Watch Matt Hagan’s Dodge Charger funny car set the world record for the quickest 1000-foot drag strip run ever by a bodied race car.
The two quickest drag racing classes in the world are the NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car classes, with the Funny Car class being the quickest bodied race cars in the world. While the lift-off bodies are a far cry from any sort of production road car, the NHRA funny cars are the quickest drag racing cars in the world and this past weekend, Matt Hagan’s Dodge Charger R/T funny car set the world record for the quickest 1000-foot pass by a bodied race car.
Back in 2008, the NHRA shortened the race track for the Top Fuel and Funny Car classes from a quarter mile to 1000 feet over a concern that the speeds were getting too high. This past weekend, Matt Hagan and his Don Schumacher Racing Dodge Charger R/T turned the quickest pass of any bodied car in the modern era of the NHRA, running a 3.802 at 338.85 miles per hour.
Not only was that 3.802 the lowest time run by any bodied car (bodied cars exclude the rail-type cars in the Top Fuel class), but that trap speed of 338.85 miles per hour was a higher top speed than any bodied car has ever run on the 1000-foot track.
The Record Falls
Robert Hight in his John Force Racing Chevrolet Camaro laid down the gauntlet early this past weekend at the Heartland Nationals in Topeka, Kansas, when he ran a 3.826 in the first round of qualifying. That was, for a short time, the new world record for the quickest 1000-foot run by a funny car, but when his teammate Courtney Force came out in the second round of qualifying and ran a 3.815 – setting a new world record – Hight’s time at the top had ended quickly.
At that point, the John Force Racing team had to be feeling pretty good about themselves, but the Camaro’s record was even more short-lived this time, as a few runs after Force set the record, Matt Hagan came out and ran his 3.802 at 338.85.
Best of all, Hagan came out in the third round of qualifying and backed up his 3.802 with a 3.806, so Hagan’s Charger has effectively made the two quickest 1000-foot passes in the history of the NHRA Funny Car class.
By the way, Hagan ended up losing in the final round to teammate Ron Capps, who drove his Dodge Charger funny car to the winner’s circle for the fourth-straight event.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
