(Matt Hagan’s 24th career win puts him 2 for 2 in NHRA Mello Yello class competition so far this season)

Matt Hagan and the Sandvik Coromant/Mopar Funny Car team with crew chief Dickie Venables and assistant Michael Knudsen are starting off the 2017 season like they did a year ago, and they don’t have any complaints.

Hagan and their Don Schumacher Racing’s 2017 Dodge Charger R/T Powered by Pennzoil swept the NHRA Arizona Nationals title and No. 1 qualifying position to match what they did two weeks ago at the season-opener at Pomona, Calif.

The team also won the 2016 Arizona National title.

Hagan was able to survive an all-DSR final round when his 3.878 (330.88) slipped past the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge driven by reigning world champion Ron Capps and tuned by Rahn Tobler.

(Matt Hagan edged out DSR racing teammate Ron Capps in the fuel FC Final which saw both drivers record identical 330.88 mph terminal speeds)

“This is just great, man, we’ve got us a hot rod right now, the car is running strong,” said Hagan, the 2011 and 2014 Funny Car world champion and world record-holder for elapsed time and speed.

“Dickie Venables is killing it out there and the car’s just going down the racetrack every lap. He is putting a real car underneath me and my lights are on point right now. I’m just feeling it; feeling this racecar, this race team. We’re just digging. Everybody’s working hard.”

Hagan really felt it in the second round when his better reaction at the start enabled his 3.883 (331.61) to beat a quicker 3.871 and faster 332.59 by Tim Wilkerson.

“It’s just a great feeling to crawl in the car knowing you have the confidence that it’s going to go down the racetrack and run strong and then when your lights are good; it’s a real hard combination to beat.”

FC class racing at the Arizona Nationals also featured a spirited effort by the Jim Dunn Racing Dodge now driven by Jim Campbell. In just their second event together – that team went to the semi final round.

(Jim Campbell had a nice race #2 as new driver for Jim Dunn Racing – he scored two upset round wins)

(Tommy Johnson Jr set Low ET of the event at 3.837 secs to qualify #1. He had a final four placing)

Event Essentials:   NHRA Arizona Nationals (Feb. 24-26th, 2017) 

(Courtney Force had a career quick 3.838 secs run to qualify 2nd – but was then upset in round one)

Posted with files by Jeff Wolf and Bruce Biegler

All Photos by Bob Johnson