Matt Hagan is a big man for a racecar driver. At six feet, one inch and weighing 225 lbs., the 35-year-old fills the seat in the Mopar Funny Car owned by Don Schumacher Racing. Earlier this season, the two-time NHRA Funny Car World Champion and father of three (with a fourth on the way) sat down with us at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, NC, to discuss his sport and how he balances being a farmer – he owns a 2,000-plus-acre cattle farm in Virginia – with being a racer. Following are edited excerpts from a longer conversation with the aw-shucks driver.
Jim Clash: You’re a cattle farmer. How do drag racing and farming co-exist in your life?
Matt Hagan: What we do out here is adrenaline-driven. Everything is so fast-paced. You’re dealing with the media, the fans. You’ve got to race a car at 330 mph, so you always have to be on, on, on, on. For me, farming allows me to decompress, unwind. When I get back home, I throw my phone in the truck, get on a tractor and slow it down to a manageable pace. You just let it all out. Then you pick a chore or job you like and focus on that. When you get back on a plane, you turn that off and turn this back on. We’re showmen. The fans have paid their hard-earned money to be out here to watch you. We’ve got to win races, but we also have to put on a show.
Clash: How is drag-racing doing versus other motorsports?
Hagan: Lately, we’ve been selling these places out. So drag racing is growing while other motorsports seem to be dying. We’re doing something right. We’re getting a lot of new sponsors coming onboard, the spending is not unreasonably high and it’s a lot of exposure for them. You don’t get anything like this anywhere else on the planet Earth. This is just raw horsepower.
Clash: What scares you, Matt?
Hagan: Shoot, I’m afraid of everything [laughs]. Everybody says I’m brave, but there’s a fine line between bravery and stupidity. One thing that does scare me is disappointing my crew. When they’re busting their butts, wrenching, driving the big rigs, doing what they have to do, and I red light or run out of the groove, I let everybody down. So that scares me more than anything else. As far as racing, I have more of a chance getting hurt on my farm than out there.
Clash: How do you balance your family and racing?
Hagan: I have four kids. Everyone thinks this is such a glamorous job. You’re in the limelight, on TV. But I don’t care how many championships I win, I don’t get the time I’m away from home back while my little kids are talking or crawling. There are no do-overs, no amounts of money I can make that can replace those moments. Then again, it’s not fair for me to put my family in a motor home and drag them all around the country. At the end of the day, racing is not the endgame for me. It’s my family. I’m also blessed in that my dad has 37 businesses with over 870 employees. One day I have to grow up and learn to run some businesses as well.
Clash: Why did you pick Funny Cars over Top Fuel Dragsters?
Hagan: First of all, I’m big so I can get away with a Funny Car because I’m sitting at the rear end, and the weight transfer is pretty much there. In a dragster, you’re sitting in the middle. It’s easier for a little person to drive a Dragster. Also, I drove door cars – Pro-Mods for six to eight years – before Funny Cars. I’ve never even sat in a Dragster, and I don’t think I ever will.
Clash: What is Don Schumacher like to work for?
Hagan: He is an amazing individual. He’s been very gracious to work for. Don is driven, motivated. He’s given you all the pieces – the parts, the crew – everything it takes to come out here and win. He says, ‘Hey man, it’s up to you, let’s get it done.’ It makes you rise to the occasion as a driver because you know there are no excuses. You either perform, or you end up getting fired.
