(Photo by Jones Sports Media)
Inside Line Promotions – OSKALOOSA, Iowa (Aug. 5, 2014) – Although last weekend’s trip to Iowa didn’t end with the results Derek Hagar wanted, he is more than ready to return next year.
“We learned a lot,” he said. “It’s hard to come up here for the 360 Knoxville Nationals and get yourself out of a hole. We need to get more half mile experience. All of this stuff is different than we’re used to. But I can’t wait until next year and we get to do it again.”
Hagar’s weekend started with a high pill draw last Thursday to open the 24th annual Arnold Motor Supply 360 Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa.
“I put ourselves behind the eight ball when I drew our pill on Thursday,” he said. “That put us out going late in qualifying. The track stayed pretty good because we had a couple of rain showers. We just couldn’t find any speed.”
After qualifying 37th quickest, Hagar maneuvered from eighth to fourth place during his heat race to lock himself into the main event.
“We finally got the motor running right and the car a lot better for the heat race,” he said. “I just started (the feature) back there in dirty air. It was a learning curve being back there in traffic.”
Hagar finished 19th in the main event, which started him 13th in the C Main during Saturday’s final day of the 360 Knoxville Nationals.
“We got better, but with the caliber of cars there, you’re not going to do a Doug Wolfgang anymore,” he said. “It’s hard to make up any ground once you get behind.”
Hagar finished 12th in the C Main.
His final race in Iowa was on Monday at Southern Iowa Speedway for the Front Row Challenge with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.
“We had two different race tracks,” he said. “It was heavy and narrow in turns three and four and heavy and dry slick in spots in turns one and two. We just had the car too tight in the heat race. It took us a minute to get going.”
Hagar maneuvered from eighth to sixth place in his heat race, which lined him up on the inside of the third row of a B Main.
“A guy got all crossed up and I had to get off the gas,” he said. “I lost about three or four spots, but we gained them back. It wasn’t too bad. We had a lot of speed. We just needed a caution. Once you get strung out it’s hard to make up any ground on anybody.”
Hagar finished sixth in the consolation race to miss a transfer by three positions.
QUICK RESULTS –
July 31 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 37; Heat race: 4 (8); Feature: 19 (20).
Aug. 2 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – C Main: 12 (13).
Aug. 4 – Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa – Heat race: 6 (8); B Main: 6 (5).
SEASON STATS –
26 races, 11 wins, 14 top fives, 18 top 10s, 20 top 15s, 22 top 20s
UP NEXT –
TBD
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.DerekHagarRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HagarDerek
VIDEO –
Ride along with Hagar during his victory at I-30 Speedway on April 5 thanks to this video by Jones Sports Media: http://youtu.be/JDYTr1M4KjM
APPAREL –
Hagar has t-shirts, hats and koozies available for sale at his race trailer at every race he competes at. To see his schedule, visit http://www.DerekHagar.com/schedule.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – FSR Radiators
Located in Gallaway, Tenn., FSR Radiators has been supplying high-performance, all-aluminum radiators to the racing community for many years. For more information, visit http://www.FSRProducts.com.
“FSR Radiators make the best radiators to keep your motor as cool as it possibly can be,” Hagar said. “I’d definitely recommend them to any racer.”
Hagar would also like to thank R.E. Enterprises, J&J Auto Racing, DynoTech Performance, Xtreme Race Graphics, Fragola Performance Systems, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Hinchman Racewear, FK Rod Ends and Ti64 for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program and to join Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or InsideLinePromotions@gmail.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on Aug 05, 2014
- Article Date: 8/5/2014 by Inside Line Promotions