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WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (Oct. 19, 2021) – Derek Hagar earned his eighth triumph of the season last Sunday when he captured the 305ci winged sprint car portion of the Grassroots Nationals at Riverside International Speedway.
“John McCord owns a farm north of here and just loves racing,” he said. “Marshall (Skinner) has driven for him before and Andy McElhannon drives for him. Andy had something going on this weekend so Mr. McCord asked me to drive. I’m glad we could deliver a win.”
Hagar swept the night, winning both a heat race and the feature.
“In the heat race we had to take it easy the first couple of laps to see where everyone would end up,” he said. “We got up through there with a couple of slide jobs. I got to second and Cody Garner was a straightaway ahead of me. I chased him down and got by him, but there was a caution so he restarted in the lead on the green-white-checkered finish. I slid him in turns three and four coming to get the white flag. They don’t do passing points so you line up straight up from heat race finishes.”
The charge from seventh to win the heat race lined Hagar up on the outside of the front row for the main event.
“I got a good start and led all 25 laps and we lapped up to third place,” he said. “I could run wherever I needed to. The fastest line was up against the fence. Once I got to traffic I had to start moving around and doing slide jobs. We made good speed and made quick work of lapped cars.”
Hagar will return to his car for one final event as I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., hosts the 34th annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires featuring the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour this Friday and Saturday.
“We want to go in there with a clear mind,” he said. “The track has been different this year with the dirt they put on it. I’m curious to see what it’ll do as far as not taking rubber so early. We’ve been fortunate to win the prelim night the last two years. This year it has more incentive, locking the winner into Saturday’s A Main. We came up one spot short of winning the Short Track Nationals finale last year so hopefully we can seal the deal this weekend.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Oct. 17 – Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. – Heat race: 1 (7); Feature: 1 (2).
SEASON STATS –
44 races, 8 wins, 16 top fives, 25 top 10s, 31 top 15s, 34 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., for the 34 th annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.DerekHagarRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HagarDerek
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – B&D Towing and Recovery
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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 like to thank Pafford Medical Services, KO Motorsports, Dynotech Performance, J&J Auto Racing, 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.