Inside Line Promotions
– BENTON, Mo. (May 27, 2025) – Mother Nature claimed three of the first four rounds of the USCS Series Speedweek last weekend, but Derek Hagar made the most of his lone opportunity to compete.
Speedweek began on Friday at Benton Speedway, where Hagar and car owner A.G. Rains won a heat race from the pole position. With the dash being scrapped because of weather concerns, Hagar lined up sixth in the main event.
“We had a really good car and we got up to third pretty quick,” he said. “We tried some different things on restarts. Ayden (Gatewood) was able to get by Chase Howard, which allowed me to get by Chase. Ayden drove away from me. We had a caution with seven or eight laps to go. I threw a slider in turns one and two. We got to slide jobbing each other the next couple of laps. He ultimately got out from me and won the race.
“Unfortunately for him, he was light at the scales. That’s not how I wanted to win. He deserved to win that race. That’s a hard one to celebrate. Yes, I’m happy we won, but it’s hard whenever it’s somebody who is close to you that you take it from. It’s the first time I’ve ever won a race that way.”
Speedweek races on Saturday at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark.; on Sunday at Old No. 1 Speedway in Harrisburg, Ark.; and on Monday at Clayhill Motorsports Park in Atwood, Tenn., rained out.
“It’s rained non-stop since Saturday,” Hagar said. “The ground is saturated. I think Riverside posted a picture of their infield and you could have floated a boat out there. There was no way we were going to get any racing in after Friday night.”
This weekend features the final three nights of Speedweek with shows on Thursday at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala.; on Friday at Hattiesburg Speedway in Hattiesburg, Miss.; and on Saturday at Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, Miss.
“It’s not looking too promising until Saturday,” Hagar said. “Hopefully the weather improves and we can get some racing in because we have a good track record at all three tracks.”
QUICK RESULTS –
May 23 – Benton Speedway in Benton, Mo. – Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 1 (6).
SEASON STATS –
8 races, 2 wins, 5 top fives, 6 top 10s, 6 top 15s, 6 top 20s
UP NEXT –
USCS Speedweek: Thursday at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala.; Friday at Hattiesburg Speedway in Hattiesburg, Miss.; and Saturday at Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, Miss.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.DerekHagarRacing.com
X: http://www.twitter.com/dhrracing
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., AmeriPanel, 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, High Performance Lubricants, CP-Carillo and Builtwiser Wings for their continued support.