Matt Hagan Sits Third in the Championship Race with Two Events Left

Matt Hagan is the only Dodge Charger driver in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car Championship Chase and with two events left on the season, he is currently in third place, 168 points out of first. With 100 points awarded to the winner of the second-to-last race of the season and 150 going to the winner in the final race of the year, Hagan and his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat funny car have a real chance of claiming the title once again. However, the path to the championship will not be an easy one.

Matt Hagan and his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car

Austin Prock currently leads the Chase for the title while John Force – who is out for the season due to a traumatic brain injury suffered earlier this season – is in the second spot thanks to substitute driver Jack Beckman (147 points back). The NHRA allows a substitute driver to fill-in and earn points for another driver in up to 8 races, and that is exactly how many races Beckman will run for Force come the end of the season. That means that if Beckman finishes strong enough at the Ford Performance Nationals and the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, John Force will win the championship from the sidelines.

Of course, for either Hagan or Beckman/Force to win the 2024 NHRA Funny Car Championship, they will need Austin Prock to stumble. While both the second and third place teams have a chance to win the title, they both need to finish considerably higher than Prock at each of the final two races to close the gap. All Prock has to do is keep qualifying strong and going rounds, and he will cruise to the championship. He doesn’t need to win either of the last two races, but if he should win the next race, the season is pretty much over for everyone else.

However, say that Prock loses in the first round of the next race and Hagan wins, he will gain around 80 points on the current leader. If Prock loses in the first round of the final event of the year and Hagan wins, he would gain 120 points – so it is mathematically possible for the Tony Stewart Racing Dodge Charger to win the title, but the odds are not in his favor. Hagan essentially needs to win each of the last two races and he needs Prock to struggle, so it is a slim chance for a Team Mopar title, but at least there is a chance.


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