Hagar Returns to Victory Lane at Riverside International Speedway - Speedway Digest

Derek Hagar scored his seventh feature victory of the season last Saturday when he did double duty at Riverside International Speedway.

Hagar guided a McCord Farms 305ci winged sprint car to Victory Lane and he produced a third-place finish in his 360ci winged sprint car.

“It was an entertaining night,” he said.

Hagar advanced from sixth to fourth place in the 305 heat race before charging from eighth to win the main event. The seven positions gained were the second most.

“We didn’t get a good pill draw and we only passed two cars in the heat race,” he said. “They don’t do passing points so that made us start eighth in the feature. We couldn’t get anywhere and we stalled out in fourth. We had a restart and I got up to third. First and second were racing each other pretty hard. It made it to where I could get to them. I slid for second. Then on the last lap the leader followed a lapped car into turn three. That killed his speed enough where I could make a move to slide both him and the lapper.”

Hagar was stout in his race car as well, winning a heat race from the outside of the front row. He then maneuvered from fifth to third place in the main event.

“I thought I had enough points to be in the top two rows, but there was enough passing in other heats it put us fifth for the feature,” he said. “I was pretty tight the whole race. I couldn’t really maneuver like I wanted to and it was hard to pass cars for me. We were able to get up to third. I tried to dive under Aiden Gatewood going into turn three around midway. He turned down to hit the bottom and I bumped him and spun myself out. There wasn’t a caution and we fell to seventh or eighth. We drove back up to third. Without that incident or with another caution or two I felt I had a car that could have contended for the win.”

Hagar has recorded 11 podium results in his last 13 sprint car starts.

Hagar is slated to drive a McCord Farms entry this Friday at Crowleys Ridge Raceway in Paragould, Ark., before racing for Paul Hart on Saturday and Sunday at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo., with the POWRi 410 Bandit Outlaw Sprint Series.

“It’s going to be exciting,” Hagar said. “I’m anxious to see how this new engine will be compared to our competition. I’m looking forward to it and our expectations are high. I hope we can go out there and make the car owner proud.”

QUICK RESULTS –

Aug. 24 – Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. (360 sprint car) – Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 3 (5).

Aug. 24 – Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. (305 sprint car) – Heat race: 4 (6); Feature: 1 (8).

SEASON STATS –

21 races, 7 wins, 13 top fives, 16 top 10s, 18 top 15s, 18 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Friday at Crowleys Ridge Raceway in Paragould, Ark.; and Saturday and Sunday at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo., with the POWRi 410 Bandit Outlaw Sprint Series

ILP PR