MATT HAGAN REFLECTS ABOUT ’19, EYES 2020
The 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Series season had everything for Matt Hagan – except a world championship.
The nitro Funny Car driver for Don Schumacher Racing made a late charge in the six-race Countdown to the Championship finishing third in the points standings – 74 points behind champion Robert Hight.
Hagan won four races on the season – two in the Countdown, Dallas and Las Vegas back-to-back – and he also had two runner-up finishes. “It was Robert’s (championship) to lose because he had a great car all season,” Hagan said. “We won four races, and he won six. It’s nice sometimes chasing like that because you don’t have anything to lose. If we screwed it up, then we didn’t lose anything anyway. We were pushing harder, and to win back-to-back races in the Countdown was exciting. That’s hard to do, and to do it in the Countdown is even tougher because everybody is dialed in, and I was really proud of our guys to turn it on at the end and give us a shot (at the championship). Obviously, I’m sure Jack (Beckman) would say the same thing. One more round here or there, and it is a different ballgame. I guess that’s why they do the Countdown because it comes down to the last race most of the time.”
Beckman, the 2012 NHRA nitro Funny Car world champ, was second in the points just eight points back of Hight.
Hagan was in the mix to win his third world championship to go with the ones he captured in 2011 and 2014, but he lost to Hight in the semifinals at the season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals, Nov. 17 in Pomona, Calif.
“That whole Sunday morning my blood was pumping,” Hagan said. “I knew if we went out and won the race, we would win the championship. I knew it was going to be tough. The right lane was very favorable, and we lost lane choice (in the semis). I knew being in that left lane; we were going to be at a disadvantage. I just enjoyed the opportunity to come out there and have a chance (at the championship).”
Hagan is already excited for the 2020 season with DSR.
“We have a great solid team, and our guys are coming back,” Hagan said. “We learned a lot last year, and it is funny you get in a rhythm with stuff, and it starts flowing. Sometimes you get out of that rhythm, and you can’t get back there. I feel like the year before last, our Countdown performance; we finished eighth in the points, didn’t show the type of team we were. This year I feel like we got to really show how good we can be if we get the opportunity.”
Winning world championships is Hagan’s primary goal, but just missing another world crown in 2019 was something he was able to keep in perspective.
“My second year driving a Funny Car I was runner-up (in the points in 2010), and it was just devastating,” Hagan said. “Not saying that I’m not devastated now because I was ready to win my third championship, but there are a lot of factors involved with that. I think as a more seasoned driver, I can appreciate just being close and having the opportunities. Sometimes a lot of this stuff is out of your control. You .just try and do the best job you can and hope your guys do the best job they can, and things fall into place. I feel like having won a couple of championships and being runner-up several times; it allows you to appreciate where you do finish. You’re never happy if you don’t win, but now that I’m a little older and a little bit more seasoned, I appreciate everything a little more.” Hagan said he plans to back in the cockpit at the preseason testing session at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway the last week of January.
“We will go down there and knock the rust off,” Hagan said. “It’s always good to step on the pedal. Even if it just goes five feet and shakes, that adrenaline you have when you get all your gear back on and making sure everything is right is better than rolling into Pomona (Feb. 6-9) and not having anything going on. I’m excited about it (the testing).”
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— Competition Plus (@competitionplus) December 31, 2019