PARAGOULD, Ark. – Derek Hagar came away from Thursday night’s rescheduled USCS Sprint Car ‘Rumble at the Ridge” with a clean sweep.
Hagar, from nearby Marion, Ark., took the lead of the 30-lap feature event at Crowley’s Ridge Raceway in Paragould, Ark. away from Joe B. Miller on a lap 14 restart and led the rest of the distance to notch his third series win of the 2015 season and his second Glen Francis Memorial Cup trophy in the process.
The win is Hagar’s 32nd career USCS victory, and his second in three years at the track.
“I saw the 42 (Andy McElhannon) staying with us on the bottom lane on the restart before the last one,” Hagar explained. “I tried it, and it worked surprisingly well for us.
“I kinda slipped up a little bit at the start that allowed Joe B. to get by me. They moved the tires out just before the start of the race and it messed my line up a bit because I didn’t have anything to get ahold of (on the bottom). That last restart, we finally got a bit of a run and were able to get by and hold him off from there.”
Miller, who hung on to finish second, said that the mid-race restart – sparked after Tim Crawley and Justin Webb flipped in turn one – ultimately spoiled his chances of scoring a maiden USCS 360 main event win.
“My game plan just changed (when that last caution came out),” Miller admitted. “I thought I was going to try blocking the slider on Derek, and I think I just lost too much momentum. Hats off to him though, he did a great job. Our car was great, and the track prep was fantastic tonight. I’m really happy with this result and I think it shows a lot of what we’re capable of.”
Brad Bowden rounded out the podium in third, with Andy McElhannon finished fourth after running as high as second. Terry Gray rounded out the top five.
The race was slowed by three cautions in addition to the lap 13 red flag. The first caution occurred at lap two for a spin by Dylan DeJournett in turn one. The second came out on lap five when Zach Pringle looped his machine in turn three. The final caution flew on lap nine when Crawley dove low in turn four to try and take the lead from Miller, but shot up the race track and jumped the cushion in turn four.
Crawley was able to continue after that incident, and had worked his way back from 21st to 14th when he went tumbling end over end. He was scored 21st in the finishing order.
Eddie Gallagher, Marshall Skinner, Jerod Roller, Anthony Nicholson and Cody Gardner rounded out the top 10.
In preliminary action, Hagar won the Hoosier Tire Speed Dash, followed by a win in the first heat. Andy McElhannon rolled to the victory in the second heat, while Miller took the victory in the third heat and Mike Pack triumphed in the fourth heat.
Hagar was the provisional pole sitter after scoring the most passing points in heat race action, and after a zero was rolled on the inversion, he also received the K&N Filters Pole Award.
For rules and updated schedule information about the United Sprint Car Series, visit USCSRacing.com.
USCS Sprint Car Series
Crowley’s Ridge Raceway – Paragould, AR
Rumble at the Ridge – July 9, 2015
1. #9JR – Derek Hagar – Marion, AR
2. #51B – Joe B. Miller – Millersville, MO
3. #39 – Brad Bowden – Hernando, MS
4. #42 – Andy McElhannon – Nesbit, MS
5. #10 – Terry Gray – Bartlett, TN
6. #1 – Eddie Gallagher – Olive Branch, MS
7. #26 – Marshall Skinner – Marion, AR
8. #5 – Jerod Roller – Hernando, MS
9. #16 – Anthony Nicholson – Bartlett, TN
10. #2J – Cody Gardner – Little Rock, AR
11. #17 – Mike Pack – Batesville, AR
12. #40 – Howard Moore – Memphis, TN
13. #88R – Jan Howard
14. #10M – Morgan Turpen – Cordova, TN
15. #116 – Nick Snyder – Marco Island, FL
16. #3 – A.G. Raines – West Memphis, AR
17. #32X – Robert Richardson – Searcy, AR
18. #7 – Dylan DeJournett – New Madrid, MO
19. #28 – Jeff Willingham – Ripley, MS
20. #31 – Justin Webb – Drummonds, TN
21. #88 – Tim Crawley – Benton, AR
22. #44 – Ronny Howard – Nesbit, MS
23. #8Z – Zach Pringle – Bryant, AR
DNS: #99 – Blake Jenkins – Benton, AR
DNS: #32 – Brandon Hinkle – Cabot, AR
DNS: #72 – Christopher Wright – Qulin, MS
DNS: #21 – Kevin Hinkle – Cabot, AR
DNS: #18T – Tyler Vaughn – Bono, AR
