Hagan, Magneti Marelli team reach semifinals in Las Vegas,
remain fourth in NHRA Funny Car points standings
remain fourth in NHRA Funny Car points standings
LAS VEGAS (April 7, 2013) - Matt Hagan's 100th NHRA national event went well, but it could've been better for the Magneti Marelli offered by Mopar Funny Car team.
Hagan was the sole Don Schumacher Racing Funny Car to reach the semifinals of the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
"We had a couple gimme's today but I think we learned a lot," Hagan said. "You can Monday quarterback it to death and say 'coulda, woulda, shoulda' but the thing we can take away from this weekend is that we didn't lose any spots in the standings.
"We are right there where we need to be. We are consistently going rounds and eventually you're going to win a race."
It wasn't an easy day for the team led by crew chief Dickie Venables. Hagan's usually 10,000-horsepower Dodge Charger R/T struggled keeping all eight cylinders lit, but it made it to the finish line during the first two rounds. Hagan credits his team for not making mistakes and getting things done under pressure.
"We had so much going on in between those rounds," he said. "For this Magneti Marelli team and for Rocky Boots it's just been a hectic day. We had to change some stuff on the car and we didn't know if it was going to run or not but it fired up and it went right down the track in round two.
"The guys are working so hard. I'm very, very proud of my team. They busted their butts today. We had motor swaps and it was one of those deals where cylinders were out on the runs and blower belts were coming off. It's good for our guys and it's making them click a little bit better.
"I just wish it was 100 wins not 100 races. It's a long road ahead of us this season but this early in the game with the way we are running and the way the guys are working the future is promising."
The following are event results and other notes:
FUNNY CAR
Event winner: Cruz Pedregon/Cruz Pedregon Racing No. 1 qualifier: Robert Hight/John Force Racing, 4.053 sec., 315.19 mph (Friday night)
Matt Hagan, Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger R/T
Qualifying position: No. 6
SUNDAY ELIMINATIONS
First round: HAGAN (4.246 sec., 292.27 mph) def. Bob Tasca III (7.632, 82.66)
Second round: HAGAN (4.204, 295.14) def. Jack Beckman (7.25, 97.56)
Semifinals: Courtney Force (4.157, 313.58) def. HAGAN (8.950, 77.05)
ON ESPN2:
Sunday: Championship eliminations, 11 p.m. (ET)
NEXT MELLO YELLO EVENT: April 19-21, Four-Wide Nationals, Concord, N.C.
NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series
(Unofficial through Las Vegas event; 4 of 24; DSR drivers in CAPS)
FUNNY CAR
1. Courtney Force, 315-335
2. JOHNNY GRAY, 301
3. Cruz Pedregon, 298
4. MATT HAGAN, 284
5. RON CAPPS, 277
6. Del Worsham, 223
7. Robert Hight, 220
8. JACK BECKMAN, 206
9. Bob Tasca III, 187
10. Alexis DeJoria, 190
Event winners: Courtney Force, RON CAPPS, JOHNNY GRAY, Cruz Pedregon
About Magneti Marelli
Based in Italy (Corbetta, Milan), Magneti Marelli was established in 1919. The company is a subsidiary of Fiat Group and has a presence and reputation in racing, including Formula 1, World Rally Championship (WRC) and NHRA Drag Racing.
With 2012 revenue of $7.5 billion and approximately 36,900 employees, Magneti Marelli designs and produces advanced automotive systems and components. The company has 83 production facilities, 12 research and development centers and 26 application centers in 19 countries. The group supplies leading automakers in Europe, North America, South America and the Far East. Its business areas include: Electronic Systems, Lighting, Powertrain, Suspension Systems and Shock Absorbers, Exhaust Systems, Aftermarket Parts and Services, Plastic Components and Modules, and Motorsport.
Magneti Marelli USA coordinates the activities of all Magneti Marelli divisions in the NAFTA region from its North American headquarters, located in Auburn Hills, Mich.
Magneti Marelli can rely on a longstanding presence in North America with Powertrain, Lighting, Electronic Systems, Suspension Systems (shock absorbers) and Motorsports businesses. Magneti Marelli has established a significant presence in the world of aftermarket and service networks in the United States, thanks to the partnership with MOPAR.
About Magneti Marelli After Market Parts and Services
Based in Italy (Corbetta, Milan), Magneti Marelli was established in 1919. The company is a subsidiary of Fiat Group and has a presence and reputation in racing, including Formula 1, World Rally Championship (WRC) and NHRA Drag Racing.
With 2012 revenue of $7.5 billion and approximately 36,900 employees, Magneti Marelli designs and produces advanced automotive systems and components. The company has 83 production facilities, 12 research and development centers and 26 application centers in 19 countries. The group supplies leading automakers in Europe, North America, South America and the Far East. Its business areas include: Electronic Systems, Lighting, Powertrain, Suspension Systems and Shock Absorbers, Exhaust Systems, Aftermarket Parts and Services, Plastic Components and Modules, and Motorsport.
Magneti Marelli USA coordinates the activities of all Magneti Marelli divisions in the NAFTA region from its North American headquarters, located in Auburn Hills, Mich.
Magneti Marelli can rely on a longstanding presence in North America with Powertrain, Lighting, Electronic Systems, Suspension Systems (shock absorbers) and Motorsports businesses. Magneti Marelli has established a significant presence in the world of aftermarket and service networks in the United States, thanks to the partnership with MOPAR.
About Magneti Marelli After Market Parts and Services
Magneti Marelli After Market Parts and Services is the division of Magneti Marelli devoted to all the activities related to the automotive aftermarket and service networks.
Magneti Marelli AMPS has business activities in over 80 countries where it distributes spare parts, automotive components and information to the Independent Aftermarket, through a network of spare parts dealers; and provides the drivers with assistance, services, products and know-how through a network of authorized workshops. Magneti Marelli After Market Parts and Services also provides workshops with professional training courses. The division operates on the repair market under the trademark of Magneti Marelli Checkstar Service Network in Europe, while in Latin America, in addition to the Checkstar name, Magneti Marelli also operates under the Cofap name. Putting together all the various trademarks, the network has almost 4,800 workshops worldwide.
About the Mopar Brand
Mopar is Chrysler Group LLC's service, parts and customer-care brand. With the creation of the Chrysler Group and Fiat S.p.A. partnership, Mopar is extending its global reach, integrating service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance dealer and customer support worldwide. Combined with Fiat S.p.A., Mopar's global portfolio includes more than 500,000 parts and accessories that are distributed in more than 130 countries. Mopar is the source for all genuine parts and accessories for Chrysler Group and Fiat S.p.A. brands.
Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered with the same teams that create factory-authorized vehicle specifications for Chrysler Group and Fiat S.p.A. vehicles - a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. A complete list of Mopar accessories and performance parts is available at www.mopar.com.
About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., starts 2013 with seven professional NHRA teams. In Top Fuel, the 2012 NHRA Top Fuel world champion Matco Tools dragster driven by Antron Brown and the U.S. Army dragster driven by seven-time world champion Tony Schumacher and the Battery Extender Powered by Schumacher dragster driven by Spencer Massey; and in Funny Car, 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Valvoline/MTS Mail for Wounded Warriors Dodge Charger R/T, 2011 world champion Matt Hagan in the Mopar/Rocky Dodge, the NAPA Filters of Ron Capps and the Pitch Energy Dodge of Johnny Gray.
DSR has won 201 NHRA national event titles and 11 world championships.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.
Magneti Marelli AMPS has business activities in over 80 countries where it distributes spare parts, automotive components and information to the Independent Aftermarket, through a network of spare parts dealers; and provides the drivers with assistance, services, products and know-how through a network of authorized workshops. Magneti Marelli After Market Parts and Services also provides workshops with professional training courses. The division operates on the repair market under the trademark of Magneti Marelli Checkstar Service Network in Europe, while in Latin America, in addition to the Checkstar name, Magneti Marelli also operates under the Cofap name. Putting together all the various trademarks, the network has almost 4,800 workshops worldwide.
About the Mopar Brand
Mopar is Chrysler Group LLC's service, parts and customer-care brand. With the creation of the Chrysler Group and Fiat S.p.A. partnership, Mopar is extending its global reach, integrating service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance dealer and customer support worldwide. Combined with Fiat S.p.A., Mopar's global portfolio includes more than 500,000 parts and accessories that are distributed in more than 130 countries. Mopar is the source for all genuine parts and accessories for Chrysler Group and Fiat S.p.A. brands.
Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered with the same teams that create factory-authorized vehicle specifications for Chrysler Group and Fiat S.p.A. vehicles - a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. A complete list of Mopar accessories and performance parts is available at www.mopar.com.
About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., starts 2013 with seven professional NHRA teams. In Top Fuel, the 2012 NHRA Top Fuel world champion Matco Tools dragster driven by Antron Brown and the U.S. Army dragster driven by seven-time world champion Tony Schumacher and the Battery Extender Powered by Schumacher dragster driven by Spencer Massey; and in Funny Car, 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Valvoline/MTS Mail for Wounded Warriors Dodge Charger R/T, 2011 world champion Matt Hagan in the Mopar/Rocky Dodge, the NAPA Filters of Ron Capps and the Pitch Energy Dodge of Johnny Gray.
DSR has won 201 NHRA national event titles and 11 world championships.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.
- 201 -
No comments:
Post a Comment