While all of his NHRA Funny Car rivals were getting a sound sleep Saturday in Reading, Pa., two-time class champion Matt Hagan was dashing home to Christiansburg, Va., via his father David’s private plane to be present for the birth of third child, Tucker, who was born at 6:25 a.m. Sunday.

“I’m running on pure adrenaline,” Hagan said early Sunday afternoon back at Maple Grove Raceway after winning his first-round match-up against Jim Campbell in the Dodge Nationals.

Hagan – the Grand Marshal of this Countdown to the Championship playoff event that’s branded for his automaker and sponsor, Dodge – flew home Saturday night to support wife Rachel. She went into labor around 8 p.m., and he reached the hospital around 10. The mad dash began just a couple of hours after he qualified No. 1 in his class with a track-record elapsed time (3.873 seconds) in the Mopar Express Lane / Rocky Boots Dodge.

He’s used to getting his racing business done in three-or-four-minute spurts. But Hagan’s work on his Angus cattle farm, especially in extreme weather conditions, has pressed him into overtime hours. That came in handy overnight.

What had promised to be a relatively fast delivery turned into a marathon that included the possibility of a Cesarian Section birth but settled into a much longer wait. Around 5:30 Sunday morning, Tucker started to arrive, joining brother Colby, who’ll be 10 years old Oct. 27, and sister Penny, who turned seven this past Wednesday.

Hagan said he was coaching his wife through labor – with a special favor to ask.

“I was there and kept telling her to push, push so I could get back to the track to race,” Hagan said.

He said he held their eight-pound, six-ounce son for about five minutes. Then he told Rachel, “Hey, Baby, proud of you. Got to go.”

With that, he was in the air again, heading the 375 miles back to Eastern Pennsylvania.

Crew chief Dickie Venables and the Don Schumacher Racing team had the Dodge ready for Hagan. After eliminating Campbell, he defeated John Bojec to complete an all-DSR semifinal bracket.

Hagan, who entered race day in sixth place in the Countdown standings, just 96 points off the pace, continued his battle for a third series title before going down to teammate Ron Capps in the semifinals. Hagan left Maple Grove fourth in points.

At home he knew he would face another battle, of sorts.

“We’re fighting about the [baby’s] middle name,” Hagan said of himself and his wife. “But she’ll win that fight,” he said with a laugh.

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