The 62nd annual U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis included an enormous victory for Team Mopar over the Labor Day weekend ahead of the Countdown to the Championship. Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) driver Matt Hagan, in the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T, crushed the competition with his fierce HEMI® to claim the Funny Car title at the most prestigious race on the tour.

“Another victory for Matt Hagan in the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T shows the true capabilities of Mopar performance, and we are eager to see what the remainder of the season holds,” said Pietro Gorlier, Head of Parts and Service (Mopar), FCA – Global. “Each of the Mopar-powered Funny Cars look to be emerging as contenders for the championship title, and that’s something we’re all excited about.”

(Matt Hagan set low ET of the meet to earn the pole and then rode that momentum all the way to victory at Indy)

The victory was the 21st of Hagan’s career and third of the season in five final rounds. It was also the 10th Funny Car trophy of the season for the Mopar Funny Cars, and Mopar will enter the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship with four cars fully capable of winning the biggest trophy of them all after the six-race playoffs.

Hagan qualified his horsepower-heavy Mopar Dodge on the pole in Indianapolis and used the momentum to knock-out his opponents on raceday, beginning with a first-round meeting with John Bojec. His opponent left the starting line with a small advantage, but Hagan soon took the lead with a demolishing 3.894-second pass at 327.59 mph to a traction-troubled 11.32. Next to fall was Robert Hight, 3.942/324.59 to 4.572/183.42.

The semifinals brought a head-to-head battle for DSR teammates Hagan and Tommy Johnson Jr., who was at the helm of the Riley Kid’s Dodge Charger R/T. Johnson was awesome at the starting line, clocking a remarkable .054-second reaction time that wasn’t far off of the .051 he used to complement a strong 3.966 pass in the second round. At the top end, Hagan got the nod, 3.945/323.81 to 3.970/321.65.

Hagan had low elapsed time in each of the first three rounds, but in the final it was a mind-blowing .039-second reaction time that did the trick. Del Worsham’s quicker 3.958/324.20 wasn’t quite enough for Hagan’s 3.964/327.43.

(Del Worsham had a strong event effort – placing R/UP with his now Mello Yello-sponsored Toyota FC)

“It’s just incredible,” said Hagan, who is the No. 3 seed in the Countdown to the Championship. “This is something that we’ve been trying to accomplish for a long time. My crew chief Dickie Venables – that guy put a hot rod under me all weekend along. The guys do their job, and I’m just proud to be part of it, proud to be part of Don Schumacher Racing, and proud to have good sponsors in Mopar. The fans got what they paid for today. It’s really something to come out here and know that you have a great car and you have to dig deep to get it done for your team, but that’s why they put you in the seat.

“I’m just tickled to death to be out here right now. This is something I’ve been wanting to check off the list for a long time. We came out here with a brand new race car, we qualified No. 1, and the car was just on kill the whole weekend. Being able to have that confidence and see that in Dickie and this whole Mopar team, it’s been great. That’s what it takes to win races and to win the championship. I really feel like this car is starting to peak at the right time.”

(Jack Beckman was credited with top speed of the meet at 333.08 mph)

(Dave Richards had a nice event effort which included an upset round #1 win over Jack Beckman)

(Up and coming racer John Bojec qualified on the bump for FC at Indy)

Event Essentials:   NHRA Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals (Aug 31-Sep. 5th 2016) 

(Indy included a terrific display of both static and running Nostalgia nitro burning Funny Cars!)

Posted with files by Kelly Topolinski

Photos by Bruce Biegler & Brennan Shortall