From Kelly Wade | NHRA
Hagan, Torrence, and Glenn win the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge in Topeka
TOPEKA, Kans. (Aug. 12, 2023) – Heartland Motorsports Park was packed with action on Saturday, as Matt Hagan claimed his second Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge win, Steve Torrence continued his charge with another victory, and Dallas Glenn finally closed the deal.
Funny Car's Matt Hagan powered to his second win in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge for Tony Stewart Racing on Saturday at Heartland Motorsports Park, defeating Chad Green in the final round of the bonus race as part of this weekend's Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor. Steve Torrence (Top Fuel) and Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) also won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge in Topeka.
Hagan made the best Funny Car run on Saturday, going 3.96-second at 318 mph in his American Rebel Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat and racing past Green's 4.03 at 313 in the championship round of the bonus race. Hagan, who is second in points, won the bonus race in Denver and capped off that weekend with an event win, and he will look to do the same this weekend in Topeka. He defeated J.R. Todd earlier in the day before chasing down Green to finish off Saturday in style.
"That bonus money goes a long way with my guys, and you want to dig deep on the starting line for them," said Hagan. "But Chad had a .010 light against me, he was digging a little bit deeper than I was, I think. Chad's a great driver; he's come a long way with his program and what he's doing. They're a tough car, and there's just no easy draws out here. You have to bring everything you've got, and then you have to bring a little bit more. That's just what it takes to turn win lights on in a Funny Car.
"I've been very, very blessed to have Dickie Venables [crew chief] tuning the car and letting me drive the wheels off of it. I'm excited we were able to pull down our second #2Fast2Tasty win, and I can't wait to see what happens on raceday tomorrow."
Top Fuel's Steve Torrence stayed red-hot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, winning the bonus race for the third straight event and knocking off points leader Justin Ashley in the final round with a run of 3.76 at 319 in his CAPCO Contractors/Toyota dragster. Torrence has impressed over the last three races with wins in Seattle, Sonoma, and now Topeka on Saturday. He also handed Ashley his first defeat in the bonus race with the best run of the day after knocking off Antron Brown in the earlier round.
"Justin Ashley has shown himself to be a fierce competitor, and he's got a good team over there," said Torrence. "Admittedly, we've not been the CAPCO boys of the past. We're doing the best we can to get back to that. I think that at some point, we might have given these guys a false sense of hope that we aren't the team we used to be. Maybe we're not there yet, but we're coming back. It gives me a lot of confidence and makes me feel excited about the rest of the year. We're building the steam, building the momentum at the right time, and that CAPCO train is coming.
"We need to get those challenge points. Justin had built a little bit of a lead, and we're cutting that down. [The Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge points] are going to be crucial."
Dallas Glenn had appeared in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge before and was able to put together a winning performance for the first time on Saturday in Topeka with a defeat of Erica Enders in the final. Reigning Pro stock champion Enders went red on the starting line, but Glenn would have been difficult to track down as the points leader made the category's quickest run of the weekend, a 6.64 at 205, in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro.
Glenn shut the door on Camrie Caruso earlier in the day with another stellar run and put on another strong performance to close out the day.
"This definitely takes some pressure off," said Glenn. "I've been in four or five of these already and just haven't been able to seal the deal, so to finally be able to do it when I've got such a good car, it means a lot. To try to get three championship points, that's a big deal. We've got the points lead right now going into Sunday, we've got the No. 1 qualifier. This car is running awesome right now, and I just want to keep the momentum going."
The Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park continues with eliminations Sunday at 10 a.m. Television coverage of the event is on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with a second qualifying show Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Eliminations will be air Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.
See the latest from the NHRA:
Menards NHRA Nationals Saturday Photo Gallery
Photo's: NHRA
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