7/7/2024
Rodney Sanders
Quartet of top-5 results for Sanders in Gopher State holiday shows
Rodney Sanders spent Independence Day weekend racing at two tracks in his adopted home state of Minnesota.
First up, Sanders took on three USRA Modified programs aboard his Wichita Tank Racing No. 20 at Spring Valley’s Deer Creek Speedway. The three-day NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 was slated to kick off with a Fourth of July show on Thursday, but rain forced the track to run twin $1,000-to-win programs the following day.
In Friday’s first show, Sanders was among 27 USRA Modified racers at the 3/8-mile oval. He claimed the fourth spot in his heat race and drove from sixth to third in the 25-lap feature, finishing behind Jim Chisholm and Jake O’Neil. Aaron Benson and Joe Chisholm completed the top five.
Thirty Modifieds were at the track for the day’s second set of races. Sanders grabbed third in his heat, starting him on the fourth row in the feature. He advanced five positions in the 25-lapper to take the runner-up spot, finishing 3.534 seconds behind winner Brandon Davis. Keith Foss rounded out the podium, while O’Neil and Lucas Schott came home fourth and fifth, respectively.
A 30-Modified field was again on hand for Saturday’s finale, this time with a $5,000 first-place check up for grabs. After finishing third in his heat race, Sanders started 13th in the 35-lap A-Main. True to his nickname, “The Rocket” moved forward eight spots in the race to score a fifth-place result. He took the checkered flag following O’Neil, Davis, Jake Timm and Joe Chisholm.
On Sunday, Sanders and his team traveled west to Fairmont and the half-mile Fairmont Raceway to compete in two classes at the Bacon Town Showdown.
Sanders was one of 16 Modified drivers in the One Nation Under Modifieds (ONUM) program paying $2,000 to win. He nabbed the win in his heat and rolled off third in the 25-lap feature. He came home with a runner-up finish, 1.722 seconds behind Don Gerritsen Jr. The top five was completed by Kelly Shryock, Dustin Wiederhoeft and Cole Anderson.
Sanders also raced in the $15,000-to-win XR Super Series program at Fairmont driving Brent Larson Motorsports’ No. B1 Super Late Model, creatively configured as No. 14. With 18 cars on the property, Sanders qualified fifth overall and finished second in his heat. He started the 30-lap A-Main from the fifth position but blew a hole in the radiator while running inside the top five. He ultimately recorded a DNF and a ninth-place result.
Full weekend results are at www.deercreekspeedway.com and www.fmtraceway.com.
Article Credit: Tyler Rinken image