(Photo by Jimmy Jones/Jones Sports Media)
Inside Line Promotions – MARION, Ark. (Nov. 19, 2014) – There aren’t many ways to top a season that included a first national championship and a career high in wins, but Derek Hagar managed to do just that in 2014.
Hagar exceeded his previous season high for wins this year with 16, including his first-ever 410ci triumph and his first two victories with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.
“The biggest accomplishment would be winning those ASCS National Tour shows and a pretty close second would be getting my first 410 win,” he said. “There were a lot of first times that happened this year. It’s hard to say which one is my favorite because they were all great.”
Hagar, who won six of his first eight races this season, scored his first Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour victory on May 3 at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark., during the Rock ‘N Roll 50.
“It was at home in front of all of our fans and it was one of the coolest trophies that I’ve gotten,” he said. “To do that and celebrate with everybody that comes out and watches us when we’re at home, it made it much more special.”
Nearly five months later Hagar picked up the ASCS National Tour win during the Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial in late September at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo.
“I was a teammate with Jesse before he passed away,” he said. “You hate that he’s gone. It was a special race to win.”
The Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour triumphs sandwiched Hagar’s first career 410 win, which happened on July 4 at Hilltop Speedway in Millersburg, Ohio.
He added his first career USCS Speedweek title, which came after he won the first three of four races during the rain-hampered event in the summer. Hagar recorded a USCS-best seven feature victories overall.
Hagar finished the year with wins in Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Ohio, Georgia and Missouri.
“Earlier this year my goal was to get 20 wins,” he said. “There were some races we should have won that we didn’t win, but that’s how it plays out. We’re going to go into next year to see if we can better our season high in wins again.”
Hagar said next season will likely feature a similar schedule as this year. His first scheduled event is Feb. 19-21 with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Fla., for the Ronald Laney Memorial.
“It’s going to be pretty similar,” he said. “I would like to go do stuff in Ohio or the ASCS National Tour, but next year looks like it will be a hit-and-miss year like it was this year. The only thing we’re lacking right now is sponsorship. If we had some of that we could further this deal a lot. We’ll just keep doing what we did this year and try to go out there and win as many races with the budget we’ve got.”
SEASON STATS –
51 races, 16 wins, 26 top fives, 31 top 10s, 35 top 15s, 41 top 20s
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.DerekHagarRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HagarDerek
VIDEO –
Here is a video of Hagar winning the Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour on Sept. 27 at Lucas Oil Speedway: http://youtu.be/C3_ieWghINg
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 – Xtreme Race Graphics
Located in Marion, Ark., Xtreme Race Graphics creates custom graphics, banners and wraps. For more information, visit http://www.XtremeRaceGraphics.com.
“Dustin is a real good artist,” Hagar said. “He has a real good imagination. If you want the car to look the best, I’d recommend Xtreme Race Graphics.”
Hagar would also like to thank J&J Auto Racing, Dynotech Performance, RE Enterprises, FSR Radiators, 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 Nov 19, 2014
- Article Date: 11/19/2014 by Inside Line Promotions