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Hagar Battles to Overcome Early Crash During Short Track Nationals

(Photo by Seth Lacewell)

Inside Line Promotions – LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Oct. 28, 2014) – Derek Hagar headed into the 27th annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals Presented by Hoosier Tires last weekend expecting to compete for the victory.

Unfortunately, Hagar was caught up in a crash on the opening lap of his preliminary night heat race and he was unable to overcome that hurdle during the remainder of the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour event at I-30 Speedway.

“It’s pretty frustrating,” he said. “We had a lot of people expecting us to do good and wanting us to win. We had the expectations of going in there and winning the deal.”

The weekend began on a high note as Hagar claimed his heat race and charged from 12th to fourth place in the Short Track Nationals Open main event on Wednesday.

“We started off pretty good,” he said. “We won our heat race and that put us in the show. I drove my way up through there pretty good. I figured the weekend was going to be pretty good. Out of 66 cars we finished fourth and were eligible for a provisional if the top three guys made it.”

However, that was the highlight of a long weekend at the bullring. On Friday, Hagar lined up on the inside of the third row of his heat race, but he was involved in a crash on the frontstretch as the green flag was waved.

“The track was a one-lane deal,” he said. “I was beside a guy for fourth and he came down and hit me in the right front. It never quit sliding and hit the infield tires and pretty much ruined our whole weekend.”

Hagar was unable to restart the heat race. He then finished eighth in a qualifier on the narrow track, which relegated him to the ninth starting position in the B Main.

“They prepped the race track as if there were 100 cars there,” he said. “They put so much water on the track it took it awhile to blow off. I can’t complain too much because everybody had the same race track. It was too much ground to try to make up. I think the B Main went flag to flag. It was tough to get guys.”

Hagar picked up a trio of positions, but he was unable to transfer into the main event.

Saturday started on a better note as Hagar charged from seventh to fourth place – and was half a car length from third – in his last chance qualifier. He then won a C Main after starting fourth before his Short Track Nationals ended with a sixth-place result in a B Main.

“It was one of those deals we needed some cautions to bunch the field back up to make some moves,” he said.

Hagar will wrap up his season this Friday and Saturday at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark., for the 6th annual Fall Nationals with the USCS.

QUICK RESULTS –

Oct. 22 – I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. – Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 4 (12).

Oct. 24 – I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. – Heat race: DNF (5); Qualifier: 8 (9); B Main: 6 (9).

Oct. 25 – I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. – Last chance qualifier: 4 (7); C Main: 1 (4); B Main: 6 (9).

SEASON STATS –

49 races, 15 wins, 24 top fives, 29 top 10s, 33 top 15s, 39 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Friday and Saturday at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark., for the 6th annual Fall Nationals with the USCS

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.DerekHagarRacing.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HagarDerek

VIDEO –

Here is a video of Hagar winning the Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour on Sept. 27 at Lucas Oil Speedway: http://youtu.be/C3_ieWghINg

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 – Fragola Performance Systems

Housed in Southington, Conn., Fragola Performance Systems manufactures fittings, lines and hoses for the racing industry. For more information, visit http://www.FragolaPerformanceSystems.com.

“Fragola Performance Systems are all in all a good fitting and line manufacturer,” Hagar said. “They make really good lightweight hose. I prefer them over anybody else as far as a good pressure hose.”

Hagar would also like to thank J&J Auto Racing, R.E. Enterprises, Dynotech Performance, Xtreme Race Graphics, 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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