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Hagar Battling Weather and Learning Curve During First Half of Ohio Speedweek

(Photo by Mike Leone)

Inside Line Promotions – ORRVILLE, Ohio (June 24, 2014) – Derek Hagar didn’t anticipate he’d need to bring more rain coats than driver suits to the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions Ohio Speedweek.

Three of the first five races scheduled have been rained out midway through the marquee week.

“It looks like rain again tomorrow and then we’re good for Thursday, Friday and Saturday,” he said.

Driving for Pete Grove, Hagar has accomplished the first objective during the two races he’s been able to compete in.

“It felt pretty good to make both A Mains so far,” he said. “It’s been a real good opportunity. Momentum keeps getting better and better. We’ve got to keep going forward and getting more seat time with the 410. Practice makes perfect so we’ve got to get some more seat time.”

In addition to a different engine and new tracks, Hagar has had to adjust to qualifying.

“We don’t do much qualifying where I race,” he said. “That’s something I’ve got to get better at. That’s what sets up your whole night.”

Following the Ohio Speedweek opener being rained out last Friday at Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Hagar opened the competition on Saturday Eldora Speedway near Rossburg.

Hagar qualified 24th quickest to be the final car in the heat race inversion. He then finished fourth in his heat race to lock himself into the main event, which he started on the outside of the 11th row.

“We were good on the bottom and then the car kept getting freer and freer,” he said. “I looped it around in turn three. I didn’t have a real good feel for the car. Breaking in a new car at Eldora, it’s a different ballgame.”

Hagar ended with an 18th-place result.

On Sunday, Hagar timed in 33rd quickest during qualifying at Waynesfield Raceway Park in Waynesfield.

“We still had a little trouble getting a handle for it,” he said. “It took me a minute to get used to it and to a new race track. You’ve got to make sure you’re on point.”

After advancing from ninth to seventh in his heat race, Hagar was slated to start 13th in the B Main.

“We made some changes for the B Main,” he said. “We got the car just right. It felt better than it did early in the night. I knew I was passing cars. I drove by Dave Blaney, Danny Smith and a bunch of those good guys. I didn’t even know I was in a transfer spot.”

Hagar rallied for a third-place finish, which earned him a transfer to the main event. After starting last in the feature, Hagar continued to march forward.

“We had a really good car,” he said. “We should have had a top 10.”

Hagar was nearly caught up in a crash midway through the race. As he swerved to avoid the melee, several cars passed him back. However, Hagar was able to rebound to post a 15th-place result.

Monday’s race at Wayne County Speedway was rained out after qualifying and Tuesday’s event at Sharon Speedway in Hartford was cancelled because of the weather.

The remaining Ohio Speedweek races are Wednesday at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe; Thursday at Fremont Speedway in Fremont; Friday at Limaland Motorsports Park in Lima; and Saturday at Fremont Speedway.

QUICK RESULTS –

June 21 – Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio – Qualifying: 24; Heat race: 4 (1); Feature: 18 (22).

June 22 – Waynesfield Raceway Park in Waynesfield, Ohio – Qualifying: 33; Heat race: 7 (9); B Main: 3 (13); Feature: 15 (24).

SEASON STATS –

16 races, 10 wins, 11 top fives, 13 top 10s, 14 top 15s, 15 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Wednesday at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio; Thursday at Fremont Speedway in Fremont, Ohio; Friday at Limaland Motorsports Park in Lima, Ohio; and Saturday at Fremont Speedway in Fremont, Ohio, for the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions Ohio Speedweek

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.DerekHagarRacing.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HagarDerek

VIDEO –

Ride along with Hagar during his victory at I-30 Speedway on April 5 thanks to this video by Jones Sports Media: http://youtu.be/JDYTr1M4KjM

APPAREL –

Hagar has t-shirts, hats and koozies available for sale at his race trailer at every race he competes at. To see his schedule, visit http://www.DerekHagar.com/schedule.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Xtreme Race Graphics

Located in Marion, Ark., Xtreme Race Graphics creates custom graphics, banners and wraps. For more information, visit http://www.XtremeRaceGraphics.com.

“Dustin is a real good artist,” Hagar said. “He has a real good imagination. If you want the car to look the best, I’d recommend Xtreme Race Graphics.”

Hagar would also like to thank R.E. Enterprises, J&J Auto Racing, DynoTech Performance, Xtreme Race Graphics, Fragola Performance Systems, FSR Radiators, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Hinchman Racewear, FK Rod Ends 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 and to join Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or InsideLinePromotions@gmail.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.

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