Hagar secured his first career title last weekend by claiming the USCS Southern Thunder championship. Next up, the USCS overall title. With three races remaining on the schedule, Hagar has a sizeable lead in the championship standings.

“Although we had to sweat it out a bit, it was great to get my first championship last weekend,” he said. “Now our focus is on the USCS championship, which has been our goal for most of this season.”

Last weekend’s USCS vs. URC action got off to a bittersweet start for Hagar, who won the dash after starting fourth and advanced from sixth to third place in his heat race at Carolina Speedway in Gastonia, N.C. He then started on the outside of the third row for the main event.

“We started sixth and were into fourth in turn one,” Hagar said. “In the middle of (turns) one and two the rear axle broke and the tire came off exiting (turn) two. It was just a part failure. That was our first DNF of the year and our first time out of the top 10.”

Hagar had finished in the top 10 in all 39 of his previous races this season.

“We really couldn’t be mad about anything,” he said. “It was one of those deals that happened. We’ve had a real good season. It was something out of our control.”

After Hagar was relegated to a 24th-place result, it also jumbled the USCS Southern Thunder points heading into the finale on Saturday at Cherokee Super Speedway.

“I figured that should have tied us up,” he said. “It had me worried and off my game a little bit because we led the whole year and to come down to the final two races and lose it would be awful. In the end it all worked out.”

Hagar advanced from sixth to fifth place in his heat race, which barely locked him into the feature. He then charged from 13th to seventh to secure the title and his 40th top-10 finish of the season.

“It was one of those deals where you had to fight for the bottom,” he said. “It was try to pick them off whenever they slip off the bottom. There just wasn’t a lot of good racing.”

Hagar will race with the USCS on Saturday at Poplar Bluff Speedway in Poplar Bluff, Mo., for the Cotton Bowl Cup. His USCS schedule ends the first weekend of November with a doubleheader at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark., for the USCS Fall Nationals.

QUICK RESULTS –

Oct. 4 – Carolina Speedway in Gastonia, N.C. – Dash: 1 (4); Heat race: 3 (6); Feature: 24 (6).

Oct. 5 – Cherokee Super Speedway in Gaffney, S.C. – Heat race: 5 (6); Feature: 7 (13).

SEASON STATS –

41 races, 9 wins, 29 top fives, 40 top 10s, 40 top 15s, 40 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Saturday at Poplar Bluff Speedway in Poplar Bluff, Mo., for the Cotton Bowl Cup with the USCS

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.DerekHagar.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hagarderek

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 – FSR Radiators

Located in Gallaway, Tenn., FSR Radiators has been supplying high-performance, all-aluminum radiators to the racing community for many years. For more information, visit http://www.FSRProducts.com.

“FSR Radiators make the best radiators to keep your motor as cool as it possibly can be,” Hagar said. “I’d definitely recommend them to any racer.”

Hagar would also like to thank R.E. Enterprises, Fragola Performance Systems, J&J Auto Racing, DynoTech Performance, Xtreme Race Graphics, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems and FK Rod Ends for their continued support.

INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –

Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations, media management and merchandising services for sprint car teams. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and your sponsors’ return on investment.

To meet the media relations needs of your team, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or sprintcarreporter@yahoo.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.insidelinepromotions.com.