(Photo by TeeJay Crawford)
Inside Line Promotions – WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (May 24, 2018) – It’s been a stressful week for Derek Hagar, who is hustling to rebuild his race car prior to USCS Speedweek.
Hagar had to send his chassis to J&J Auto Racing earlier this week following an incident last Saturday during the Hooker Hood Classic at Riverside International Speedway.
“We were racing for the lead in the dash with Tim Crawley and we got together,” he said. “It was two fierce competitors going hard at it. We bumped wheels and unfortunately I got upside down. It didn’t get the wings, but it got pretty much everything else bolt on. The crew had to thrash to get us out there for the heat.”
Hagar was credited with a third-place run in the dash and he finished in the same position in his heat race. That lined him up on the outside of the fourth row for the 40-lap A Main.
“We rode between eighth and 11th for a while,” he said. “The car was acting weird. It was real twitchy to the left. On the first lap I went into turn one and it stepped out and I about spun out. I had to adapt to it. We had a caution with a few laps to go and we were running sixth or seventh. We drove up to third by the checkered flag. I would have liked another caution to see if we could do anything with the top two.”
Hagar maneuvered to a third-place result, but when the team returned home to go through the car they found the motor mount was falling apart. The team stripped the car, sent it for repair and are now reassembling it for the upcoming USCS Speedweek.
“We’re going to miss the opening night, but we should be able to run the remaining Speedweek races,” he said.
Hagar will pick up the action this Saturday at Jackson Motor Speedway in Byram, Miss. The remaining Speedweek races are Sunday at Greenville Speedway in Greenville, Miss.; Monday at Lexington 104 Speedway in Lexington, Tenn.; May 31 at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala.; June 1 at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Miss.; and June 2 at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark.
In addition to his challenging night in the No. 9jr last Saturday, Hagar competed in the 305ci winged sprint car class during the Hooker Hood Classic. He maneuvered Ricky Mendoza’s race car from seventh to fourth place in a heat race. Hagar then charged from 11th to third in the A Main before pulling off the track late in the race. He was credited with a 15th-place finish.
“Ricky is just now getting out of stock car racing,” Hagar said. “We went from 11th to third and this thing was rolling. It handles like a dream. It was a confidence boost for him. He’ll be driving the car mainly. The radiator cap came loose so I pulled off to protect his car. I wish we could have got a good finish for him. It was frustrating because we didn’t get to finish the feature, but it was still a good night because we went forward.”
QUICK RESULTS –
May 19 – Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. (360 sprint car) – Dash: 3 (4); Heat race: 3 (3); Feature: 3 (8).
May 19 – Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. (305 sprint car) – Heat race: 4 (7); Feature: 15 (11).
SEASON STATS –
16 races, 0 wins, 5 top fives, 6 top 10s, 10 top 15s, 13 top 20s
UP NEXT –
USCS Speedweek: Saturday at Jackson Motor Speedway in Byram, Miss.; Sunday at Greenville Speedway in Greenville, Miss.; Monday at Lexington 104 Speedway in Lexington, Tenn.; May 31 at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala.; June 1 at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Miss.; and June 2 at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.DerekHagarRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HagarDerek
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 Dynotech Performance, DHR Suspension, B&D Towing, J&J Auto Racing, Fragola Performance Systems, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Weld Wheels, Hinchman Racewear, Wix Filters, Wings Unlimited, FK Rod Ends, Valvoline 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 by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on May 24, 2018
- Article Date: 5/24/2018 by Inside Line Promotions