the event to win without the use of a delay box . Racing off the bottom bulb in his green ’ 72 Vega , Hagar raced past nine other drivers to meet 2012 Million winner Shane Carr in the final round . The tree dropped on Hagar ’ s side first , with a . 005 reaction time popping up on the scoreboard . When Carr ’ s side dropped , he let go just one thousandth of a second too soon to hand the win to Hagar .
While these figures changed during the lateround splits negotiations between drivers , the 471 entries in the Million meant $ 590,000 would go to the winner and $ 50,000 would go to the runner-up . No matter what Hagar ’ s cut worked out to be after splits , it was a life-changing win .
Hagar ’ s win made headlines and will go into the history books for multiple reasons . For one , the car count and resulting payout set new records for the Million . Two , Hagar ’ s win was a first for no-box racers . But the factor that really turned Hagar into a household name in the drag racing world ? He ’ s the bracket racing Everyman .
Hagar rolled into World Wide Technology Raceway outside St . Louis in the early hours of the morning on Friday after driving through the night . He drove his Chevy Silverado with 350,000-plus miles on it , with his race car on an open trailer in tow . Without living quarters , Hagar set up a tent in his pit area for his short stay at the Million . He usually races at his local tracks in Michigan , like U . S . 131 Motorsports Park , where he ’ s a back-to-back track champion . He ’ s not one to enter the numerous big-money bracket races around the country , but when the stars lined up for Hagar to make a trip down to St . Louis for the Million , Hagar went all-in .
The Million win gave Hagar a little extra funding for his trip South to Darlington Dragway for the WDRA World Finals , where he was due to represent U . S . 131 Motorsports Park as the 2023 No-Box track champion . His winning streak continued there when he won the Laris Motorsports Insurance Free $ 5K on Friday and the WDRA Summit No-Box world championship on Saturday . The title came with $ 20,000 and a slew of prizes from WDRA sponsors .
Hagar , who thanked his parents and Phil Veldheer Racing for their support of his racing endeavors , sat down with Drag IllustrateD
for a look back at his almost unbelievable 2023 season .
Before the Million , how was your season going ? It was going really good . I would say I won probably five local points races in Modified , or No-Box as they call it now . I runnered-up in a 10-grander at Mid-Michigan and I won a $ 5,000 32-car shootout at 131 back in August . I saved that money specifically for the Million entry . It was pretty consistent all year with wins , locally .
Was there a point in the Million where you felt like you were going to win it ? I was taking it round by round in the beginning . I wasn ’ t thinking too much in the future . I was really focused on one round at a time . It was a 10-round race . I would say the sixth round is where it hit me . We started splitting the money up and it was a pretty significant amount to lose that round . I realized , Wow , I could win this thing . I really just gotta keep focusing . It really hit me then .
At that point , I was in the zone . There wasn ’ t much thought going on . It seemed like I was just making the right decisions and I was getting lucky . It just felt like everything was working out . I just felt it in the middle of the race . It just seemed like it was going to be my night , but I didn ’ t ponder too much on it . I didn ’ t want to jinx myself . Sure enough , it worked out .
When that final win light came on , what was going through your mind ? I was in shock . For some reason , I didn ’ t really get excited . I was excited internally – a lot of relief . It was just overwhelming . I was at a loss for words , really . I still am . I was just in shock . I couldn ’ t believe it .
Your story blew up on the internet – NHRA Top Fuel star Clay Millican even mentioned you in his interview when he won at St . Louis . What was it like having that kind of response to your win ?
The typically reserved Hagar couldn ’ t stop smiling after he turned on the finalround win light at the original Million , held at World Wide Technology Raceway outside St . Louis this year .
I was in shock . For some reason , I didn ’ t really get excited . I was excited internally ― a lot of relief . It was just overwhelming . I was just in shock . I couldn ’ t believe it .
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