Matt Hagan had a great Saturday in Epping, New Hampshire. (Photo: Randy Arial)
Day two of qualifying for the NHRA New England Nationals saw a marked change of weather that forced teams to adjust. After grey skies and cool air on Friday night saw big speeds and quick laps, the sun returned to New England on Saturday morning, forcing teams to make some adjustments.
When the dust settled on two days of qualifying it was Steve Torrence, Matt Hagan and Dallas Glenn holding down the top spots heading into Sunday’s race day.
“It does feel good to know that the car went out there and we were low for the first session, low for the third session and third low in the second session,” Torrence said. “Definitely steps in the right direction, and that’s what we’ve been working on all year. When the consistency starts coming around it’s great. So I’m very happy with that result.”
Torrence held onto the top spot while battling side by side with point leader Brittany Force. The pair, which have developed a respectful rivalry through the years, and have combined for the last five championships (1 for Force and four straight for Torrence) put on a show for fans during all three qualifying sessions.
“That’s what these fans come here for, to watch great side by side racing,” he said. “So when you can have the number one and two cars from the last three or four years – five years – come in and put on a show like that for everybody here, that’s what it’s about. We’re in the entertainment industry and we’re trying to put on a great show for all these fans.”
He hopes to keep the show going on Sunday as he seeks his first win of the 2022 season. After Friday’s qualifying round where he set the low time for the weekend, he explained that a win this weekend, at a track where his team has won the past three years, would be a big boost.
“We haven’t won a race all year, and everyone’s making a big deal about it, but we’re still second in points,” he said. “When you have an expectation of performance and it’s not there week in and week out, it can be a little frustrating, maybe a little disheartening. You’ve got to trust that we are making the right decisions.”
His familiarity with the track, and the data his team has gathered by going rounds on race day give him confidence, but it is his crew chiefs, Rick Hogan and Bobby Lagana, that he thinks make the difference.
“The driver needs to do his job (tomorrow) for certain,” he said. “I believe that Richard and Bobby will give me the car to do that. I need to keep my head in the game and do the best I can. I know I have the race car behind me now, and I have for a long time. I just have to keep this momentum going. This is a huge step for us, and we’ll be good. I’m confident.”
In round 1 of Top Fuel eliminations on Monday Torrence will face No. 16 qualifier Clay Millican. The rest of the matchups in round 1 are No. 2 Brittany Force vs. No. 15 Joe Morrison, No. 3 Mike Salinas vs. No. 14 Scott Farley, No 4 Doug Kalitta vs. No. 13 Cameron Ferre, No. 5 Josh Hart vs. No. 12 Shawn Langdon, No. 6 Tony Schumacher vs. No. 11 Leah Pruett, No. 7 Austin Prock vs. No. 10 Antron Brown, and No. 8 Justin Ashley vs. No. 9 Dan Mercier.
“This Power Brokers car is running so strong,” Hagan said. “(Team Owner) Tony (Stewart) gives us all the parts and pieces we need to do what we need to do. There’s nothing we could ask for that he hasn’t got, so I’m sure he expects results and I want to give them to him.”
Hagan won three straight New England Nationals races before falling short last year, and after Friday qualifying he said the data his team gathered from those races gives them a lot of confidence entering race day.
Hagan dropped the hammer on Saturday. (Photo: Allen Saucier | The Podium Finish)
“Data is everything, and we won three races in a row here,” Hagan said. “I have a lot of history here. I started here with the IHRA in my Fuel Funny Car and I’ve got a lot of love for this track and this track loves us back.”
Matchups for round 1 of Funny Car on Sunday will be Hagan vs. No. 14 Dale Creasy Jr., No. 4 Cruz Pedragon vs. No. 11 JR Todd, No. 5 Blake Alexander vs. No. 10 Cory Lee, No. 2 John Force vs. No. 13 Terry Haddock, No. 7 Ron Capps vs. No. 8 Jim Campbell, No. 3 Robert Hight vs. No 12 Bob Tasca III andNo. 6 Tim Wilkerson vs. No. 9 Alexis Dejoria.
“I think we’ll be good for tomorrow,” Glenn said. “I think we’ve got something for them.”
He said his crew chief learned as the weekend went along, and even though Friday was the only qualifying session in which he paced the field, he still feels good about where he and his team are heading into race day on Sunday.
“I feel good about what the crew chiefs are doing,” Glenn said. “If they’re happy, I’m happy too. As far as hitting the tree good, I feel solid about that. As long as I can keep doing that tomorrow, I might be able to squeeze a little more out of it tomorrow.”
Glenn pointed out that the field is close together in terms of performance, so it will be a challenging day on Sunday, but he has a lot of confidence in his team – particularly crew chiefs Dave Connolly and Rob Downing. Connolly has not only had tuning success at the New England Nationals, but he actually won the second NHRA race ever at the track.
“As long as I keep doing my job on the track and on the tree, I know that Dave Connolly and Rob Downing definitely know what they’re doing. If you put any two crew chiefs together I don’t know if any of them are going to have more wins than Rob Downing and Connolly.”
Matchups for round 1 in Pro Stock on Sunday will be Glenn vs. No. 16 Alan Prusiensky, No. 8 Fernando Cuadra Jr. vs. No. 8 Fernando Cuadra Sr., No. 4 Deric Kramer vs. No. 13 Matt Hartford, No. 5 Aaron Stanfield vs. No. 12 Troy Coughlin Jr., No. 2 Kyle Koretsky vs. No. 15 Chris McGaha, No. 7 Mason McGaha vs. No 10 Bo Butner, No. 3 Erica Enders vs. No. 14 Kenny Delco and No. 6 Camrie Caruso vs. No 11 Greg Anderson.
