Inside Line Promotions
ATWOOD, Tenn. (May 31, 2016) – Derek Hagar is on an absolute tear.
Hagar has recorded six wins and 12 podium finishes during his last 13 races, including two wins and four podiums during the first four USCS Speedweek races last weekend.
“It feels pretty good because we’ve got to pad the bank account the last four nights of racing,” he said. “Hopefully we can finish Speedweek strong and add more to the bank.”
Hagar kicked off the USCS Speedweek last Friday at Hattiesburg Speedway in Hattiesburg, Miss., where he swept the night. Hagar won the dash after starting fourth, claimed a heat race after starting on the pole and captured the main event after starting on the outside of the front row.
“We led the whole feature,” he said. “We had a challenge with Brian (Bell) about the midpoint of the race. We got together and it ended his night. We went on to win the race. It was a late night of racing. It was three in the morning before we got to pull out of there.”
Hagar’s momentum followed the team on Saturday at Jackson Motor Speedway in Byram, Miss. Hagar placed second in the dash and he charged from eighth to third place in a heat race. That lined him up on the inside of the third row for the main event.
“We got up to third pretty quick when a couple of guys in front of us got together and crashed,” he said. “I got to second on the restart and chased Marshall Skinner down and passed him about Lap 8 or 9. I felt like I was doing pretty good. Before I knew it we had a challenge for the lead with Brian. He got by us on a restart and got away for a little, but we were closing back in in traffic when we had a caution with four laps to go. Once he had clean air again he set sail.”
Hagar ended second, but he was credited with the win when the leader was disqualified because of a rule violation.
Greenville Speedway in Greenville, Miss., hosted racing on Sunday night with Hagar finishing second in the dash and third in a heat race. That started him 14th for the main event, which was cut down to 25 laps because of time following a rain delay earlier in the evening.
“We hadn’t been starting that far back so we had a lot of work to do to get remotely close to the front,” he said. “We got up there pretty quick. We got to the top five and once you do that the cars get harder to pass. It was a good race. We challenged for second and had a yellow so he got to go back in front of us. We got back up to second and chased down the leader. Then the white flag was displayed. I felt like we had a winning car if we went the full 30 laps.”
Hagar posted a second-place result.
The weekend concluded on Monday at Clayhill Motorsports, where Hagar advanced from fifth to second in the dash and from sixth to second in a heat race. He started the main event on the inside of the third row.
“The race track had taken a lot of rain recently so there was a lot of water on the bottom of the race track,” he said. “You had to really tip toe in around the bottom to finesse it enough to get off the bottom. You had to be patient and get a good run on people to pass them because you couldn’t move off the bottom of the track.”
Hagar maneuvered to a third-place result, which marked his 18th podium finish of the season.
The USCS Speedweek wraps up with races on Thursday at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala.; Friday at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Miss.; and Saturday at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark.
QUICK RESULTS –
May 27 – Hattiesburg Speedway in Hattiesburg, Miss. – Dash: 1 (4); Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 1 (2).
May 28 – Jackson Motor Speedway in Byram, Miss. – Dash: 2 (1); Heat race: 3 (8); Feature: 1 (5).
May 29 – Greenville Speedway in Greenville, Miss. – Dash: 2 (1); Heat race: 3 (4); Feature: 2 (14).
May 30 – Clayhill Motorsports in Atwood, Tenn. – Dash: 2 (5); Heat race: 2 (6); Feature: 3 (5).
SEASON STATS –
24 races, 8 wins, 19 top fives, 20 top 10s, 21 top 15s, 22 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Thursday at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala.; Friday at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Miss.; and Saturday at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark., for the second half of the USCS Speedweek
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.DerekHagarRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HagarDerek
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“B&D Towing supports racing,” Hagar said. “They can help anyone in the Memphis area. For anyone who needs a hand, B&D is recommended to save the day.”
Hagar would also like to thank Dynotech Performance, DHR Suspension, J&J Auto Racing, Xtreme Race Graphics, FSR Radiators, Fragola Performance Systems, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Hinchman Racewear, Wings Unlimited, 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 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.
*PHOTO COURTESY OF USCS*