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Hagar Posts Career-Best Short Track Nationals Result at I-30 Speedway

(Photo by Jones Sports Media)

Inside Line Promotions – LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Oct. 17, 2017) – Derek Hagar earned his best-ever Short Track Nationals finish last weekend during the 30th annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires.

Hagar battled it out with 70-plus other competitors through two preliminary nights before he captured a seventh-place result on Saturday during the ASCS Mid-South Region event finale hosted by I-30 Speedway.

“It was eventful,” he said. “We didn’t have the luck on our side for the pill draw any of the nights and the race track made it challenging to pass cars. You really needed to build points.”

The event began on Thursday with Hagar maneuvering from seventh to third place in a heat race before he finished where he started – fifth – in a qualifier.

“The race track was one lane without a whole lot of passing,” he said. “We were able to get enough points in the heat race to put us fifth in points. We barely made it into the show after the qualifier. There wasn’t a whole lot of good racing going on. Where you started was where you’d finish.”

Hagar advanced from 14th to 11th during the main event.

He returned to the quarter-mile oval on Friday for Round 2. After advancing from fifth to fourth place in a heat race and finishing where he started – ninth – in a qualifier, Hagar elected to scratch from the B Main.

“We scratched because there was no way we were going to beat our points night from Thursday so there wasn’t any need to put any additional load on our tires and engine and car,” he said.

Saturday’s program began with Hagar charging from sixth to second place during a heat race, which earned enough points to lock into the 12th starting position in the 40-lap A Main.

“The race track was greasy, but luckily we drew a late heat race,” he said. “The race track moved around and a couple of guys spun out and we were there to capitalize on it. That gave us enough points to lock in.

“In the main event we gained a couple of positions early and then we had a good race with Jason Martin back and forth for position. We had a caution late and I was running eighth or ninth. I got by a car or two and chased down (Tim) Crawley. I just ran out of laps to get to him. My car got better as the race went on. The car was a whole lot better as the track went away.”

Hagar finished seventh, which marked his second straight top 10 during the event finale.

“It was a good night,” he said. “It paid pretty good for seventh. We’d like to have been up there contending for a win, but we had to take what we could get. Considering the circumstances of what we had to fight I’d say it was a successful weekend.”

Hagar will compete in his home state of Arkansas for the final time this season on Friday and Saturday at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis with the USCS Series.

QUICK RESULTS –

Oct. 12 – I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. – Heat race: 3 (7); Qualifier: 5 (5); Feature: 11 (14).

Oct. 13 – I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. – Heat race: 4 (5); Qualifier: 9 (9); B Main: DNS (-).

Oct. 14 – I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. – Heat race: 2 (6); Feature: 7 (12).

SEASON STATS –

41 races, 8 wins, 26 top fives, 31 top 10s, 33 top 15s, 35 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Friday and Saturday at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark., 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 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.

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