Inside Line Promotions – DU QUOIN, Ill. (March 21, 2017) – Derek Hagar is satisfied with the improvement the Hagar Proctor Racing team showed during its debut last Saturday at the Southern Illinois Center for the USAC National Midget Series Shamrock Classic.
“It was up and down,” he said. “We had a new car, new motor and new team. We didn’t have anywhere to shake the car down before the race so we threw ourselves to the wolves.”
Hagar kicked off the event by finishing fifth in a heat race before placing 10th in a qualifier. That relegated him toward the back of the B Main.
“We had issues taking off and then with the setup,” he said. “By the time the B Main came around we got it figured out. We made a good run, but had a couple of driver errors and missed the show by a couple of spots. We hit on something pretty good for the B Main. If it wasn’t for me stalling the car trying to avoid a wreck we might have had a shot at a transfer.
“We got to ninth or 10th and they had a wreck. I got on the brakes a little hard and it stalled the engine. I had to restart at the back and got all the way up to sixth, but Chad Boat got me with a couple of laps to go.”
Hagar finished seventh in the B Main to miss a transfer by only three positions.
“We kept working at it,” he said. “We had a good baseline to go off and we tweaked on it every time we got on the race track. I think we made a lot of progress and I’m excited to see what that team can do the next time out.”
Hagar will return to his winged sprint car this Friday and Saturday at 81 Speedway in Park City, Kan., for the Park City Cup/Air Capital Shootout with the NCRA. He swept the doubleheader last season and this year it pays $15,000 to win.
“We’ll see what the weekend holds for us,” he said. “Hopefully we can put together two solid nights and sweep the weekend like we did last year.”
QUICK RESULTS –
March 18 – Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin, Ill. – Heat race: 5 (1); Qualifier: 10 (8); B Main: 7 (14).
SEASON STATS –
6 races, 1 win, 2 top fives, 2 top 10s, 2 top 15s, 3 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at 81 Speedway in Park City, Kan., for the Park City Cup/Air Capital Shootout with the NCRA
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.DerekHagarRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HagarDerek
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – B&D Towing
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“B&D Towing supports racing,” Hagar said. “They can help anyone in the Memphis area. For anyone who needs a hand, B&D is recommended to save the day.”
Hagar would also like to thank Dynotech Performance, DHR Suspension, J&J Auto Racing, 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.