Another race weekend, another record for Matt Hagan.

After being the first driver ever to dip into the three-second zone in a Funny Car back in 2011, Matt Hagan has continued to break records across the country, adding yet another milestone to his impressive list of accomplishments on Friday. Hagan became first driver to ever dip into the three-second zone at Summit Motorsports Park during day one of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, the 10th time he has eclipsed the three-second barrier in his career.

Hagan blasted to a 3.968-second pass at 322.96 mph - both track records - to pace the Funny Car field Friday night, finishing well clear of second place qualifier Del Worsham. Spencer Massey (Top Fuel), Jonathan Gray (Pro Stock) and Hector Arana Jr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were the other top qualifiers on Friday.

“We have a new combo in the car and it is really running well right now. Things are just jiving for us,” Hagan said. “Right now we are very confident in the racecar and I can see the confidence in Dickie (Venables). Dickie is the man in Funny Car right now. I wouldn’t trade him for the world.”

Hagan was only ninth quickest during the afternoon session, posting a 4.118 at at 312.71 mph during the heat of the day, but the team turned up the wick under the lights. After watching John Force post a 4.019 just two pairs earlier, Hagan said he knew the three-second plateau was possible as he watched his crew chief reach under the car and make a last-second adjustment.

“I really didn’t know what to expect during the evening session. I figured most people would try to be conservative and not really try and push for it, but after Force went .01, I saw Dickie crawl back in the box and I was like, ‘all right, time to pull my belts down a little tighter,’” Hagan said.

Worsham sits second after two sessions, recording a 4.005 at 321.42 mph under the lights. John Force qualified third with a 4.019 at 320.20, followed by Chad Head and Ron Capps.

“I didn’t know if it was going to stick. It was one of those deals where there were a lot of good cars behind us with us being early in the session and there were a handful of cars that could take it away,” Hagan said. “It was cool to put a three on the board for these fans. They come out here and hang with us and we put on a show. If they are not happy with that, I don’t know how to make them happy.”

While the evening ended in record fashion, Hagan admitted that there was a bit of excitement during his run as he lost where he was on the track - an unfortunate side effect to such fast speeds.

“It was a little dark out there. I lost where I was on the track, thank God for those little orange cones that are lit up,” Hagan said. “I was like, ‘oh, there's the finish line.’ I knew it was running good and you don’t want to pull your foot out of it. That is just what happens when you drive a 300 mph race car.”

Hagan will be seeking his third top qualifier award of 2015 on Saturday, but it won’t be easy. With a special Independence Day celebration comes an extra qualifying session under the lights on Saturday, opening the doors for some more record runs.

“I think we are going to see more threes tomorrow,” Hagan said. “I don’t know if my time will hold or not. If someone takes it away, I will go over and shake their hand. But we aren’t going to give it up easily.”

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