6/5/2018
Inside Line Promotions
Hagar Powers to USCS Speedweek Triumph at Magnolia Motor Speedway
(Photo courtesy of USCS Series)
Inside Line Promotions – WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (June 5, 2018) – Derek Hagar highlighted a trio of USCS Series Speedweek races last weekend with his first feature victory of the season.
The tripleheader began on Thursday at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala., where Hagar maneuvered from sixth to third place in a heat race before he took the lead early in the A Main.
“We led a good margin of the race early on Thursday at Talladega,” he said. “When you have someone experienced like Sammy Swindell he can read what’s going on and capitalize. Once he did I followed him, but was never close enough to do anything. Once he got out front it was his race. We were able to load it up in one piece with a second-place finish and that felt like a win to me.”
The runner-up result guided Hagar into a Speedweek show at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Miss., on Friday. He placed third in the dash before advancing from sixth to second place in a heat race. Hagar lined up on the outside of the front row next to Swindell in the main event.
“The track was wonderful,” he said. “It was probably the raciest I’ve seen Magnolia. We started on the front row with Sammy. I was talking to Tony Stewart before the feature. I said if you get that man out front on a track like this he’s going to be tough to beat. Plus our motor was tired with 41 nights on it.
“Sammy got out on us, but we caught him in traffic. I saw the window of opportunity. I slid him and a couple of lapped cars at the same time. I made a hole where there wasn’t a hole. It worked out. We were able to maneuver through traffic so well and it played in our favor. It felt really good to be able to drive by Sammy and outrun Tony Stewart and these big guys with our Dynotech motor. Sammy used to drive for my grandfather in his younger days. To be able to compete with him, it felt good to come out on top with someone of that caliber.”
Hagar’s win gives him a triumph at the track during three of the last four years.
The weekend concluded on Saturday at Riverside International Speedway. Hagar won the dash and advanced from third to second in a heat race before he started 10th in the A Main.
“We tried some stuff on the car because we’ve been terrible when the track is heavy and that’s how it was on Saturday,” he said. “We got out of our comfort zone and it worked. We got all the way up to second. We had a late restart and the track went bone slick in turn four. I was way too free. The bottom got too slow where I was running. Sammy got by me and then on the last lap Tim Crawley got by me.”
Hagar’s fourth-place finish was his eighth top five of the season.
He will take this weekend off as his primary engine is being sent off to be refreshed after running 42 races.
“It’s pretty remarkable for an engine to run that many races before it needs to be refreshened,” he said. “Ricky Stenhouse at Dynotech Performance does a great job and it shows when we can run an engine that long.”
QUICK RESULTS –
May 31 – Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala. – Heat race: 3 (6); Feature: 2 (2).
June 1 – Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Miss. – Dash: 3 (3); Heat race: 2 (6); Feature: 1 (2).
June 2 – Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. – Dash: 1 (1); Heat race: 2 (3); Feature: 4 (10).
SEASON STATS –
19 races, 1 win, 8 top fives, 9 top 10s, 13 top 15s, 16 top 20s
UP NEXT –
TBD
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 also like to thank Dynotech Performance, DHR Suspension, B&D Towing, Xtreme Race Graphics, Fragola Performance Systems, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Weld Wheels, Hinchman Racewear, Wix Filters, Wings Unlimited, FK Rod Ends, Valvoline 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.
Article Credit: Inside Line Promotions
Submitted By: Shawn Miller