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Latest Track Articles

Media Advisory: Hoekstra To Serve As Gra

For Immediate Release                 Contact: John Truscott                                                          ...

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FW: 2010 MMSHoF inductees announced

-----Original Message----- From: Allan Brown <speedways@comcast.net> Sent: Wed, 09 Jun 2010 10:44:34 Pacific Daylight T...

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Paul McMahan takes WoO win at Eldora

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Paul McMahan had racked up six Top-Five finishes in his last eight starts heading into the finale of Outlaw Thunder by Goodye...

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New Paris braves cold, Thirteen Feature

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No doubt about it, the weather was cold with temperatures in the low 40's and a stiff wind swirling through the 1/4 mile spee...

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Galesburg Speedway Red Flagged

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The Galesburg Speedway did not open last weekend as scheduled and it’s unlikely the race track will open this Saturday becau...

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Ron Flinn Hospitalized

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Reports out of Crystal Motor Speedway this morning are that Ron Flinn has been hospitalized due to a coronary issue. Accordi...

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Action to begin at Spartan Speedway

If the grandstands along the front stretch of Spartan Speedway look a bit higher than normal, well, they are. The speedway p...

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Auto City postpones due to Cold

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Although the weather was picture-perfect for testing on Thursday afternoon, Mother Nature brought us cold and windy condition...

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Latest Series Articles

A busy 2010season begins for Lorz Motors

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By Lorz Motorsports – M.P.H. Promotions Midlothian, Illinois (Tuesday, March 23, 2010): The 2010 racing season for Lorz Mo...

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ASA Late Model Series Graduates Shine on

By: Devon Holder ASA Late Model Series/Sunoco National Tour PR Easter Weekend typically means no NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ...

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Nelms ready for 2010

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0 Josh Nelms - Lockport, Illinois. (K.J. Motorsports Photo) By K.J. Motorsports / M.P.H. Promotions Lockport, Illinois (Mo...

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Historic Day at the North Wilkesboro Spe

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By Sunoco National Tour P.R. Lexington, Michigan (Wednesday, March 10, 2010): The legendary North Wilkesboro Speedway, hom...

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Andrew Hagen; An Aussie in Michigan

Sunday, 26 July 2009 13:15 Rand Thompson
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andrew_hagen-rtThere is no bigger racing name in Michigan then Keselowski, with three generations being involved for over 40 years. Bob retired from driving ten years ago, but of course the family legacy has continued with the exploits of his sons Brad and Brian. Brad first started his racing career at Flat Rock, Toledo, and Auto City, and has stayed true to his roots by forming a race team of his own with his Uncle Ron acting as crew chief.

I first heard of Andrew Hagen when I saw him behind the wheel of the Brad Keselowski Racing Super Late Model No. 00 at Toledo earlier this year. My first thought was; Andrew Hagen? I wonder where he came from? When I found out it was Australia of all places, I immediately wanted to know more. Andrew had a tough debut at Toledo that night, finding the turn 1 wall, but his return trip a month later was stellar with a fine 2nd place in only his 4th start ever on an oval.

At a 24 hour Go Kart race he was competing at in Jackson, I recently had the pleasure to meet the 22 yr. old Andrew to discuss his career and the turn of events that brought him all the way from Brisbane, Australia to Michigan.

Hi, Andrew, You had a great race last week at Toledo; can you tell us about yourself a little?

"I've been racing Formula Fords at home for a few years, and decided to come over here to race something new. I worked two jobs, saved up, bought my plane tickets, and thought I would come over and give it a try. I wanted to continue with formula cars by racing in the Star Mazda series, but couldn't put a deal together. It was very discouraging; I came over here to race, and after a few months hadn't got to race anything. Three weeks before I was going back home, I just happened to meet Brad, and we worked out driving his car this season."

Tell me about working with Ron K. as a crew chief?

"Ron is great! He has so much knowledge. I've worked with engineers before on my other cars and after you explain what the car is doing, they still don't seem to know what to do. I tell Ron how the car is driving and he knows exactly what needs to be changed."

The Gold Cup 100 at Toledo in May was your first oval race ever. You came back last week and led 64 laps and just got passed by Scott Hantz near the end to finish 2nd. How was it from your view?

"The stagger was hard to get used to at first. You get on the gas and the car seems loose, but it's not. Ron's advice helped me a lot. I love driving the Supers at Toledo; they are so fast and fun to drive at that track. I learned a lot in my first race, but made a mistake and hit the wall. Last week I started on the pole and just wanted to lead as long as I could. My radio quit on lap 29 and we have no mirrors, so I just tried to hold my line. Scott could have taken me out a few times, but raced me clean. I didn't have enough experience and took the wrong line around a lapped car, so Scott was able to pass me. As the laps went by, I was thinking I might be able to win it, but I was still happy with 2nd."

I see you are driving a pickup truck, so there is nothing more American than that. What are your impressions of this country so far, and what do you miss most from home?

"Everyone has been so friendly and nice over here. Our only exposure at home is your TV shows and most Australians get the wrong ideas about Americans, thinking they are loud and obnoxious. Not true at all! I go home and tell my friends how great everyone here is; I think they get tired of hearing about it sometimes. There is so much variety of foods over here to try, with some good and of course some not quite so good. I had my first S'more tonight; it was really good! The thing I miss most about Australia are my dogs. I have Blue Heeler cattle dogs and when I was in the shop working on my race car, they were always right there by my side. I was worried they might forget me, but soon as I got home they were right there with their tails going. As far as the pickup truck, it is the closest thing I could find to a Ute. Utes (think Ranchero) are very popular back home. When I get back, I want to find an older Ford Falcon Ute and enjoy driving around with my dogs."

What kind of impact has Marcus Ambrose racing in NASCAR made in Australia?

"Ambrose is such a big name at home. There was hardly ever any interest in NASCAR before, but all the races are on TV now. He has singlehandedly made NASCAR very popular."

Well, Andrew, it was great talking with you. I am really looking forward to seeing you run some more at Toledo; what are your plans for the rest of the year?

"I am planning on running a few more Super Late Model races. I would really like to race an ARCA car for Brad, but just don't have the funding I need right now to make that happen.I'm just going to run as many races as I can afford"

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