Hagen Wins "King Doodlebug Classic" and Reclaims USAC National Midget Series Points Lead

By Steve Elliott



Photo courtesy of UsacRacing.Com

Indianapolis, IN (June 25, 2007) - Rolling into Knoxville, Iowa for the USAC/BMRA co-sanctioned midget car racing events, Darren Hagen was determined to reclaim his USAC National Midget Series points lead...and that he did.

Darren Hagen Friday night's "King Doodlebug Classic" was rained out and moved to Saturday, so Hagen had to put his charge on hold. But when the RFMS Racing team unloaded on Saturday, he was focused and ready to go. Darren started the night off by winning his heat race and his passing points gave him a 9th place starting position for the 20-lap "King Doodlebug" feature. During the feature, Darren worked his way through traffic and took the lead with 3 laps to go and held onto it for the WIN.

The top-6 finishers from the "King Doodlebug" feature were locked into the "Knoxville Midget Nationals" feature event, and the rest had to run one of three semi-features to make it in. Darren drew a #6 pill, so he started 6th in the feature. When the green flag dropped though, Darren quickly bolted up to third. Now the two cars in front of him were the Tony Stewart Racing teamates of Levi Jones and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who both started on the front row. Soon after that, Darren took over 2nd from Levi Jones, and had his sites set on the lead car of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. It just wasn't meant to be though, as Darren's right rear tire blew out on lap #22 and it caused enough damage to the car that he was unable to return to the race. So, he had to settle for a dissapointing 25th place finish.

It was a good night overall for Hagen though, since the points he accumulated moved him back into the USAC National Midget Series points lead.

Darren Hagen's Post-Race Comments:

Darren Hagen:

"I really love this type of track. These smooth half-mile's just seem to fit my driving style or something, because it's where I seem to run my best. I want to thank the guys at RFMS Racing for all the hard work they put into this deal. It was awesome to get the win during the first feature, but dissapointing not to finish the 2nd feature...especially while running so strong. I would have loved the extra points, to help create more of a cushion, but I'm just thankful to be back in the lead. Now we just need to work hard to hold onto it."

Up Next:

Hagen's next race will be this coming weekend, driving for Keith Kunz Motorsports in the USAC National Sprint Car series, at Richmond International Raceway. He currently sits 2nd in the USAC National Sprint Car Series points standings, with high hopes of reclaiming his points lead in that series too. For more information on Darren and his complete racing schedule and results, please visit his official website at www.darrenhagenracing.com