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HAGAN MOVING TO FUNNY CAR
Matt Hagan Racing will embark on a new mission next season, with a new car, a new teammate, and a whole new level of competition as he moves into Nitro Funny Car competition from Pro Modified racing.
Matt recently licensed in Nitro Funny Car at the Strip at Las Vegas and plans are for him to team up with veteran Nitro Funny Car driver Dale Creasy, Jr., two-time IHRA world champion (2006 and 2007).
"All of this has been made a reality because of TORCO and Evan Knoll, and their relationship with us and the sport," said Hagan. "Dale is a TORCO driver, a great guy, and probably the best person anyone could ask for to be a teammate to a rookie driver like myself. I'll be learning a lot from him in 2008.
"Between Tim Wilkerson and Frank Pedregon's former teams we have purchased everything we should need to get started," said Hagan. “Our priority will be full-time IHRA Nitro Funny Car competition along with some select NHRA Nitro Funny Car events. If all goes well we hope to move to NHRA in 2009." [11/9/2007]
LASTOR TESTS NEW P/M CAMARO
Taylor Lastor showed up at the recently completed ORSCA event at Carolina Dragway with a brand-new, blown Camaro Pro Mod in tow. Built by G-Force Race Cars, Lastor's latest ride carries the new Cynergy '67 Camaro body and features a supercharged BAE 526 Hemi up front. The Knoxville, TN-based engine builder made several test hits, but failed to get down the Carolina eighth mile in the car's first public appearance. He later explained it was his first time driving a clutch car and he was having a little trouble "driving with two feet."
Lastor said the car was running in NHRA/IHRA-legal Pro Mod trim and he plans to campaign it there next season, though he hopes to take a couple of hundred pounds out and enter a few ADRL events, too. "It was a little bit aggressive at first, but I think we’ve got it calmed down. In that last run I thought we finally had it figured out, but with that whole switching feet thing I went down with the gas too quick before I let out the clutch so the motor revved up and the clutch caught. I’m just not used to it," Lastor admitted. “The only way I’ve ever run is with a two-step, so we’ve been working on a way to simulate that because I’ve never switched feet before. It's not easy and I realize better now that anybody who can consistently do that in one of these cars is a real driver." (Ian Tocher photo) [11/9/2007]
