ELDON, Mo. — A massive cushion and technical bottom and Derek Hagar raced his way to the front of the field at Lake Ozark Speedway with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network.
Hagar’s 11th win of the season and eighth with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series since 2014, Lake Ozark Speedway, is the fifth track that Hagar has collected a win at and the fourth trip to victory lane in the state of Missouri.
Different from most, Hagar avoided the cushion, and the strategy paid off. Asked about the line choice, Hagar said, “I told my guys I wasn’t messing with the top. I’m working middle to bottom, and that’s where we shine. We can float the middle, and these DynoTech Engines, they run good, and I feel I can just about out drag race anyone down the straightaway.”
Battling through the first half of the A-Feature to get into the top five, Hagar put his plan to work, while Dylan Westbrook and Chase Randall battled for the lead.
On the point through the opening eight circuits, Westbrook would go on defense as Chase Randall raced by for the lead. Trading numerous slide jobs before getting room over the Hills Racing No. 47x, that advantage was dashed on lap 15 as Randall slammed the Bush’s Chicken No. 9 off the ever-growing cushion.
Having used the lap-eight restart for Sam Hafertepe Jr. to his advantage, Hagar, in third, chased the battle and was closing quickly.
On the pair and aiming for the top spot as the red lights displayed on lap 17 after Randall slipped the cushion and grabbed the wall, the restart saw Hagar roll by the No. 47x, who flew the left side tires through the third and fourth turns.
Slowed working lap 19, the DHR Suspension No. 9jr continued to trek the gutter of the one-third-mile oval. Growing his lead to over a second, that was all about to change as 18th-starting Joe B. Miller ripped on, and at times, over the cushion to grab second on lap 20.
Fresh off a POWRi 410 win earlier in the night, Miller raced all out to catch Hagar.
Putting himself .172-seconds away from the lead at the white flag, the No. 51b took to the cushion one more time, but a small mistake upset the car.
Able to stay upright, that was all that was needed to seal the deal for Hagar, who crossed with 1.016 seconds to spare.
Miller held on for second, while Hafertepe made a wild rebound from 22nd to third. Blake Hahn and Wayne Johnson rounded out the top five.
The finish:
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 9JR-Derek Hagar[9]; 2. 51B-Joe B Miller[18]; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[7]; 4. 52-Blake Hahn[6]; 5. 2C-Wayne Johnson[14]; 6. 47-Dale Howard[4]; 7. 36-Jason Martin[17]; 8. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[1]; 9. 1X-Tim Crawley[16]; 10. 95-Matt Covington[5]; 11. 77-Jack Wagner[12]; 12. 14E-Kyle Bellm[15]; 13. 45X-Kyler Johnson[13]; 14. 10-Landon Britt[11]; 15. 17B-Ryan Bickett[20]; 16. 55B-Brandon Anderson[23]; 17. 10P-Dylan Postier[19]; 18. 187-Landon Crawley[21]; 19. 23-Seth Bergman[2]; 20. 9-Chase Randall[3]; 21. 21-Gunner Ramey[24]; 22. 86-Timothy Smith[22]; 23. 98P-Miles Paulus[10]; 24. 14-Jordon Mallett[8]
Keyword: Hagar Hustles At Lake Ozark