Tulsa, OK — (April 27, 2015) — In one of the most intense races of the 2014 season, Derek Hagar held off two-time Rock ‘N Roll 50 winner, Tim Crawley, to park his No. 9jr in Victor Lane for the first time with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MAVTV American Real at the famed Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark.
A year later, the seventh annual Eagle Motorsports Rock ‘N Roll 50 presented by MyRacePass.com goes green this Saturday, May 2 and for Hagar, it’s another shot at the coveted Gibson Guitar.
“It meant a lot to win the Rock ‘N Roll 50 last year. It was my first National Tour win, plus being at my home track, in front of my home crowd, and with all my family there it was pretty special to share that night with them,” said Hagar when asked about his 2014 victory.
Asked how he feels about his title defense, Hagar replied, “I feel pretty good. We haven’t been able to race much because were just out of on being able to run the ASCS Regional races with our budget, plus the forecast the way it’s been, but I think we still have a pretty good chance going into Riverside. No one’s been able to race there all year so the track’s going to be challenging.”
Home to some of the most vocal fans in racing, Hagar explained why he feel the Rock ‘N Roll 50 stands out over most events across the Mid-South, “I think it has a lot to do with the history of this track, plus with Memphis being so well known for music with the Blues and Rock ‘N Roll so bringing that into it as well, it kind of brings up the whole history surrounding the Memphis area. It makes it a very exciting event and to have that cool trophy at the end of the night, I think it brings a lot of attention to the drivers to get up on the wheel.”
A 50 lap affair to earn the coveted Gibson Guitar, this year’s trophy has been provided by Budweiser. Nearly double the laps however, Hagar points out it takes preparation outside the shop to go the distance, “I’ve been doing a lot of cardio and weight lifting since we’ve been off. That’s what I did last year too. Just getting in the gym and working out, it really showed at the end of those 50 laps. Normally I would have been worn out with how hard me and Tim [Crawley] raced but I was ready to go another 50.”
While Hagar looks to defend his home turf, he’ll have the best of the Lucas Oil ASCS breathing down his neck as Aaron Reutzel leads the charge into the Rock ‘N Roll 50. Brad Loyet is the closest National Tour driver to Reutzel in third, 47 points behind with four top-fives in the season’s first four events. Johnny Herrera trails the point by 58 after four nights of competition with Jeff Swindell currently completing the top five in driver standings.
Event promoter, Tony Bruce, Jr. holds sixth, Seth Bergman seventh, and Wayne Johnson completes the top-ten.
Finding the next National Tour driver, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. holds 11th with Matt Covington 16th. Blake Hahn is 18th with Brodix Rookie of the Year contender, Kyle Bellm, currently 23rd. Also chasing National Tour Rookie honors, Derek Hagar looks to climb from 26th with Josh Baughman 27th. Completing the list of Rookies, Kris Miller is 38th with Jordan Weaver 42nd.
Discount tickets for the seventh annual Eagle Motorsports Rock ‘N Roll 50 presented by MyRacePass.com are on sale at http://www.tbjpromotions.com. For continued updates on the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MAVTV American Real, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com.