WINSTON, Mo. — Rodney Sanders rolled to his series-best seventh win of the season Wednesday as the I-35 Speedway hosted the 10th annual USMTS Missouri Meltdown presented by MyRacePass.com.
The point leader in the Casey’s General Stores USMTS National Championship, Sanders was patient while he battled with Ryan Gustin, Darron Fuqua, Zack VanderBeek and Terry Phillips for the first 30 circuits of the 40-lapper while Hunter Marriott set the pace from the start.
Five cautions slowed the main event-the last of which saw Gustin’s night end with another mechanical problem. Sanders was able to squeeze past Fuqua on the restart and then set his sights on the leader.
Marriott competed at the track on a weekly basis early in his racing career and showed the fastest way around using the shortest way around the high-banked three-eighths-mile dirt oval after earning the Sybesma Graphics Pole Award.
While Marriott remained married to the low groove, Sanders used every inch of the race track before settling on the middle and top grooves. He edged past Marriott at the flagstand as the lead duo completed lap 31, and then sailed away to score his 94th career USMTS victory.
The win was worth $2,500 to the 29-year-old and padded his lead in both the national standings and Casey’s ‘Hunt’ series.
Marriott, who is on track to capture this year’s Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Award, held off Phillips for second while VanderBeek and Dereck Ramirez rounded out the top five.
The finish:
Rodney Sanders, Hunter Marriott, Terry Phillips, Zack VanderBeek, Dereck Ramirez, Darron Fuqua, Dennis Elliott, Austin Siebert, Jimmy Ray, Tyler Davis, Austin Johnson, Tyler Hibner, Chris Clark, Jake O’Neil, John Allen, Paden Phillips, Ryan Gustin, Lance Mari, Tyler Wolff, Adam Kates, Houston Johnson, Mike Striegel, Derrick Hicks, Travis Saurer.