Derek Hagar was the winner in both USCS Sprint Car Series races over the weekend at Hattiesburg Speedway on Friday night and Whynot Motorsports Park on Saturday night. Photo: USCS/Pam Stephenson
For the second straight weekend, Derek Hagar swept the USCS Sprint Car Series race weekend in the Magnolia State.
The Marion, Arkansas racer scored the win on Friday night at Mississippi’s Hattiesburg Speedway, and followed it up with a victory on Saturday night at Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, Mississippi.
In doing so, Hagar made history by winning his sixth consecutive USCS Speedweek race. It was the first time in the 18-year history of the USCS Speedweek that a driver won every race.
On Friday night, Hagar took the lead at the drop of the green flag. By lap 10, he held a .576 second lead over Dale Howard.
Yellow flag on laps 11, 14, and 15 kept the field bunched up, but Hagar was able to pull away by a half second to keep Howard behind him. Hagar would hold a 1.257 second advantage by the time the race reached the halfway mark at lap 15. The fourth caution flag of the race came out on lap 22, but after the restart, Hagar had opened up a 1.165 second lead.
The field was slowed for the final time on lap 27 when Shane blew an engine and dumped a large amount of oil on the track to bring out the red flag. After the stoppage, Hagar jumped out front again for the four-lap dash to the finish and took a 1.551 second margin of victory over Howard under the checkered flag.
Howard finished in second, Hayden Martin of in third, Ryan Roberts in fourth, and Brandon Blenden in fifth.
In preliminary action, Hagar won the speed dash, while Hagar, Martin, and Michael Miller won their respective heat races.
On Saturday at Whynot Motorsports Park, Hagar found himself in pursuit of Koty Adams over the opening laps.
The first of three caution flags came out on lap five when Michael Miller spun in turn four. Hagar went to work on the restart, passed Adams for the lead, and never looked back. The second caution flag came out on lap eight when Lane Whittington hit the fourth turn wall while running sixth. The third and final caution flag came out on lap 25 when Michael Miller cut down a tire in turn four. That set up a five lap dash to the finish. Hagar was able to hold off Adams to race his way to a historic victory with a two car-length margin of victory.
Adams, Dale Howard, Hayden Martin, and Terry Gray rounded out the top five.
In preliminary action, Adams won the six-lap speed dash, with Whittington, Howard, and Adams won their respective heats.
With wins in all six 2023 USCS Speedweek races, Hagar was crowned the 2023 Speedweek Champion.
The USCS Sprint Car Series returns to action on Friday, June 9 at Buckshot Speedway in Clanton, Alabama before moving to East Alabama Motor Speedway in Phenix City, Alabama on Saturday, June 10. For more information, visit USCSRacing.com.
USCS Sprint Car Series
Hattiesburg Speedway – Hattiesburg, MS
Race Results – June 2, 2023
1. 9JR-Derek Hagar
2. 47-Dale Howard
3. 67-Hayden Martin
4. 18-Ryan Roberts
5. 6-Koty Adams
6. 88-Brandon Blenden
7. 10-Terry Gray
8. 4M-Michael Miller
9. 13-Chase Howard
10. 44-Ronny Howard
11. 43-Terry Witherspoon
12. 23-Lance Moss
13. 21-Spencer Meredith
14. 56-Jeff Smith
15. 13X-Jake Brashier
16. 28-Jeff Willingham
17. 28S-Rusty Sanford
18. 01-Shane Morgan-DNF
19. 9-Lane Whittington-DNF
20. 61-John Howard-DNF
21. 10K-Dewayne White-DNF
22. L37-Scott Craft-DNF
23. 8X-Brad Bowden-DNF
24. 56T-Ben Bishop-DNF
25. 18J-Paul Jones-DNF
USCS Sprint Car Series
Whynot Motorsports Park – Meridian, MS
Race Results – June 3, 2023
1. 9JR-Derek Hagar
2. 6-Koty Adams
3. 47-Dale Howard
4. 67-Hayden Martin
5. 10-Terry Gray
6. 74-Tucker Boulton
7. 01-Shane Morgan
8. 18-Ryan Roberts
9. 10K-Dewayne White
10. 44-Ronny Howard
11. 23-Lance Moss
12. 2T-Todd Bradford
13. 83-Blake Carrier
14. 43-Terry Witherspoon
15. 28S-Rusty Sanford
16. 28-Jeff Willingham
17. 21-Spencer Meredith-DNF
18. 4M-Michael Miller-DNF
19. 13X-Jake Brashier-DNF
20. 91-Miles Paulus-DNF
21. 9-Lane Whittington-DNF
22. 13-Chase Howard-DNF
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