RFMS Racing News

THE “HAWK” STILL #1 AT TRI-CITY; HAGEN WINS GOLD CROWN OPENER
10/13/2011

Pontoon Beach, Ill……..Darren Hagen of Riverside, Calif. continued his mastery of the Tri-City Speedway Thursday night as he won the opening night 25-lap feature event at the 3rd Annual Gold Crown Midget Nationals in his RFMS Racing Liberty Village/McGladrey & Pullen Spike/Esslinger Ford. Last year, Hagen swept all three nights of the USAC Mopar National Midget event at the three-eights mile dirt oval! Hagen was trailing Bryan Clauson late in the race and grabbed the lead on the white-flag lap to lead the final two laps. Clauson took second at the checkered flag ahead of Zach Daum, Brad Sweet and Tracy Hines. The top-four drivers from Thursday’s 25-lapper earned automatic starting berths in Saturday night’s $10,000-to-win 50-lap main event. A complete second night of prelims, capped by another 25-lap feature, is slated Friday.

Fike Doing Double Duty at Springfield
08/17/2011

Galesburg, Illinois driver AJ Fike is the only driver doing double duty at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. The former ARCA Menards Pole winner is entered for the USAC Silver Crown Series Tony Bettenhausen 100 Saturday afternoon as well as the ARCA Racing Series Allen Crowe 100 Sunday. Fike finished fourth in the Silver Crown and ARCA Series race in 2009. He finished fifth in the Allen Crowe 100 last year (the 2010 Silver Crown race was canceled for rain). Al Unser was the last driver to sweep both the events at Springfield in 1972. Fike also finished fourth in the ARCA race in 2009 at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds mile-dirt where he also earned the Menards Pole Award. Fike was also the ARCA pole winner at Springfield in 2004.

HAGEN’S “BIG” YEAR CONTINUES WITH TOLEDO MIDGET WIN
07/02/2011

Toledo, OH……..Darren Hagen of Riverside, Calif. extended his streak of Mopar USAC National Midget success in 2011 with Friday night’s 50-lap “Jerry Nemire Appreciation Night” feature victory at the Toledo Speedway. He trailed Bobby East for five laps, then took the lead in his Liberty Village/McGladrey & Pullen Beast/Esslinger Ford as East slowed, then led the remaining 45 laps for the win over Kyle Larson, Bryan Clauson, Tanner Swanson and Mario Clouser. The Mopar National Midgets now head for Saturday night’s “Freedom 50” with the STARS circuit at Grundy County Speedway in Morris, Ill.

HAGEN’S 25TH BIRTHDAY PRESENT – A SPECTACULAR GRUNDY VICTORY!
07/02/2011

Morris, IL……..Darren Hagen of Riverside, Calif. gave himself an unbelievable 25th birthday present Saturday night at Grundy County Speedway, an improbable victory in the “Freedom 50” Mopar USAC National Midget race co-sanctioned by STARS. Hagen was running third early nin the race when he accidentally hit the kill switch and stalled the car. Re-starting on the tail, he methodically picked off car after car and caught Tracy Hines exiting turn two on the final lap to post the 50-lap win in his Liberty Vilalge/McGladrey & Pullen Beast/Esslinger Ford. Hines finished second after leading 26 laps, while Kyle Larson, Tanner Swanson and Caleb Armstrong rounded out the “top-five.” Mario Clouser was the fastest qualifier and Jerry Coons Jr. led the first 23 laps before yielding to Hines.

HAGEN CONTINUES 2011 SUCCESS WITH MILWAUKEE MIDGET VICTORY
06/18/2011

Milwaukee, WI……..Darren Hagen of Riverside, Calif. claimed another major USAC Mopar National Midget feature victory Saturday at the Milwaukee Mile at the Wisconsin State Fair Park. Hagen trailed Caleb Armstrong for the first 21 laps, then took over and led the final four circuits in his Liberty Cillage/McGladrey & Pullen Spike/Esslinger Ford. Armstrong finished second ahead of Khyle Hamilton, Bobby Santos III and Adam Kramer. Series point leader Bryan Clauson finished 16th and pole starter Dillon Welch was sixth.

POINT LEADER HAGEN SNARES IMW OPENER AT GAS CITY
06/08/2011

Gas City, IN……..USAC Mopar National Midget Series point leader Darren Hagen of Riverside, Calif. caught early race leader Zach Daum on lap 13 and led the final 18 laps to win Wednesday night’s 30-lap “Indiana Midget Week” opener at Gas City I-69 Speedway. Trailing Hagen and his Liberty Village/McGladrey & Pullen Spike/Esslinger Ford at the checkered flag were Daum, who led the first 12 laps, Tracy Hines, Bobby East and Hunter Schuerenberg. Hagen leads East by 11 points in the National standings entering Thursday night’s IMW race at Lincoln Park Speedway at Putnamville, Ind. Bryan Clauson was the fastest Gas City qualifier.

HAGEN CLAIMS $20,000 WINNER’S SHARE AT “NIGHT BEFORE THE 500”
05/28/2011

Indianapolis, IN……..Darren Hagen of Riverside, Calif. earned a check for $20,000 for his winning drive in Saturday night’s 66th “Night Before the 500” USAC Mopar National Midget classic at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. Sidelined for several months by a back injury suffered in a late-2010 Sprint race, Hagen passed early leader Bryan Clauson on lap 16 and led the rest of the way in his Liberty Village/McGladrey & Pullen Spike/Esslinger Ford. The $20,000 paycheck included a $15,000 contribution from the estate of the late Midget Racing historian Crocky Wright. Hagen was trailed at the checkered flag by Alex Bowman, Levi Roberts, Tracy Hines and Kyle Larson. Larson was the night’s fastest qualifier.

RFMS Racing has hired Tanner Swanson
01/13/2011

RFMS Racing has hired Tanner Swanson to drive in the USAC Mopar National Midget series in 2011. Tanner, 19, hails from Kingsburg, California, and will run the entire pavement schedule, beginning in April at Dodge City, Kansas.

Tanner’s accomplishments in racing are many: He was voted the 2010 USAC Most Improved Driver and he won the prestigious “Night Before the 500,” adding his name to a long list of open-wheel greats who have won this event. He has also won in all three National USAC Divisions.

“I am thrilled to join RFMS Racing and I fell that I can win races and further my career” said Tanner recently. “Team ownership and racing crew members make RFMS one of the most attractive rides in the country and I can’t wait for the 2011 season to start!”

Don Fike, RFMS team owner, added, “The entire race team is pleased to add Tanner to our list of drivers, which includes A.J. Fike and Darren Hagen.” “He is a great addition.”

RFMS Racing is based in Brownsburg, Indiana.

THE HAWK HAS LANDED! HAGEN SWEEPS "GOLD CROWN MIDGET NATIONALS" & $18,000
10/02/2010

Pontoon Beach, IL……..The Hawk - Darren Hagen of Riverside, Calif. – walked off with $18,000 in prize money after his spectacular victory in Saturday night’s 50-lap USAC Mopar National and POWRi “Gold Crown Midget Nationals” at the Tri-City Speedway. Hagen earned $15.000 for Saturday’s win and $1,500 each for victories Thursday and Friday in his RFMS Racing Liberty Village/McGladrey & Pullen Spike/Esslinger Ford. Saturday night’s victory was absolutely sensational as he trailed the leaders for 48 laps, then got by Brad Kuhn on lap 49 and led the last two laps for the classic win. In a race where the lead changed hands more times than the fans could count, Hagen, Kuhn, Bryan Clauson and Steve Buckwalter all took turns leading. Kuhn led the first 14 laps but Buckwalter went to the front for the next 12. Unfortunately Buckwalter’s engine expired on lap 27 while he was leading. That put Kuhn back in front for 13 more laps before Clauson powered in front for laps 40 and 41. Kuhn regained the lead on lap 42 but fell victim to Hagen’s winning move on the white-flag lap! Kuhn finished second ahead of Clauson, Jerry Coons Jr. and Bobby East in what will go into the record books as one of the most competitive Midget races in history!

THE HAWK FLYING HIGH AT TRI-CITY; HAGEN FROM 14TH TO 1ST FRIDAY!
10/01/2010

Pontoon Beach, IL………Darren Hagen of Riverside, Calif. took step #2 toward a $15,000 payday at Tri-City Speedway Friday night, coming from 14th starting position to win the 25-lap “Gold Crown Midget Nationals” preliminary feature. Hagen, who also won Thursday night’s 25-lapper, ended up as the top point scorer for Saturday night’s program, where the 50-lap feature winner receives $15,000! Hagen piloted the RFMS Racing Liberty Village/McGladrey & Pullen Spike/Esslinger Ford to the win over Jerry Coons Jr., who led the first 14 laps. Bryan Clauson took third ahead of Davey Ray and Steve Buckwalter.

HAGEN TAKES NIGHT 1 OF "GOLD CROWN MIDGET NATIONALS"
09/30/2010

Pontoon Beach, IL……..Darren Hagen of Riverside, Calif. took step one toward a $15,000 Gold Crown Midget Nationals payday with his 25-lap preliminary feature win Thursday night at Tri-City Speedway. Leading all 25 laps of the USAC Mopar National and POWRi Midget race in his Liberty Village/McGladrey & Pullen Spike/Esslinger Ford, Hagen took an early point lead in the three-night event, which offers $15,000 to Saturday night’s 50-lap feature winner. Bryan Clauson finished second ahead of Bobby East, Jerry Coons Jr. and Chris Windom. Another 25-lap feature caps Friday night’s prelim which will finalize the seedings for Saturday night’s program.

Fike Earns Menards Pole On DuQuoin Mile Dirt
09/06/2010

(DuQUOIN, Ill. - September 6, 2010) - Galesburg, Illinois driver AJ Fike, in his own No. 10 RFMS-Liberty Village Ford, earned the Menards Pole presented by Ansell Monday afternoon at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in DuQuoin, Illinois. Fike edged veteran Ken Schrader for the pole in the final moments of qualifying, circling the historic one-mile dirt track in 33.130 seconds for an average speed of 108.663 mph. "Everyone on the RFMS-Liberty Village Ford has been working hard all day," said Fike, who won the pole at DuQuoin in '07 and '09. "We've been pretty good all day here in practice. We made a few adjustments for qualifying and they worked. That's two poles in a row for us in here in DuQuoin. We've been really good here in the past. We've just come up a little short every time. Hopefully today will be our day."

FIKE GETS 1ST SILVER CROWN WIN AT IOWA SPEEDWAY
05/22/2010

Newton, Iowa…….A.J. Fike of Galesburg, Ill. scored his first career USAC Silver Crown victory Saturday at Iowa Speedway, winning the 100-lap Casey’s General Stores USAC Triple Crown Pride of Iowa race on the 7/8-mile paved oval. Fike passed Shane Hmiel on lap 16 and led the rest of the way in his Liberty Village/McGladrey & Pullen Beast/Foxco. Kody Swanson outduelled new series point leader Bud Kaeding to finish second. Hmiel took fourth ahead of Jerry Coons Jr. Bobby East was the fastest qualifier but failed to finish the 100-lapper after leading the first two laps. Kaeding, hoping to become USAC’s first four-time Silver Crown champion, leads Fike by nine points in the new standings going into next Friday’s “Hoosier Hundred” in Indianapolis, Ind.