Mopar-powered Funny Car Drivers Test in Florida
Reigning NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Funny Car champion Matt Hagan, along with his Mopar-powered Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) teammates, recently tested for the 2012 season at Palm Beach International (Fla.) Raceway. The DSR team tested for five days, which included the PRO Winter Warm-Up on Friday, Jan. 20 and Saturday, Jan. 21.
Hagan, who won twice last season, turned in a best run of 4.062-seconds at 315.71 mph during the test. He had the fastest speed of the four DSR Funny Car drivers and the second quickest elapsed time among the group.
"We learned everything we needed to and the guys worked very hard," said Hagan. "There really wasn't anything else for our team to accomplish. We had fun, and the weather was great. It was one of those deals where we were just excited to be here."
Jack Beckman, who finished second in Funny Car points in 2011, made his quickest run ever, a 4.037/312.35 during the test, with Johnny Gray stopping the clocks with a 4.084/312.06, while Ron Capps top run was a 4.092/308.92.
The 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season kicks off Feb. 9–12 with the 52nd Annual NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club (Calif.) Raceway at Pomona. For more information on the NHRA, visit http://www.nhra.com.