Matt Hagan’s first season with Tony Stewart Racing continued its torrid success Sunday at the New England Nationals in Epping, N.H.

Hagan clocked a 3.992-second elapsed time at 327.98 mph to defeat Robert Hight who slowed to 6.232 seconds at 110.15 in the final round before a sellout crowd at New England Dragway.

This was Hagan’s third win of the season in eight races and the 42nd of his career. Hagan also won in Gainesville and Houston, and he had three runner-up efforts in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Richmond.

“I don’t care what (crew chief) Dickie Venables says, it is worth 17 horsepower,” Hagan said about his Fu Manchu moustache. “The Stache has validation. “It was just a great weekend. I can’t say enough about Dickie. Obviously, nothing really needs to be said the race car speaks for itself. All the boys wrenching on the car do a great job. It is one of those things where I don’t even think about it anymore because each and every one of those guys have earned my trust. When you say that it really does mean something. I trust those guys with my life so when I crawl in that car, I don’t think about anything other than just leaving the starting line. 

“Trust is earned. It is not given over freely. I can’t even describe how many times these have caught something where I could have had a nasty crash out there or a big explosion. That mentality of having the group of guys for so long putting a great race car underneath me. We have been doing this for 11 years. We have had a lot of time to build, to grow and a lot of doors slamming and *ss chewings in the lounge but that is what it takes to get to this point. I’m so proud of my guys. I’m nothing without them.  They deserve all the credit.”

Hagan, who also was No. 1 qualifier with a 3.878-second elapsed at 332.51 mph in his Dodge Brokers Charger, ousted Dale Creasy Jr., had a bye in round two, beat J.R. Todd in the semis and then took care of Hight out of the John Force Racing stable in the finals.

Hagan, who won NHRA nitro Funny Car world championships in 2011, 2014 and 2020, is first in the points standings – 41 points in front of Hight. 

“I don’t know if we can maintain anything,” Hagan said with a chuckle. “I think we are just doing what we do, and we are in a good rhythm and good mindset and Dickie is in a great headspace and we have a lot of data that he has collected over the years we have been together, and it says a lot about keeping your team together for years. You try and ride this wave as much as you can, and you have to give a lot of respect over there to Robert Hight and Jimmy Prock. They are showing up and showing out. I love that because it creates a great rivalry for our fans. We had sold out crowds here and that’s what they want to see. They want to see that throwdown.”  

Hagan winning in Epping should come as no surprise as he has wins at New England Dragway in 2017-19 and 2022.

“They need to name the track after Dickie Venables,” said Hagan when it was suggested in his winner’s press conference, they should name the track after him. “He has the tune-up and the date to go with it and I’m just hanging on to a fast race car. I’m trying to keep it in the groove. Some tracks just show you love. Some tracks are like I can’t buy a round if I had to. This track for some reason, I remember back to my IHRA days when I was running a fuel Funny Car here and even my Pro Mod stuff, it just has history for me. We were going to New England, and I was like I’m ready to go.”

As good as Hagan has been, he knows the Countdown is when his team needs to be running its best.

“Peaking too early is a real thing,” Hagan said. “What I feel good about is Dickie Venables. When we get back to the Countdown area, the whole weather conditions, and the cooler stuff, he just thrives in that.  My concern is always the middle of the season because it is so hot. It is so hard to slow one of these cars down versus making them go fast. Dickie can make them go fast. I feel like Dickie has proven he can run on a hot racetrack and do what he needs to do be a good racer on Sunday.”