The Hagans Racing team has won the last two ARCA RE/MAX speedway races with Joey Miller visiting victory lane at Gateway International Raceway (IL) and again this week at Nashville Superspeedway (TN).
Obviously, the team is a favorite for Fridays Hantz Group 200 at Michigan International Speedway. But they arent just going to rely on young gun Miller to get the job done in his #9. The team will also enter Matt Hagans in the #64 Bicycle Playing Cards Dodge for the race. Since Hagans himself finished second last year at Michigan, theres a very real possibility that two red Dodges will be battling for the race victory.
Actually, make that three red Dodges thanks to another high profile entry from a well-known NASCAR team.
We hope to be part of a 1-2-3 Dodge finish at Michigan, said Hagans. Erin Crocker will be running there for Evernham Motorsports and shell be strong. Obviously, Im hoping that either myself or Joey will be first. Add second generation driver Stephen Wallace and it could be all top 4 for the Dodge powered teams.
The #64 entry will be in association with Dave Allison Motorsports and will help gear the Hagans Racing operation up for the future. That, and Hagans strong performances in the past at Michigan, made the decision to race there an easy one.
Ive raced there four times and Ive always finished in the top five, said Hagans. Last year, I finished second. I like that track.
Were also looking to develop some people for next year. Were growing and the plan will be to field two cars next year and this is to see if we can handle it. This weekends second car effort will be separate from Joeys team. Patrick Donahue, who runs our driver development program which includes NASCAR Modified ace Donny Lia, is coming up to be the crew chief. There will be a completely different group of guys and were not going to do anything to take away from Joeys effort. With Joeys win last week and Frank dropping out at Nashville, we have a legitimate chance at the championship.
Bicycle Playing Cards, a division of the United States Playing Card Company, will sponsor the #64 entry at Michigan. The Cincinnati, Ohio-based company is exploring a possible involvement with Hagans Racings driver development program for next season.
Under Hagans hood will be the same powerplant that Miller used this past weekend at Nashville with a little extra wear and tear on it.
We know its got plenty of power, said Hagans of the engine. It showed that at Nashville. I hope that Joeys burnout after the race didnt hurt the engine too much, but Im not upset because if any kid ever deserved to do a burnout, it would be Joey. Even if its a little down on horsepower, thats OK because at Nashville, Joey drove the best race Ive ever seen him run. He used not only the car, but also his driving skills, to dominate a very impressive field.
The Hantz Group 200 at Michigan Speedway will take place on Friday, August 19th. The race will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel starting at 5pm ET.
For more information on Joey Miller, Matt Hagans and Hagans Racing, please contact Mike Twist at (207) 590-1786 and be sure to visit www.hagansracing.com.
For more information on Bicycle Playing Cards and the United States Playing Card Company, please visit www.usplayingcard.com
