7/23/2019
Silver Dollar Prelim: Sanders nabs ninth USMTS win at I-80 Speedway
GREENWOOD, Neb. --Rodney Sanders picked up where he left off last year by winning Friday's preliminary feature for the USMTS Modifieds during opening night of I-80 Speedway's 9th Annual Imperial Tile Silver Dollar Nationals.
After six qualifying heat races, 20 drivers competed in the 30-lap main event which was split into two 15-lap segments. Terry Phillips was the leader at the end of the first segment, which garnered the Springfield, Mo., native a $1,000 bonus.
Sanders finished second but the top six were inverted for the final 15-lap dash, so Sanders rolled off fifth with Phillips to his outside in row three.
Hunter Marriott led the 16th lap before Jason Hughes recorded his first lap led with the USMTS this season on lap 17. The four-time USMTS National Champion led through lap 24 when Sanders blasted around the outside to grab the lead.
From there, Sanders proceeded to sail away to a comfortable ten-car-length advantage at the checkered flag and earned an additional $1,000 in registering his 89th career USMTS victory (nine of which have happened at the I-80 Speedway).
Hughes was second at the end of 30 laps while Dereck Ramirez was in third place at the conclusion of each segment. Phillips wound up fourth in the second segment and Marriott rounded out the top five.
Zack VanderBeek, Jacob Bleess and Jake Timm finished sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, and are all locked in to the first four rows of Saturday's $8,000-to-win, $500-to-start main event.
Terry Phillips came out on top in the first of two 15-lap segments of the preliminary feature during the 9th Annual Imperial Tile Silver Dollar Nationals at the I-80 Speedway in greenwood, Neb., on Friday, July 19, 2019.
The top eight finishers in Friday's "A" Main will redraw for starting positions in Saturday's finale. Two last-chance heat races will start heads-up based on Friday's finishes with the top four from each transferring to the "A" Main and the remainder to the "B" Main where an additional eight more drivers will transfer to the "A" Main.
In addition, our dancing partner for the weekend-the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-will be battling for a $53,000 top prize in their final showdown of the weekend on Saturday.
The 'Silver Dollar' will carry even more weight as it is the final event of the season in both the MSD Performance USMTS Mid-American Series and Spike Hardcore Energy USMTS Northern Lights Series.
Tickets are still available at the gate for Saturday's show. Racing starts at 7:30 p.m. with live online coverage offered at DirtonDirt.com.
The I-80 Speedway is located one block north of Interstate 80 at exit 420, halfway between Omaha and Lincoln. The physical address is 13909 238th St, Greenwood, NE 68366. the entrance to the track is at 13631 238th Street (west side). For more information, visit I-80Speedway.com or call (402)-342-3453.
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Article Credit: Jeff Nunn
