5/19/2024
Rodney Sanders
Sanders drives to HMT victory at 81 Speedway
Although Mother Nature rained out Friday and Saturday’s scheduled Summit USMTS events in Texas, Rodney Sanders still took on a three-day slate of competition over the weekend. Along the way, he grabbed his fifth feature victory of the year.
The win came on Saturday at 81 Speedway in Park City, Kansas, where Sanders topped a 54-car USRA Heartland Modified Tour (HMT) field in the Dalice Franz Memorial. Sanders drove from fifth to first in his heat race on the 3/8-mile oval, then rolled off sixth in the $2,000-to-win A-Main. He took over the top spot on the 10th circuit and led the rest of the way in the 30-lapper, besting Tyler Davis by a wide margin to take his first HMT win. Jacob Hobscheidt, Terry Phillips and Chad Wheeler rounded out the top five.
Sanders bookended his 81 Speedway victory with events in Oklahoma and Kansas.
On Friday, Sanders was one of 25 USRA Modified competitors at Longdale, Oklahoma’s Longdale Speedway for the Walleye Rodeo Roundup. Sanders won his heat on the 3/8-mile track and started the 20-lap, $1,000-to-win feature from the third spot. He finished in the same position, completing the podium behind Tanner Mullens and Cole Traugott. Trevor Hughes took the fourth position and Tyler Wolff came home fifth.
After Saturday’s win, Sanders moved on to Iowa and Mason City Motor Speedway to compete in the USRA Modified division on Sunday night. He won his heat race on the 1/3-mile track and was set to start third in the feature. However, rain postponed the conclusion of the event until June 2.
Full results are at www.longdale-speedway.com, www.heartlandmodifiedtour.com and www.masoncitymotorspeedway.com.
Article Credit: Todd Boyd image