Hagan, Torrence repeat winners in NHRA New England Nationals

EPPING, N.H. (AP) — Matt Hagan and Steve Torrence were repeat winners at New England Dragway, both racing to victories Sunday at the NHRA New England Nationals.

Hagan won for the third straight year at the track in Funny Car, going 4.014-seconds at 322.81 mph in the final round in his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to beat Shawn Langdon’s 4.046 at 317.49.

Hagan, a two-time world champion, picked up his second win this year and 31st of his career.

“We went down the track in qualifying and that created a lot of confidence in our team,” Hagan said. “Rolling into race day, I knew we had a great car and I was confident in it. We kept lane choice every pass and that was big. I’m really excited we were able to get another win and we needed this to be our turning point this season.”

Torrence’s win in Top Fuel came in the 13th of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. The points leader and defending world champion kept his dominant stretch going, rolling to his seventh win in eight races with a run of 3.861 at 321.58 in the final round in his dragster. It was also Torrence’s 34th career victory.

The Mello Yello Drag Racing Series continues July 19-21 with the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Denver.