Matt Hagan usually muscles his way to victory. But on Sunday, the cattle farmer from Christiansburg, Va, Va., was no bull in a china shop, using his skills instead to finesse a victory via holeshot over point leader Ron Capps in the AAA Texas NHRA Funny Car final.  

Hagan used his slowest run of the day, a 3.913, 327.03, to get around Capps, who lost despite running a quicker 3.906, 322.19. The win marked the fourth for Hagan this season and the first in the 2016 Countdown to the Championship.

“That’s a huge round win; unfortunately we faced [Capps] late in the race,” Hagan admitted. “In Reading, I had him in the semis and he left on me -- spanked me on the tree, and I guess this time I got to leave on him. Got a little payback.”

Getting payback can leave a few mixed emotions, as Hagan admitted there were some in beating Capps, a driver whom he respects immensely.

“Ron Capps is a great guy, great individual,” Hagan said. “He’s one of those guys that took me under his wing when I first came out here. I’ve got lots of respect for him. I know he’s digging deep and working hard, but we got a job to do over here.  

"We race straight, heads-up, and that’s the way it’s going to be. I think when you earn championships, that’s what makes you feel good about it, is that you earned it. So, I was just keeping the old boy honest and, you know, I love him to death.”

Hagan maintained a steady 3.8-second pace on the road to the final round by taking out John Bojec, Courtney Force and then No. 1 qualifier Robert Hight.

For the third time in four races, Capps has been eliminated by a teammate in a Countdown race. Capps' closest challengers to his point lead are his teammates who entered the event in the No.'s 2 - 4 positions.

Hagan believes it should come as no surprise this season's championship will come down to a Don Schumacher Racing intramural skirmish.

“The thing about Don Schumacher, everybody says, ‘Well why does he have such great cars? Why does he dominate? Why does he do this?"

"We have a bunch of cars but the money that our sponsors put into drag racing, this is not Don’s bread and butter," Hagan continued. "I mean, it all goes back to the race car. It goes to parts, it goes to pieces. So, when something happens, he comes in and he says, ‘Do I not give you everything you need? What’s your excuse for not winning?”.

“So, it comes down to the fact that it motivates you to be better. I think it motivates our crew chiefs to be better because he’s not tucking any of this money away and putting it in his pocket. He’s putting it right in the race car. I think that’s why our cars are outperforming these other guys. I mean, yeah, sure, everybody’s got to make a living, but Don puts it all out here. I mean, it’s just his hobby. It’s something that he’s passionate about and loves to do. But it shows on the race track and shows on the race car because he’s sinking the time, money and energy into it.”

The victory moved Hagan into third, 88 points behind Capps with eight rounds of competition remaining in the season worth 20 points apiece. A maximum of 24 bonus qualifying points are available as well.

And if anyone knows how Capps feels after this stinging loss, it's Hagan.

“He came over and shook my hand and said congratulations," Hagan said. "You can tell he’s dejected, as anybody would be. I’ve been there. I’ve been on those championship hunts. And we’re still in this championship hunt. But, you can see that guy. He can taste it. It’s just a matter of two more races. He’s got to do well. He needed to win that race. This guy’s a champion. He’s just not got the ring yet. He’s a champion at heart.

"I’ve got a lot of respect for him. A tremendous amount of respect for him. He makes me bring my 'A' game. You know, just like we had to in the final. I had to beat him on a holeshot. But it was because I wanted it, I know he wanted it over there. It just came down to two good racers that just dig in deep and work hard. You could see up there when he’s sitting there on the top end of the hood of his Funny Car.

“He’s dejected. I’ve been there. I know how bad that hurts. It feels like someone ripped your heart out and ran it over. But, all I can say is I know he’ll put his helmet back on in Vegas when we get there and we’ll both go work at this thing and see what happens.”