(Photo by Jones Sports Media)
Inside Line Promotions – WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (May 12, 2021) – Derek Hagar is venturing to a pair of dirt tracks this weekend looking to add to his 410ci winged sprint car experience.
Hagar plans on racing Friday at Jacksonville Speedway in Jacksonville, Ill., with the Midwest Open Wheel Association before heading to St. Francois County Raceway in Farmington, Mo., on Saturday.
“We want to get more laps in the 410 and try to get more comfortable with the motor and different driving style, especially on these smaller tracks,” he said. “Having good throttle control and car control is important because things happen a lot quicker than in our 360.”
Friday will mark Hagar’s debut at Jacksonville Speedway. He hasn’t raced at St. Francois County Raceway since August 2016.
“I’ve been to Jacksonville, but never raced there,” he said. “It looks like a tricky track, but we have experience on the smaller tracks so I think we’ll be fine.”
Hagar earned a podium last Saturday during the inaugural Melvin Holcomb Classic hosted by Riverside International Speedway. He advanced from fourth to third place in a heat race to start the night.
“We got up to second and made a bid at Marshall (Skinner) for the lead,” he said. “Then I went down and hit some grease and about spun out. We fell to third and finished there.”
Hagar lined up on the outside of the third row for the A Main.
“The bottom worked pretty good early,” he said. “I got up to fourth in the first couple of laps. The top took over and I had to hurry up and get there. It was around the fence and slide job city. Once we got in our groove we got up to third.”
The third-place showing was Hagar’s third top five of the season and second in a row.
QUICK RESULTS –
May 8 – Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. – Heat race: 3 (4); Feature: 3 (6).
SEASON STATS –
7 races, 1 win, 3 top fives, 5 top 10s, 5 top 15s, 7 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Jacksonville Speedway in Jacksonville, Ill., with the Midwest Open Wheel Association and Saturday at St. Francois County Raceway in Farmington, Mo.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.DerekHagarRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HagarDerek
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – J&J Auto Racing
Located in McKenzie, Tenn., J&J Auto Racing has manufactured sprint car chassis and racing parts for more than 40 years. For more information, visit http://www.JandJAutoRacing.com.
“They’ve been in the family since J&J Auto Racing started building cars,” Hagar said. “My stepdad’s dad owned race cars back in the Riverside days. They are good, safe, dependable race cars and great people to deal with.”
Hagar would like to thank B&D Towing and Recovery, Dynotech Performance, FK Rod Ends, Fragola Performance Systems, Summit Truck Group, Killer Coatings, Administrative Consulting Services, Xtreme Race Graphics, Southern Collision Centre, Jeff’s Heating and Cooling, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Weld Wheels, DHR Suspension, Hinchman Racewear, Wix Filters, 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 12, 2021
- Article Date: 5/12/2021 by Inside Line Promotions