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Hagar Wins USCS Fall Nationals Opener Before Charging From 22nd to Fourth in Finale

(Photo courtesy of USCS Series)

Inside Line Promotions – WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (Oct. 24, 2017) – Derek Hagar earned his ninth win of the season before charging from 22nd to fourth on Saturday during twin features for the USCS Fall Nationals at Riverside International Speedway.

The night began with Hagar winning a heat race after starting on the outside of the front row. That lined him up on the inside of the second row for the first of two, 25-lap A Mains.

“We got up to second about 10 laps into it and chased Howard Moore down,” he said. “We threw a couple of sliders on him. The caution came out once right after I passed him. We went back to second on the restart and had to work to get by him. Then the third-place car got both of us. It made it really interesting because the track was around the bottom in turns one and two and you could run anywhere in turns three and four. Once I got by Howard me and Cody Gardner got to racing pretty hard. We hit traffic and on the white flag lap I followed on his right rear through turn one and down the backstretch. I went around the top wide open in turns three and four and beat him by about a bumper at the flag stand to pick up the win. It was an adrenaline rush for sure.”

The victory was Hagar’s first of the season at Riverside International Speedway and it lined him up 22nd for the second main event, which was inverted.

“We had something to build our momentum off,” he said. “We had the car working nice in the first one so I really didn’t do much for the second main event. We had to make moves early because you’ve only got 25 laps. It’s nearly impossible to pass 21 cars in 25 laps. We had to make some aggressive moves. We got up to sixth or seventh before Marshall (Skinner) had an issue while leading. We were fifth on the restart and I slid the third and fourth drivers. Me and Brad Bowden got to sliding each other and the top two guys got away. I’d really like to have had another caution because I think we had a great opportunity to pull off another win.”

Hagar’s rally from last to fourth place marked his 28th top five of the season.

The weekend began the previous night at Riverside International Speedway, where Hagar placed fourth in a heat race before ending 14th in the main event.

“The track stayed heavy all night around the bottom,” he said. “As it went on we got tighter and tighter. We threw a lot at it. I was going to try to drive up top in the fluff and make it work, but the guys running the bottom threw too much stuff up there. I just rode around and tried to finish the race.”

Hagar is atop the USCS Mid-South championship standings entering the season finale this Saturday at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala.

QUICK RESULTS –

Oct. 20 – Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. – Heat race: 4 (5); Feature: 14 (12).

Oct. 21 – Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. – Heat race: 1 (2); Feature #1: 1 (3); Feature #2: 4 (22).

SEASON STATS –

44 races, 9 wins, 28 top fives, 33 top 10s, 36 top 15s, 38 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Saturday at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala., with the USCS Series

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.DerekHagarRacing.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HagarDerek

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 Dynotech Performance, DHR Suspension, B&D Towing, J&J Auto Racing, 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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