Rodney Sanders rebounded from a forgettable three-night showing to wrap up the Labor Day Weekend with an impressive win at the Cresco Speedway in the next-to-last event in the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup powered by S&S Fishing & Rental.
Casey Arneson jumped out front when the green flag waved with Jesse Sobbing, points leader Jason Hughes and Sanders in tow at the end of the opening lap.
Hughes and Sanders both snuck by Sobbing on lap 3 and began a battle that lasted until the checkered flag waved over the 35-lapper.
Arneson was flawless as he continually held Hughes at bay while Sanders searched high and low for a way to get around Hughes.
Meanwhile, Ryan Gustin cracked the top five on the sixth lap as ‘The Reaper’ quickly climbed up the ranks after starting in the 12th spot.
By lap 10, Gustin and Sobbing joined the lead trio to keep the fans glued to the action at the front of the field.
Lapped traffic came into play by lap 20 and Sanders took advantage on lap 23 to sneak around the outside of Hughes and take over second.
Gustin followed into third three laps later, and then Sanders made his move on lap 28 to claw his way past Arneson to grab the lead with six orbits remaining.
Getting a bit too high on lap 30, Gustin allowed Hughes and Sobbing to go by while Sanders began to march away from Arneson, eventually taking the win by ten car-lengths.
Hughes, who came into the event leading Sanders by a mere 10 points in the fight to become the 2015 USMTS National Champion, was third when he followed Arneson underneath the white flag but a bold low-side move in the final turn gave Hughes the runner-up finish as he beat Arneson to the stripe by a bumper.
How big was the pass for second?
A third-place finish would have left Hughes and Sanders tied atop the standings heading into the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup finale on the first night of the 17 Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree on Thursday, Sept. 24.
However, Hughes’s last-lap heroics left him with a four-point cushion over Sanders when they left Cresco.
Destiny is in their own hands now. A win in the final points race almost assuredly will seal the deal for either driver.
Sanders has won six of the last eleven USMTS main events at the Deer Creek Speedway. The last of Hughes’s eleven career wins at ‘The Creek’ came in the Featherlite Fall Jamboree finale in 2013. Sanders finished second in that race while Hughes has finished second to Sanders in three of his last four wins there.
The win was the 64 of Sanders’s USMTS career and worth $3,000 to the 25-year-old from Happy, Texas.
Arneson was a solid third-place paycheck earner while Sobbing held off Gustin for the fourth spot. Stormy Scott, Dereck Ramirez, Joe Duvall, Cory Crapser and Dan Ebert rounded out the top 10.
After round 13 of 14 in the Hunt for the Casey’s Cup, Hughes leads Sanders by four points (1232 to 1228). Although mathematically eliminated from any possibility to win the championship, Scott and Sobbing are locked in a heated battle for third with Scott ahead by seven markers (1136 to 1129).
The rest of the top 10 are up for grabs as well. In the race for a top-five points finish, Ramirez has a nine-point cushion over Zack VanderBeek (1051 to 1042) while just 44 points separate the next six drivers. Brent Larson sits seventh with 889 points, followed by Duvall (885), Arneson (861) and Cade Dillard (853). Crapser and Daniel Hilsabeck are tied for the 11th spot with 845 points each.
America’s undisputed marquee mega-event for dirt modifieds-the Featherlite Fall Jamboree-blasts off three weeks from today, and this year’s battle between the Best of the Best the sport has to offer promises to be the biggest ever with the boldest payoffs in event history.
Fans will continue to witness a complete program all three nights highlighted by the United States Modified Touring Series in their final event of the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup powered by S&S Fishing & Rental and the crowning of the 2015 USMTS National Champion on Thursday night.
The Holley Iron Man Series featuring USRA B-Mods will share the spotlight all three nights. More than 200 cars and drivers are expected in two classes and nearly $200,000 in posted awards possible.
Set for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 24-26, USMTS Modifieds will be shooting for a $5,000 each of the first two nights and a whopping $10,000 winner’s share on Saturday.
Fan may purchase tickets online at www.deercreekspeedway.com or by calling toll-free 877-DCS-RACE.
The Deer Creek Speedway is a high-banked 3/8-mile clay oval which sits on 60 acres with one of America’s most popular state-of-the-art racing complexes and an adjoining campground. For track or campground info, call 507-346-2342 or email info@deercreekspeedway.com.
To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit www.usmts.com online or call 515-832-7944. You can also like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/usmts, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/usmts or subscribe to our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/usmtstv.
