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USAC PRESS RELEASE TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Darren Hagen set two goals before the 2006 season – to win the “4-Crown Nationals,” and to take the checkered flag in the “Hut Hundred.” Two weeks from now, he hopes to take the former. On Saturday, he accomplished the latter. Hagen, of Riverside, Calif., held off a determined charge by Shane Cottle to score the victory in the prestigious “Hut Hundred” at the Terre Haute Action Track. “I could just cry,” said an elated Hagen after taking the No. 97 Keith Kunz Motorsports Advanced Racing/Fontana Bullet to the victory, one which netted the team an additional $15,000 for the three-race “Toyota Challenge.” “I have to thank everyone who has helped me out, from Keith and Pete (Willoughby) and all of my sponsors. If it weren’t for them, I couldn’t do this. They’ve believed in me and helped me get this far. I owe it all to them.” Hagen jolted into the lead at the start and traded the point with Cole Carter over the first quarter of the race, which ran smoothly despite a pair of cautions. The pair swapped the lead numerous times in the corners, but the lead only officially changed once – on Lap 10. But the second quarter didn’t run as well, with three flips in four laps. Lynsey Tilton was the first. Attempting to avoid the slowing car of Billy Wease, Tilton pancaked the outside Turn 1 wall and flipped multiple times. The race was red flagged, and opened for crews to make adjustments. Nearly everyone topped off their fuel load. On Lap 32, a three-car incident was triggered when Carter slowed in Turns 1 and 2. Like Tilton, Josh Wise tried to dodge the slowing machine, but ended his evening upside down. Jimi Quin was also involved in the incident. No more than 10 seconds after racing resumed did the red flag fly for the third time, this when Jon Stanbrough slightly clipped the front of a stopped Brad Loyet in the middle of Turns 1 and 2. He tipped over, but the car suffered enough damage not to continue. Hagen got great jumps on every restart, but couldn’t shake Cottle, who attempted to ride around the bottom. Cottle went low on every restart and came close to upending Hagen from the point, leading through the turns, but was unable to hold the lead coming out of the turns. Hagen held him at bay for much of the middle portion of the race. But Cottle wasn’t alone in challenging Hagen. And his lead only held until Lap 63. Australian Adam Clarke was trying to become the first of his countrymen to win a USAC National race. Having stayed strong in the Top 5 since the start, he negotiated past Cottle on Lap 52 and then past Brad Mosen the next lap to jump into second. Clarke cut into the six-car gap quickly thereafter and began challenging Hagen on the inside. He finally made the pass on Lap 63, diving to the inside in Turns 1 and 2. The Aussie got comfortable until a caution for point leader Jerry Coons Jr. bunched the field back up. The lack of a good restart then hurt Clarke, as Hagen showed his strength again. The pair went back and forth through the turns on Laps 76 and 77. Another caution – this on Lap 79 when defending race winner Johnny Rodriguez stopped in Turn 4 – bunched the field again, and signaled the end of counting yellow flag laps. It also nearly signaled the end of Clarke’s lead. That was off by one lap. Hagen pressured Clarke for a lap before returning to the lead. Three laps later, Rodriguez’s car stopped again, and in doing so, forced another caution. Clarke wasted no time and zipped into the work area to change a tire, but gave his chances up to win the race. That opened the door back up to Cottle, who showed his strength again. He dived under Hagen several times on restarts, and nearly picked Hagen off on Lap 93 following the penultimate caution, before Hagen shut the door. Hagen also cruised on the final restart following Don Droud Jr.’s stopped car in Turn 1, and breezed home by about a second. Cottle finished second, while Davey Ray – who came from 19th – finished third, his third straight podium finish in the race. Michael Pickens and Dave Darland rounded out the Top 5. Hagen said he followed some advise of Kunz’s brother Rusty, at least in terms of when others past him. “He said just follow them, and then go,” Hagen said. “I don’t know if I would have had anything for him but he had his problems. It felt good to come out here and win this race.” Pickens and Tracy Hines won eight-lap Qualifying Races. Coons suffered trouble in his Qualifying Race and took a provisional, but finished 12th. However, coupled with an accident which kept incoming runner-up Bryan Clauson from running the race, Coons left with a 37-point advantage heading into next Sunday’s (Sept. 17) series debut at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. Darland moved up to second in the standings, while Drake trails Darland by four points.
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