GREENWOOD, La. — The path to a fourth USMTS national title for Rodney Sanders became clearer Saturday night after the 30-year-old from Happy, Texas, collected his 10th win of 2020 when the Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s invaded the Boothill Speedway.
Sanders, who has 24 top-five and 33 top-10 efforts in 34 starts, can seal the deal and secure his second straight crown with a top-10 finish in each of the last six races.
Terry Phillips paced the start from the pole position and led the first lap before giving way to Sanders who led the final 39 circuits en route to a $3,000 payday and his 17th career USMTS triumph.
Dereck Ramirez has trailed Sanders in the points battle since March and trailed him by 1.507 seconds at the finish line in Saturday’s feature race for the 5th Annual I-20 Showdown presented by Champ Pans.
Ninth-starting Tanner Mullens bounced back from his worst night of the season Friday to claim third Saturday and, in doing so, clinched the 2020 Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Award.
Zack VanderBeek followed up Friday’s win with a fourth-place finish and Tyler Wolff raced from 15th on the starting grid to round out the top five.
The finish:
Rodney Sanders, Dereck Ramirez, Tanner Mullens, Zack VanderBeek, Tyler Wolff, Terry Phillips, Chris Henigan, Tyler Davis, Casey Skyberg, Jake Gallardo, Jason Ingalls, Jeremy Vaughn, Chris Huckeba, Tyler Townsend, Tye Clampitt, Jason Miles, Fito Gallardo, Cade Dillard, Joe Duvall, James McCreery, Adam Kates, Dustin Hyde, Brooks Strength, Jason Hughes.