TOPEKA, KS (August 13, 2023) - Bob Tasca continued to impress at Heartland Motorsports Park, earning his second straight victory at the facility by taking down points leader Matt Hagan in the final round with a run of 3.88 at 332 driving his BG3 Ford Mustang. Tasca delivered the quickest run of the Funny Car weekend under the lights against Hagan, moving to fifth in points while also picking up his second victory in what has been a standout season.
To reach the final, Tasca got past Blake Alexander, Alexis DeJoria, and No. 1 qualifier Robert Hight, posting an identical reaction time and E.T. with Hagan to set up the thrilling final round. Tasca quickly chased down Hagan, making the only Funny Car run in the 3.80s this weekend to clinch his 14th career win.
“It was a hard-fought day and I give all the credit to the guys. Every time we warmed up the car, there was something wrong," said Tasca. "They just fought through it. The car shut off in the first round, second round, third round, we were struggling with putting cylinders out and having the safety box shut the car off. That run was a monster run (in the final).
“That's what's different about this team from any team I've been on. I've never had the car that could just step up. This team, led by Aaron Brooks and Todd Okuhara, it's a different attitude than any I've been around. We're one of the quickest qualifying cars year-to-date, hot tracks, cold tracks, anything in between we can go up there and run low E.T. It was a big time run, a statement run for this team. Going into Brainerd and Indy, we're in the top five. If you have that leaving Indy, you have a really good chance to win the championship. This car can go to any race and win, and I don't know if I've ever been able to say that before.”
Hagan stretched his lead to 61 points over defending world champ Ron Capps as he locked down wins over Alex Laughlin, Tim Wilkerson, and J.R. Todd to reach the final round for the sixth time this season and 85th time in his career.
The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Season continues at Brainerd International Raceway with the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals August 18-20.
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Photo's: NHRA | Bob Tasca Social
Content: NHRA