3X NHRA Camping World Funny Car Champion Matt Hagan of Christiansburg, Va., scored his second straight NHRA Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals drag racing title driving his Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Direct Connection Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to victory at the legendary Gainesville Raceway in the 2023 NHRA season-opening national event.
 
Hagan, who qualified fifth Saturday in the 16-car field, defeated former NHRA World Champion J.R. Todd in the Funny Car final with a 3.926 at 329.34 miles per hour to claim his 44th career NHRA Funny Car crown, moving him to fourth all-time in NHRA Funny Car victories. In an exciting Funny Car finale, Hagan and Todd battled side-by-side through half track before Todd’s car smoked the tires and Matt went on to take the win light.
 
Earlier in eliminations, Hagan defeated Tim Wilkerson, Bob Tasca and Alexis DeJoria to advance to the final round against Todd.
 
Hagan gave credit for the victory to his Dickie Venable-led TSR crew, as the team debuted a new chassis and engine parts in the season opener.

 “It’s super special to win the Gatornationals again,” said Hagan. “I tried my whole career to win here, and we just got the first one last year. Can’t say enough about Dickie Venables (crew chief) and the crew today. It’s Dickie’s birthday and this win is a present for him. We had the entire crew come back this year which is rare in motorsports. We have a new chassis which I had to get accustomed to with a different steering setup and clutch position in the new car, but testing helped me get used to it. We thought we had a good car after testing and it says a lot with Dickie’s experience and the crew’s effort.  

 
“I knew J.R. (Todd) was going to be tough in the final, and he poked his nose out ahead a bit early and then we drove around him for the win. I can’t thank Dodge and Mopar enough for their assistance with our TSR squad. The Direct Connection Dodge SRT Charger Hellcat ran awesome today. It was great to win Tony’s first Wally here last year and this one is very special too. It’s different to start the whole season at Gainesville after decades starting at Pomona. Winning my 44th NHRA national event is very special when you have legends like John Force, Ron Capps and Robert Hight in front of me. Now, with this win, it a super way to start the 2023 season. We hope to continue it next race at Phoenix.”

Posted by Tom Blatter

Funny Car Racing Event Summary – Amalie Gatornationals

WIN: Matt Hagan 3.926 secs 329.34 mph (Career win #44)
R/UP: JR Todd 4.141 secs 239.55 mph
Low ET: Robert Hight 3.843 secs
Top MPH: Matt Hagan 333.84 mph
Bump: 6.367 secs
Entries: 16 cars