Reigning Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan enjoyed a memorable weekend at zMAX Dragway earlier this year, picking up his 50th career Funny Car victory during the 4-Wide race in April.

Heading back to Charlotte for this weekend’s 16th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals at the Bellagio of Dragstrips, Hagan could use another big weekend at the state-of-the-art facility.

Currently fifth in points in the NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship playoffs, Hagan suffered an early first-round exit to kick off the postseason. While it doesn’t necessarily make this weekend a must-win race for Hagan and his Tony Stewart Racing team, a victory at a track that has served the four-time world champ well over the years would go a long way in trying to pick up back-to-back world titles.

Austin Prock has taken a commanding lead in the Funny Car class, with his six victories pacing the class, but Hagan, who is 137 points out of first, knows he has a seasoned group that can win in crunch time in their 11,000-horsepower Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat.

“We won at Charlotte earlier this year and have some good juju walking into that race,” Hagan said. “Hopefully, it’ll be one of those tracks that keeps treating us well. I always like getting back there with family and friends. There are a lot of people that come out and show us love. We’ll put Reading behind us and look ahead to the next.

“You have to win races in the Countdown to win a championship. This TSR team is experienced, and they know how to win titles too. We just have to keep our heads down and the wins will come to us. We know we can do that.”  

Last season, Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Bob Tasca III (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all picked up wins at the fall race in Charlotte and this year’s race will again be broadcast on FS1, including eliminations coverage starting at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday.

It is the 16th of 20 races during the 2024 season and the second of six playoff races puts a spotlight on those looking to make a move in the championship standings. That includes Hagan, but he also has to deal with a loaded class that features Bob Tasca III in second, Jack Beckman, who is racing for John Force, in third, J.R. Todd, who is fourth and the likes of Ron Capps and Alexis DeJoria behind him.

Hagan, though, wasn’t thrilled with his performance in the playoff opener. Normally one of the best on the starting line, Hagan, who has 51 career wins, lost on a rare holeshot to Todd, leaving him determined to turn things around in Charlotte.

“It was a pretty tough weekend starting the Countdown,” Hagan said. “We obviously lost in the first round on a holeshot. The driver didn’t get the job done, so I have to get home and get back on the practice tree. We’re working on running a little harder and being more aggressive, so hopefully in the next five races, especially the two coming up, we can have some more luck.

“We will work hard and dig deep and put all we’ve got into these next (five) races. We need to have a lot of focus and drive to do the best we can. I want to get there and stay focused and do my job. I know my guys will go do their job, so we’ll see what we can get done.”

In Top Fuel, Kalitta will look to turn things around after a first-round upset in Reading. It helped send Justin Ashley into the points lead, while Antron Brown is just a point back and Shawn Langdon is only six points out of first.

Pro Stock’s Anderson would love to repeat last year’s fall race victory as he sits fourth in points behind defending world champion Erica Enders, Dallas Glenn and points leader Aaron Stanfield, who won the playoff opener and has five victories in 2024.

Gaige Herrera has won three straight races at zMAX Dragway, sweeping both events last year. He’ll look to do the same in 2024, too, as the points leader won in the spring and aims to hold off the likes of Matt Smith, Reading winner Hector Arana Jr. and Richard Gadson.

TICKETS:

To purchase tickets to the NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway, please visit www.zmaxdragway.com or call 800-455-FANS (3267).

CONNECT WITH US:

Fans can connect with Charlotte Motor Speedway and get the latest news by following on X and Instagram, becoming a Facebook fan or downloading the Charlotte Motor Speedway mobile app.