Hagan will start ninth for Sunday's Winternationals at Pomona

POMONA, Calif. - Being a farmer while not racing, Matt Hagan knows how to grow things. That knowledge gives him the assurance that his Mopar/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car team will grow together as the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series plays out.

Matt Hagan

Photo by: Michael C. Johnson

"Right now, everything is going really well," Hagan said. "The guys are working really hard and they all have positive attitudes.

I think we have a great team that we can work with and build on."

The team made three of four qualifying passes in the 4.09 to 4.14-second range, leaving Hagan with high hopes headed into Sunday's eliminations.

"We're going to make mistakes along the way but we will grow together," he said. "The car is going down the racetrack and there's a lot of data being applied and it's a brand new team.

"What we've accomplished so far just in the first couple of days has been huge. The whole team already has a lot to be proud of and we'll just keep moving forward and working hard."

Crew chief Dickie Venables echoed Hagan's thoughts on his first weekend calling the shots for Hagan's Dodge Charger R/T.

"We're happy," Venables said. "We have four runs under our belt as a team and we went down the track three out of those four times. You can't ask for much more than that."

Hagan will face Tim Wilkerson in the opening round of eliminations on Sunday. Hagan's qualifying results and other notes from the 53rd annual NHRA Winternationals are below.

Don Schumacher Racing