(Photo by B Young Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (Sept. 30, 2021) – Derek Hagar posted his 22nd top-10 result of the season last Saturday during the Fall Nationals at Riverside International Speedway.
Hagar placed third in a heat race to open the action at the tricky bullring.
“We weren’t that good and the track was greasy in the heat,” he said. “I made the call to free the car up and freed it up too much. The track didn’t start getting sticky as quick as I thought it would. I was way free and didn’t have any drive. We’re always tight when the track has moisture so I was trying to be on the free side and went too far. We backed up to fourth and got a spot back to finish third.”
That lined him up on the inside of the sixth row in the main event. Hagar battled his race car during the feature as well as he gained a trio of positions to finish eighth for his sixth top 10 in seven races this month.
“I kept the car free because in the 305 sprint car feature, which was two races before ours, they were about to tip over because it was so tacky,” he said. “We pushed out there and the track started shining up. I knew I was going to be in trouble.
“I held on for the 30 laps. You just try to finish the race. The track made a total 180 from what I thought it was going to do. I couldn’t do a slide job without losing the right rear and about spinning out. I had to pick my battles and be able to take advantage of passing someone when I could.”
Hagar planned on tackling the Short Track Nationals this weekend, but the event at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., was postponed three weeks until Oct. 22-23 because of weather concerns. That leaves this weekend dormant for Hagar, who returns to action on Oct. 8-9 at Riverside International Speedway with the USCS Series.
“Those will be my last two events of the year,” he said. “We need to go out with a bang. We need to pick up some more wins. We want to tally more wins and get ready for next season. With Short Track Nationals getting rained out this week it pushes our season a little further into October. We’re excited to do the USCS event at Riverside and hopefully pick up a win or two. Then we’ll try to get our first Short Track Nationals title.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Sept. 25 – Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. – Heat race: 3 (1); Feature: 8 (11).
SEASON STATS –
41 races, 6 wins, 13 top fives, 22 top 10s, 28 top 15s, 31 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Oct. 8-9 at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark., with the USCS Series
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 Pafford Medical Services, KO Motorsports, B&D Towing and Recovery, Dynotech Performance, FK Rod Ends, Fragola Performance Systems, Summit Truck Group, Administrative Consulting Services, Killer Coatings, 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 Sep 30, 2021
- Article Date: 9/30/2021 by Inside Line Promotions