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BALDWYN, Miss. (May 29, 2024) – Derek Hagar captured his first feature victory of the season last Saturday during the USCS Series Speedweek opener at Riverside International Speedway.
It marked the 15 th straight year of winning at least one main event for Hagar, who also extended his USCS Series Speedweek winning streak to seven in a row after sweeping all six rounds last year.
“Always getting that first win seems to be tough,” he said. “After you get the first one out of the way you still have to work for them, but it seems they come a little easier. I don’t know how many years in a row that is, but it’s nice to keep the streak going.”
Hagar advanced from fifth to second place in a heat race to start the night at the dirt oval in West Memphis, Ark.
“We were able to get ourselves as the high-point driver and we drew the No. 2 for the dash,” he said. “It was a miracle we even got the race in because of all the rain we got. In the dash I hit some water and slid up and fell to third. I think that ultimately put me in the right position for the feature.”
A third-place result in the dash lined him up on the inside of the second row in the main event.
“We got to second pretty quick,” he said. “Once we got to traffic I was able to make my move and set sail. I think I got to the lead around Lap 11 or Lap 12. The leader got bottled up behind lapped cars. I slid him going into turns one and two. He got back by me down the back straightaway and went to the top. I had enough run to slide him into turns three and four. We stayed out front the rest of the race.”
The only other Speedweek race that was contested during Memorial Day Weekend – with races on Friday and Sunday raining out – was Monday at Pine Ridge Speedway. Hagar drove from fifth to third place in a heat race. That lined him up eighth in the main event.
“The track was locked down around the bottom, rubbered up,” he said. “It was rubbered up in the heat race, too. We passed a couple of cars in our heat. In the feature we moved up to fifth and blew a right rear tire with about six laps to go.”
Hagar was credited with a 15th-place result.
He is planning on running the final three Speedweek races this Thursday at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala.; Friday at Hattiesburg Speedway in Hattiesburg, Miss.; and Saturday at Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, Miss.
QUICK RESULTS –
May 25 – Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. – Heat race: 2 (5); Dash: 3 (2); Feature: 1 (3).
May 27 – Pine Ridge Speedway in Baldwyn, Miss. – Heat race: 3 (5); Feature: 15 (8).
SEASON STATS –
7 races, 1 win, 1 top five, 2 top 10s, 4 top 15s, 4 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Thursday at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala.; Friday at Hattiesburg Speedway in Hattiesburg, Miss.; and Saturday at Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, Miss., 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 Nutrien Ag Solutions, Sonic of Dyersburg, Keith Jones Promotions, Boat Warehouse, West Tennessee Expediting, Inc., Ameri-Panel, J&J Auto Racing, B & D Towing and Recovery, FK Rod Ends, Dynotech Performance Race Engines, A.M.P., Fragola Performance Systems, Administrative Consulting Services, Killer Coatings, Beazt Composites, Xtreme Race Graphics, Southern Collision Centre, AR Dyno Specialty, 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.