Rookie of the Year Candidate Gunning for His Place …

Matt Hagan knew the moment he signed on with Don Schumacher Racing to drive a Funny Car his career would change forever; he just didn’t have an accurate assessment of how much. Instead of the hoping, guessing and being spread thin, he’s got the security of stability, a benchmark for the multi-car teams he’d battled hopelessly as a single-car independent.

The end result on Sunday at the Firebird Raceway National Time Trials was a career-best elapsed time with a run of 4.091 seconds, 305.56 mph, placing him third quickest for the weekend. Hagan notched six passes in two days. Rookie of the Year Candidate Gunning for His Place …

Matt Hagan knew the moment he signed on with Don Schumacher Racing to drive a Funny Car his career would change forever; he just didn’t have an accurate assessment of how much. Instead of the hoping, guessing and being spread thin, he’s got the security of stability, a benchmark for the multi-car teams he’d battled hopelessly as a single-car independent.

The end result on Sunday at the Firebird Raceway National Time Trials was a career-best elapsed time with a run of 4.091 seconds, 305.56 mph, placing him third quickest for the weekend. Hagan notched six passes in two days.

“It’s definitely a different gig but I think it’s for the best because now I can focus on my driving,” Hagan said. “One of these deals with Schumacher brings everything to the table because he has all the best equipment and all the best guys around you. The only thing left for me to do is to hold on to the race car and make sure it gets from point A to point B. That just takes so much stress off of me because being a team owner you are constantly crunching numbers and ordering things. That’s what your entire Monday is dedicated to, ordering parts. It’s just such a stress reliever that I don’t have to deal with things that don’t involve (driving the race car).”

Not that he used that as an excuse before, but now there are really no excuses.

“Hopefully I can keep my head on straight here and hopefully win some races,” Hagan admitted. “You have expectations when you get into this car that it’s going to be a top ten car. Just knowing that getting into the car boosts the confidence that you have. The way that things have been going so far this season with our test sessions, I guess I’ve gotten a new nickname - Mr. Consistent.

“We’re trying to do well but we are trying to keep our heads down and not brag about anything and just keep doing what we’re doing. We also have to make sure we keep our goals in mind and that’s to go out there and win races.”