WEBSTER CITY, Iowa — The Karl Chevrolet Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, Iowa, was the venue for the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt for a second straight night on Saturday, closing out the 15th Annual Spring Classic with a gripping 40-lap event.
The racing and the racing surface were much different than Friday night’s show, but the result was the same with five-time USMTS champion Rodney Sanders triumphing.
Joe Chisholm grabbed the lead on lap 1, fending off Tom Berry Jr., but Berry countered on lap two, swinging high to take control.
By lap three, Sanders passed Chisholm for second before a lap-five caution flew when Alex Williamson hit the pits with a flat tire, echoing his prior night’s trouble.
On lap 10, Zack VanderBeek used the low side to overtake Keith Foss for third. Meanwhile, Sanders pressed Berry by lap 12, going side by side, but VanderBeek slipped past Sanders for second on lap 13.
Running eighth, Kyle Strickler’s car smoked heavily on lap 19, signaling issues that surfaced later in the race. A lap-20 caution reshuffled the field after a lapped car clipped Berry, flattening his tire and giving Sanders the lead.
After the restart, Sanders led VanderBeek, Jim Chisholm, Foss and Joe Chisholm, with Jim Chisholm passing Foss for third on lap 21. Tanner Mullens reached fourth by lap 23, while Sanders built a three-second gap with 10 laps left.
Mullens overtook Jim Chisholm for third on lap 33, but a lap-36 caution erased Sanders’ lead. Mullens faded on the lap 37 restart with a flat tire, and though Strickler surged to third, his engine expired on lap 38, prompting another yellow.
For the final three-lap dash, VanderBeek chose the outside, Jim Chisholm the inside, but Sanders stayed untouchable, clinching his 123rd USMTS win and a $10,000 weekend sweep.
“We were pretty good again,” Sanders said. “It was definitely smoother than last night, so hats off to Todd (Staley) and all of them. It feels good.
“There’s a lot of great cars here. It just feels good to be competitive with them and have a good run.”
Sanders took the victory, followed by VanderBeek in second and Jim Chisholm in third. Williamson stormed from 16th to fourth, earning the FK Rod Ends Hard Charger award for the second night in a row.
Joe Chisholm finished fifth.
The finish:
Rodney Sanders, Zack VanderBeek, Jim Chisholm, Alex Williamson, Joe Chisholm, Kyle Brown, Terry Phillips, Trevor Hughes, Tanner Mullens, Keith Foss, Gary Christian, Tim Ward, Bill Crimmins, Jason Langford, Joe Horgdal, Kaylin Lopez, Duke Erickson, Tyler Grooms, Darwin Karau, Lee Beemer, Kyle Strickler, Cole Anderson, A.J. Hoff, Tom Berry Jr., Christopher Elliott, Troy Girolamo.
