for even the most seasoned veteran.

That’s where Hagan desires to be.

 “I know it's going to go to the end and it's not going to hurt itself,” Hagan said.  “You can get in the car and be aggressive driving it and it makes such the difference when you get in there and you're not thinking about everything else. You can focus on getting in there and staying really shallow [staging].”

“It's been really good for us to get the data that we need to go over next weekend and play with the guys over there [in IHRA] and hopefully we'll do well in Epping, [because] that's where it counts for us right now.”

Hagan is one of three IHRA Funny Car drivers still in contention for the 2008 IHRA Funny Car title. He’s currently 51 points out of the lead, slotted behind Terry Haddock and Paul Lee.

A large motivational factor for his recent foray into NHRA competition has been mass speculation the IHRA won’t field the class in 2009. A source close to the IHRA says nothing is final at this point and time.

“We had to see if we could come over here and mess around with these guys and I think, we're real close,” Hagan said. “If we look at the list of the people we bumped out it's still a pretty tough list.  Just being able to know that we can come up here and compete and run closely with the competition means a lot to us. If we just tweak a few things here and there, because this is still a new car and new set up, we will do just fine. I think the opportunity to make more laps and more testing over the winter and we can contend.

“It's real encouraging for us and it makes me feel better that we're out here and able to compete.  The car has been running clean and I can't ask for a much better weekend than that.”

The challenge is something he looks forward to.

GOING TO SCHOOL – The combination of John and Paul Smith adds a monetary-friendly dimension to Hagan's approach.

 “They treat this stuff like it's theirs and they're not out here leaning on it,” Hagan said. “They get upset when it scuffs a piston. They take their time and try to make it right – that’s what counts.  And it helps us as far as financially, they're not out here just trashing blocks and stuff like that.  Not to taking any away from the guy that was helping us before because he's a good guy, it just didn't work out.” 

“John's real hands on and he's teaching the guys what they need to do.  John's overseeing the whole deal.  That's what this team needed in order to step up to the next level. 

Hagan has heard the stories of a hard-nosed Paul Smith and rumors that he can be tough on a driver who makes a mistake. Maybe in a different time and setting, Hagan conveys. He says he’s had nothing but good experiences.

“You hear all these bad stories about Paul, but he's been really great,” Hagan said. “Don't get me wrong, Paul will let you know if you're messing up and so will John, but they've been great to work with.  I can't ask for anything better than that.  They've really been trying to teach me things here and there about keeping the car in the groove and stuff like that. Every bit of information helps and I want to be a sponge.”