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Hagar Slowed by Mechanical Problems at 30th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals

(Photo by Casey Jones)

Inside Line Promotions – TULSA, Okla. (Jan. 18, 2016) – Derek Hagar battled mechanical woes last weekend throughout the 30th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals Presented by General Tire.

Hagar, who was racing at the premier midget event at Tulsa Expo Raceway for only the third time in his career and first since 2009, finished the weekend with a ninth-place result in a G Main in the Phil and Luke McGee entry.

“It was fun, but the car wouldn’t run well,” Hagar said. “We had issues with it taking off and it was killing us on starts and restarts. We could never seem to get it figured out.”

The competition, which featured a record 336 drivers, began on Wednesday with Hagar placing fifth in a heat race after starting on the inside of the second row.

“We backed up to fifth and I got back to third,” he said. “On a restart the motor just didn’t take off. I got hit from behind and turned to the infield. We didn’t bring out a caution and I caught the field at the end and passed a car on the last lap to finish fifth.”

That relegated Hagar into a C Main, where he advanced to a third-place result to transfer into the back of a B Main.

“We had a good handling car all weekend,” he said. “We just didn’t have the situation with the motor figured out to allow the car to be its full potential. We got within a couple of spots of a transfer (in the B Main). Someone spun out in front of us and I had nowhere to go. We got caught up in that. They changed the right front tire (in the work area) and we made a couple of laps, but the right rear wheel vibrated loose. It didn’t come off. It backed off just enough that it spun the splines on the axle and the wheel.”

Hagar capped the weekend on Saturday by maneuvering from fourth to third place during an H Main. That earned a transfer into the back of a G Main, where he powered from 13th to a ninth-place result.

“We had a good handling car and were passing some cars,” he said. “We just didn’t have enough there to get where we needed to go. With the stumble of the motor it made it impossible for us to do what we needed to do. Overall, we had a fun weekend and the team learned a lot. I appreciate them giving me an opportunity to go there and attempt to make the show.”

QUICK RESULTS –

Jan. 13 – Tulsa Expo Raceway in Tulsa, Okla. – Heat race: 5 (3); C Main: 3 (5); B Main: DNF (15).

Jan. 16 – Tulsa Expo Raceway in Tulsa, Okla. – H Main: 3 (4); G Main: 9 (13).

SEASON STATS –

2 races, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 0 top 10s, 0 top 15s, 0 top 20s

UP NEXT –

TBD

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.DerekHagarRacing.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HagarDerek

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 Dynotech Performance, DHR Suspension, J&J Auto Racing, Xtreme Race Graphics, FSR Radiators, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Hinchman Racewear, Wings Unlimited, FK Rod Ends, R.E. Enterprises, Ti64 and B&D Towing 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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