One year ago Matt Hagan checked a very important race off of his bucket list when he earned his first-ever victory atop “the mountain.”

One of the trickiest tracks on the NHRA calendar due to its unique conditions in the high altitude air of the Colorado mountains, Bandimere Speedway and its challenge is a nightmare for some and a welcome respite for others. That is why Hagan’s victory at the facility was such an accomplishment and one he is hoping to replicate this weekend.

And Hagan wasted little time trying to make his mark for a second time.

Hagan was the quickest car during both qualifying sessions Friday night, placing his Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car in the provisional top spot on the opening day of the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals in Denver.

“It is as hard on these motors as it is on this fat kid in the seat,” Hagan said with a laugh. “It is tough up here. You try to get acclimated to this place and you just have to stay ahead of it and that is what we have been trying to do with the racecar, stay ahead of it. We have a good combination that we have been working on over the past few years and we found that good combo last year, shelved all of that, and brought it right back out here for this Dodge Power Brokers race.

“To run strong two runs in a row like that is saying a lot. We didn’t back into it with just one run. Our confidence going into Saturday is really high.”

Hagan drove his aptly sponsored Dodge machine to the top spot with a 3.927-second pass at 319.07 mph during Q2, one of the five quickest Funny Car runs in the history of the facility.

Hagan’s nemesis this year, Robert Hight, slotted in just behind in second with a 3.936-second pass at 324.51 mph. Tim Wikerson was third with a 3.973 at 321.50 mph, while John Force (3.978) and Bob Tasca (3.987) rounded out the top five.

“Dickie Venables, Mike Knudsen and the team all do a really good job of making the calls out there so I rolled into this race with a lot of confidence just knowing what we were able to do last year turning four win lights on for the Dodge Mopar SRT car,” Hagan said. “And this year, coming in here with the Dodge Power Brokers team and Tony Stewart Racing, it is just a good feeling knowing not a whole lot has changed. And, actually, it has gotten better because of the cloud cover today and the track was great. We could do better if it is like this again tomorrow.”

Already it has been a busy weekend for the defending race winner, having thrown out the first pitch at a Colorado Rockies baseball game and making appearances at numerous sponsor events at the crown jewel event for his Dodge-backed team. But Hagan has pledged to put those distractions behind him as he focuses on trying to go back-to-back this weekend.

“It is mentally taxing being pulled in a bunch of different directions having a sponsor race here and all of the other stuff you have to come in early to do, but that is what we get paid to do,” Hagan said.

If his time holds on Saturday, it will be the fourth top qualifier award of the season for Hagan and the 47th of his career. He will also be trying to add qualifying points to his total as he continues to battle Hight for the top spot in the championship. Already this weekend the pair have been matched up side-by-side twice, with Hagan getting the better of his opponent on both occasions.

“This thing is going to change back and forth a handful of times before it is all said and done,” Hagan said. “I truly love running Robert in the other lane. You’ve got (Ron) Capps and some other guys out there that are definitely in the dog fight, but when me and Robert are running each other and he is throwing down and we are throwing down, you are counting every little point. Every qualifying point matters.”