Matt Hagan continued his dominance at the NHRA New England Nationals, driving the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to his third consecutive Funny Car triumph at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire.

While Hagan became the third driver to score multiple wins this season in the Funny Car class, his DSR teammates Tommy Johnson, Jr., Ron Capps, and Jack Beckman placed Dodge//SRT Mopar in three of the top five positions in the Funny Car standings following the New England event.

(Matt Hagan roared to victory lane for the 3rd consecutive season during NHRA’s New England Nationals.  He also set low ET and top speed.)

To score his 31st career Funny Car victory, Hagan was forced to take down the hottest competitors in the class. His run to victory started with a match-up versus fellow DSR and Charger SRT Hellcat pilot Beckman, who defeated Hagan in recent first round battles at Richmond and Topeka and would have again if the two-time Funny Car world champion wasn’t on his game. Hagan posted the quickest run of the weekend, a 3.958-second elapsed time (ET), to defeat a stout 4.016 run by Beckman.

Two-time 2019 winner and fellow Dodge//SRT Mopar driver Capps was the competition in round two. Again, Hagan and his Dickie Venables-tuned Charger SRT Hellcat was up to the task with Hagan leaving first and never trailing, posting a run of 3.991 to advance and face Bob Tasca III. In the semifinal, Tasca left first, but Hagan had the lead almost instantly and drove away for his 11th straight round win at Epping and 350th round win of his career to reach his 57th career final and fourth in 2019. 

The two-time Funny Car champion was not going to be denied,and his .033-second reaction time in the final was proof. Hagan powered his way to victory over Shawn Langdon with a winning pass of 4.014/322.81 to notch his 12 consecutive round win at the Epping track.

“My guys were flawless putting the car together today, and I’m really proud of Dickie Venables and Mike Knudsen and the decisions they were making together today,” said Hagan post race. “We didn’t just get lucky; the car went down the race track every single time. There’s a lot of good cars out there, a lot of good drivers, but I feel like this is the most consistent car I’ve had underneath me in a long time.

“I’m really excited that we were able to pull down another win for MOPAR,” Matt added. “We needed this race to be a turning point for our season, and now we have the Western Swing coming up and then Indy and the Countdown, and you want to have that momentum. With this new combination we have in our bellhousing, I feel like we’re making the right steps to move forward.”

The triumph for Hagan was the fifth win by a Dodge//SRT Mopar machine in the last six years at New England Dragway in the Funny Car class and fifth by a driver of a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat in 2019 competition.

Racing for Kalitta Motorsports – Shawn Langdon had superb runner cup finish in the Global Electronic Tech Toyota.

Mike Smith debuted this new “Wombat” New Englander Mustang but lost out in round one.

Event Essentials:   NHRA New England Nationals (July 5-7, 2019) 

Defending World Champ JR Todd and the DHL Toyota was the #1 qualifier at 4.022 secs.

New England’s own Bob Tasca III continued his strong recent event runs — going to the “final four” at the Epping race.

Some astounding heritage era Funny Cars were on display – including Ed Schartman’s iconic Cougar!

Posted with files by Bill Klingbell and Bruce Biegler
Photos by Bruce Biegler – Dave DeAngelis – Steve Embling

To view additional Funny Car racing photos from this event visit the LMLCMedia gallery:  HERE