LAS VEGAS, NV – October 25, 2022 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – After a runner-up finish at the most recent race in Dallas, three-time NHRA Funny Car world champ Matt Hagan remained right in the thick of the championship hunt. But the standout driver for Tony Stewart Racing knows he may need to be even better at the final two races of the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season if another world title is in his future.
Trailing points leader Robert Hight by 76 points heading into this weekend’s 22nd NHRA Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Hagan may be in must-win territory at the penultimate race of the Countdown to the Championship playoffs, with defending world champ Ron Capps also within 10 points of Hight.
But Hagan knows his team and his 11,000-horsepower Dodge Power Brokers Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat is capable of rising to the occasion. He went a blistering 3.825-seconds in Dallas en route to the runner-up and Hagan is focused on collecting his first victory since June, knowing it would also come at a perfect time this weekend.
“I think it’s one of those things where you’re up against it and you have no choice. You need to go to the final and you need to win the race,” said Hagan, who has three wins this season. “We wanted to win in Dallas, but I was impressed with my team. We came out swinging, scooped up some little (qualifying) points and did what we needed to do. We were just on the back side of a good drag race (against Capps) in the final.
“Moving to Vegas, we need to have that same mentality. It’s do-or-die for us. Capps and Robert both have good cars and are going to go rounds, so we don’t have much time to make up ground. Vegas is a great track and a great venue, so we’re tickled to death to still have a shot at it and we’re going to be aggressive.”
Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) and Steve Johnson (Pro Stock Motorcycle) won last year’s playoff race, which was also NHRA’s 1,000th overall event. This season’s event will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1 (FS1), including eliminations at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 30 and is the 21st race of the 2022 season and the fifth of sixth events in the Countdown to the Championship.
Racing for the first-year Tony Stewart Racing team, it’s been a banner year for Hagan, who led the points for six straight races earlier this season. The second half of the season has belonged to Hight, who has…
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