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WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (May 23, 2023) – Derek Hagar made the most of a last-minute opportunity last weekend to win during his first sprint car race of the season.
Hagar piloted the McCord Farms No. 42 sprint car to a victory at Riverside International Speedway, earning his first season-opening win since March 2014.
“It definitely is a confidence booster, especially since we didn’t plan on racing,” he said. “It gets me that much more ready to be in our car and see what we’ve got. With all I’ve got going on in business I’ve wondered am I clear headed enough to be able to do it and focus on the race car and not worried about what life throws at you? This weekend we proved we still have a clear mind and can focus on the racing when we need to to be competitive.”
The sprint car ride came up late last week as Hagar had planned on just being at the track as a fan.
“That was my third race for him and now we’ve won two of them,” he said. “Mr. McCord is a diehard fan and car owner. Marshall (Skinner), who drives for Mr. McCord sometimes, was supposed to drive his uncle’s car and said Derek will drive it. I didn’t know that and I found out on Thursday or Friday I’d drive it.”
Hagar won a heat race from the pole position to open Saturday’s racing action.
“We were scheduled to start second in the heat race and the pole car decided to go to the back,” he said. “We got the win, but was sixth in points. So we started sixth in the feature. We worked our way through there slowly and got to second. I was able to show the leader my nose. He started doing things he wasn’t doing and I was able to stay with him. On the last restart he put probably half a straightaway on me. On the white flag lap he overshot the corner in turns three and four. He got into the wall and came down the track. I went around him and caught some moisture and I was able to beat him at the line by a nose.”
Hagar will take the momentum from the win into his No. 9jr sprint car for a USCS Series tripleheader this weekend. The start of USCS Speedweek runs Friday at Lexington 104 Speedway in Lexington, Ark.; Saturday at Riverside International Speedway.; and Sunday at Old No. 1 Speedway in Harrisburg, Ark.
“I’m looking forward to that,” he said. “I feel I’m in the best physical and mental shape in a long time. This offseason we really hit it hard and I’m ready to see how much we’ve improved. We’ll do the first three shows of Speedweek and see how things go.”
QUICK RESULTS –
May 20 – Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. – Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 1 (6).
SEASON STATS –
1 race, 1 win, 1 top five, 1 top 10, 1 top 15, 1 top 20
UP NEXT –
Friday at Lexington 104 Speedway in Lexington, Ark.; Saturday at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark.; and Sunday at Old No. 1 Speedway in Harrisburg, 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 Ameri-Panel, J&J Auto Racing, B & D Towing and Recovery, FK Rod Ends, Dynotech Performance, A.M.P., Fragola Performance Systems, Administrative Consulting Services, Killer Coatings, Beazt Composites, Xtreme Race Graphics, Southern Collision Centre, Jeff’s Heating and Cooling, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Weld Wheels, DHR Suspension, Hinchman Racewear, Wix Filters, Valvoline, Ti64 and Builtwiser Wings for their continued support.