Weather Pushes Final Round to Arizona; Hagan Approaching 50th Win

Matt Hagan competing in the NHRA Winternationals at Pomona Dragstrip (Photo: NHRA Media)

POMONA, Calif. — The final eliminations for Funny Car started off with a match-up between Dave Richards and Bobby Bode. Bode took the round when Richards smoked his tires. Bode had a reaction time of .095, an elapsed time of 3.964 seconds and a final speed of 291.51. Richards had a .168 reaction time, a 8.359 second elapsed time with a 92.23 final speed.

Tires would prove to be an issue for one of the competitors in the next round, Bob Tasca III. Tasca went head-to-head with Paul Lee and lost due to his tires breaking loose. Tasca started out strong with a reaction time of .085 while Lee had .089. But Lee had the better elapsed time and final speed with 3.902 seconds and 321.73. Tasca crossed the line with 4.307 seconds and 217.88.

JR Todd and Cruz Pedregon were up next. Even though both drivers had problems, Todd would take the win with .061 reaction time,  an elapsed time 4.278 seconds and a speed of 216.17, Pedregon had a reaction time of .092, an elapsed time of 4.349 seconds and a final speed of 219.94.

Ron Capps and Austin Prock took to the strip next.  Prock made the grade with the reaction time with .059 while Capps had .081, but Prock got sideways and fishtailed ending all chances of him getting the win. He pulled off an elapsed time of 4.138 seconds and a final speed of 236.22, though. Capps had an elapsed time of 3.891 seconds and a final speed of 328.86.

The next match-up was between Buddy Hall and Matt Hagan. Hagan would take the round with a reaction time of .067, an elapsed time of 3.909 seconds and a final speed of 329.67. Hull had a reaction time of .102, an elapsed time of 4.700 and a final speed of 178.90.

John Force and Jim Campbell went head-to-head next. Force would dominate the match with a reaction time of .113, an elapsed time of 3.959 seconds and a final speed of 324.12. Campbell, on the other hand, had a reaction time of .144, an elapsed time of 7.842 seconds and a final speed of 83.03.

Next up was Chad Green and Terry Haddock. Green pedaled early on and lost the match, even though he had the better reaction time with .058 while Haddock had .117. Green had an elapsed time of 5.867 seconds and a final speed of 150.33 and Haddock had a 4.459 second elapsed time and a 229.51 final speed.

The final race of round one of final eliminations was between Daniel Wilkerson and Jeff Diehl. Wilkerson lost traction instantly and would only clock a reaction time of .098, an elapsed time of 10.334 seconds and a final speed of 85.08. Diehl had a reaction time of .119, an elapsed time of 4.844 seconds and a final speed of 303.30.

The second round of final eliminations started with a match-up between Force and Bode. Bode had to lift, giving the win to Force. Bode had a reaction time of .096, an elapsed time of 4.550 seconds and a final speed of 190.89. Meanwhile, Force had a reaction time of .052, an elapsed time of 4.016 seconds and a final speed of 302.14.

John Force talking about his semifinal win for the NHRA Winternationals at Pomona Dragstrip (Photo: NHRA Media)

Paul Lee and JR Todd went head-to-head next. Todd would win with a hole shot win by having the better reaction time of .060 while Lee had .079. Lee had the better elapsed time and final speed with 3.910 seconds and 326.08 while Todd had 3.920 seconds and 324.44.

The next round would result in an automatic disqualification for Haddock because he rolled too quickly through the stage markings on the strip. This would hand the win to Capps who had a reaction time of .083, an elapsed time of 3.935 seconds and a final speed of 328.46.

Hagan and Diehl went up next. Diehl would launch off the line and then smoked his tires, resulting in a loss. Hagan had a reaction time of .066, an elapsed time of 3.899 seconds and a final speed of 332.34.

The semifinals started off with a huge name race between Force and Capps. Force be named the victor though, because Capps smoked his tires. Force had a reaction time of .047, an elapsed time of 3.922 seconds and a final speed of 327.74. Capps had a reaction time of .079, an elapsed time of 8.390 seconds and a final speed of 95.83.

In the final round of the weekend, Todd landed next to Hagan. Hagan was declared the winner with a reaction time of .047, an elapsed time of 3.939 seconds and a final speed of 325.37. Todd had a .041 reaction time, an 6.147 elapsed time and a 121.72 final speed.

Severe weather forced the final round to be pushed to the weekend of April 5-7. The final round will be a showdown between Force and Hagan.  The final is sure to be an exciting time for Hagan though, because if he wins it would be his 50th win. When asked about it, Hagan was excited.

“Never thought I’d be here this long,” said Hagan. “You never know when your next win is.”