8/9/2024
Rodney Sanders
Sanders makes runner-up charge in Grant Junghans Memorial finale
From Wednesday through Friday, Rodney Sanders turned in three strong performances on the Summit USMTS National Championship trail at tracks in Nebraska and Kansas. He steadily improved his position each night before making a memorable run to close out the week.
On Wednesday, Sanders’ Dalbeck Sales No. 20 Modified was among 25 USMTS entries in the Beatrice (Nebraska) Speedway pit area for the 3rd annual Battle by the Big Blue. Sanders turned in a fourth-place showing in his heat race at the 3/8-mile track, starting him 12th in the 40-lap, $3,000-to-win feature. He came home seventh.
Next, Thursday and Friday saw the USMTS schedule shift to the 4/10-mile Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, for the seventh and eighth annual Grant Junghans Memorial events.
The seventh annual program was rained out in 2023, and this year’s Thursday makeup consisted of a pair of 22-lap features paying $2,222 to the winner. Thirty-five USMTS teams were on hand for the special program. Sanders claimed fourth in his heat and both started and finished sixth in his feature.
On Friday, the eighth annual event featured a traditional format and brought 36 Modifieds to Lakeside. Sanders posted a sixth-place result in his heat race, then moved into the 42-lap feature by virtue of finishing second in his B-Main. He started from 16th on the grid in the $12,222-to-win finale and sped through the field to score a runner-up finish. He took the checkered flag just 0.790 seconds behind winner Tyler Wolff. Terry Phillips, Tyler Davis and Tanner Mullens completed the top five.
For his efforts passing 14 cars, Sanders won both the Sweet Springs Move of the Race and FK Rod Ends Hard Charger award.
He is currently third in the USMTS point standings.
Full results from Beatrice Speedway and Lakeside Speedway are at www.usmts.com.
Article Credit: Todd Boyd image
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