NHRA New England Nationals
Event 13 of 24 (Epping)
New England Dragway
Epping, N.H.
July 6-8, 2018
DSR Epping Elimination Highlights:
- Matt Hagan wins Epping for the second consecutive year
- Hagan’s dominance from Norwalk continued, as he picked up his second consecutive 2018 victory; third of the season
- Antron Brown raced to his 87th Top Fuel final round; first of the season
- All seven DSR drivers advanced to the quarterfinals; all three Top Fuel cars advanced to the semifinals
(EXCERPT)
Driver Information:
Funny Car:
TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger R/T
Qualified: No. 8 (4.023 E.T. at 322.58 MPH)
The Results:
E1: 4.131 E.T. at 297.94 MPH defeated Cruz Pedregon 4.408 E.T. at 215.20 MPH
E2: 4.741 E.T. at 179.23 MPH defeated by Matt Hagan 4.237 E.T. at 245.90 MPH
Race Recap:
Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T driver Tommy Johnson Jr., a Funny Car runner-up twice at Epping, qualified in the top half of the field and defeated Cruz Pedregon in round one.
Johnson trailed slightly at the start but closed the gap and pulled away for the round win with a 4.131-second at 297.94-mph mark. Johnson’s hopes to advance ended quickly in the quarterfinals against teammate Hagan after he smoked the tires early.
Quotable:
“It’s showing promise, going a couple of rounds here in Epping. I really thought maybe we had a car for today. It’s frustrating. The track changes so much between first and second (round) and the conditions are so variable. We have to guess better and figure out what it’s going to take to get down these tracks. It’s frustrating right at this moment trying to figure out the tune-up to get down there without spinning the tires. Maybe lane choice would have helped, but who knows.”
Funny Car
1. Courtney Force – 1069
2. Matt Hagan – 914
3. Jack Beckman – 847
4. Ron Capps – 834
5. Robert Hight – 829
6. J.R. Todd – 800
7. Tommy Johnson Jr. – 692
8. John Force – 652
9. Shawn Langdon – 594
10. Bob Tasca III – 564
About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., fields seven professional NHRA teams. In Top Fuel, the U.S. Army dragster driven by eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher, the Matco Tools/U.S. Army dragster driven by three-time world champion Antron Brown and the Mopar/Papa John’s Pizza/Pennzoil/FireAde/U.S. Army dragster driven by Leah Pritchett; and in Funny Car, 2016 world champion Ron Capps in the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T; two-time world champion Matt Hagan in the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T, and 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in Terry and Doug Chandler’s Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge and the Chandlers’ Make-A-Wish Dodge driven by Tommy Johnson Jr.
DSR also campaigns two Sportsman teams. The two-car Factory Stock Showdown duo is piloted by Pritchett and veteran Pro Stock racer Mark Pawuk. Both drivers compete in Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Paks.
DSR has won 325 NHRA national event titles and 16 world championships.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at Shoeracing.com, on Twitter and Instagram at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.