7/22/2023
Rodney Sanders
Pair of top-10 finishes for Sanders in North Iowa Nationals
Four-time Summit United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS) champion Rodney Sanders traveled to Mason City Motor Speedway (Mason City, Iowa) over the weekend for three days of racing in the Hawkeye State.
The 10th annual North Iowa Nationals kicked off on Thursday with Sanders’ ARMI No. 20 Modified among 37 USMTS cars in the pit area. Sanders began the event by setting overall quick time with a 15.352-second lap on the 1/3-mile track. After turning in a sixth-place finish in his heat race, he started the 35-lap, $3,000-to-win A-Main from the 13th spot. He took the checkered flag in the same position.
On Friday evening, the USMTS field increased to 42 Modified drivers seeking the night’s $5,000 winner’s share. After winning his heat race, Sanders lined up third for the 40-lap main event. He stayed at the front throughout the evening and nabbed the runner-up spot, trailing winner Terry Phillips across the start-finish line by 0.716 seconds. Jake O’Neil completed the podium, while Jeremy Nelson finished fourth and Jim Chisholm took the fifth position.
With $10,000 on the line in Saturday’s finale, 38 USMTS entries filled the pits. Sanders was seventh in his heat race and grabbed the last transfer spot in his B-Feature with a fourth-place result. He started the 50-lap A-Main deep in the field, but charged forward an impressive 13 positions to record a ninth-place finish.
After the weekend in Iowa, Sanders remains atop the USMTS National point standings.
Full results are available at www.usmts.com.
Article Credit: Tyler Rinken image