For the first time in his career he hit the double-digit mark in feature wins after leading the entire USCS event at Poplar Bluff Speedway. It was his career-best 10th victory of the season and also gave him a one-point advantage in the USCS Mid-South championship standings heading into the series finale in two weeks.

“The season has gone pretty good,” he said. “We’re having a real good year as far as wins and the points have been really tight. It’s made it very interesting. It’s going to end up being figured out at the checkered flag of the last race. It’s made it fun and a little bit nerve-racking.”

Hagar helped his cause on Saturday during the 13th annual Cotton Bowl Cup by charging from fourth to second place in the dash, which was one position better than Tim Crawley – who entered the night with a two-point advantage over Hagar in the standings.

“I knew I had to beat Crawley and he started third,” Hagar said. “I ended up finishing second to Terry Gray. I knew I had to hold my line and just finish in front of Crawley because every point counts.”

Hagar then charged from eighth to second place in his heat race, earning him the most points of any driver. The winner of the first heat race pulled a zero during the inversion draw so the feature was started heads up, giving Hagar the pole.

“We had a good car all night,” he said. “After eight classes and a 45-minute fog delay going into our feature we finally got to run. Other than lapped traffic we never had much of a challenge all race. We had a real good weekend. If everything is right we should be a point ahead going into the last points race.”

That will be the 5th annual USCS Fall Nationals at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis on Nov. 1-2.

Hagar is slated to take this weekend off before tackling the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour 26th annual Short Track Nationals at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., Oct. 23-26.

QUICK RESULTS –

Oct. 12 – Poplar Bluff Speedway in Poplar Bluff, Mo. – Dash: 2 (4); Heat race: 2 (8); Feature: 1 (1).

SEASON STATS –

42 races, 10 wins, 30 top fives, 41 top 10s, 41 top 15s, 41 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Wednesday through Saturday, Oct. 23-26, at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., for the 26th annual Short Track Nationals with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour

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 – Fragola Performance Systems

Housed in Southington, Conn., Fragola Performance Systems manufactures fittings, lines and hoses for the racing industry. For more information, visit http://www.FragolaPerformanceSystems.com.

“Fragola Performance Systems are all in all a good fitting and line manufacturer,” Hagar said. “They make really good lightweight hose. I prefer them over anybody else as far as a good pressure hose.”

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

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