Sanders Soars to Victory at Deer Creek

"The Rocket" Rodney Sanders continues his master hold at Deer Creek, nettingUSMTS career win #124.

Night 3 of Memorial Day Swing 
21st Annual Southern Minnesota Spring Challenge
Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley Minnesota 

Weather Conditions via NWS La Crosse, WI
64 Degrees
Scattered Clouds
Calm winds  

Car Counts via MRP live timing and scoring:
USMTS Modifieds: 50
USRA B-mods: 43
USRA Hobby Stocks: 28 

Qualifying Quick Time:  $100 winner from Hodges Farming and Dredging 
Group A: Jacob Bleess ***15.436 Overall Quick Time***
Group B: Brandon Davis 15.491 
Dice of Doom Invert: 4.  Unless something changes tomorrow, these will be the last two I post. The last two races haven't been rolled on the front stretch. 
Real Racing Wheels B-main Winners:
B-Main 1: Joe Chisholm
B-Main 2: Jacob Bleess 
Provisionals: Steve Lavassuer, Troy Girolamo, Cole Queensland, Trevor Hughes, AJ Hoff, Terry Phillips 
DNQ: 22 cars failed to make A-main.  28 cars started last night's race.  

Next Race: Tonight, Sunday, May 25, 2025
Jerry Hejna Memorial Presented by Rookies Rockin' Sports Bar Mason City Motor Speedway, Mason City, Iowa 

**SUMMIT USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt Points Standings after 5-24-2025**  

*Denotes Grant Junghans Rookie of the Year contenders ** Points are how I read the USMTS rulebook.  If and when I get a hold of someone, I'll check on why a couple drivers didn't get the points I thought, they could've based on USMTS points. Points may be adjusted as needed. Top 10 Recap: 

1. Rodney Sanders: Rodney's success at Deer Creek continued again last night.  The only flaw was a 7th in qualifying which turned into good luck starting on the pole.  Rodney increase his lead to 22 points heading to Mason City. 
2. Parker Hale: Picked up his career best finish in his Rage/KS Engineering car.  His previous best was a 9th during the Jamboree. A local favorite who's Dad was the first winner at Deer Creek Speedway for mods.  Good momentum leading into the MTS race later this week.
3. Dustin Sorensen: Took advantage of the WoO break to get the Longhorn by Sorensen car ready for MTS.  Continues to be impressed how smooth it drives and adapts to his style.  Last 5 laps, was able to get by 2 cars to make the podium.
4. Jim Chisholm: Disappointment was heard in his voice.  It's wasn't hard to notice on social media his name was one of those who was a contender for the win last night.  In his typical manner, gave credit to the other teams for stepping up their game.  Now he needs to step up his game as he put it as tight as the points are.  The team will be excited to pull into Mason City later today with a couple wins under their belt.
5. Lucas Schott:  A driver with plenty of history at Deer Creek continued with a top 5 run.  A consistent night in all 3 phases, it's easy to see why he's average finish is one of the best when USMTS comes to Deer Creek
6. Kyle Strickler: I would consider this one of those growing up nights.  As much as he could've pressed the issue to gain another position or two. It also could've resulted in a DNF and lost all the points he made up at Britt. It's been a good weekend that looks forward to a good end to the weekend at Mason City.
7. Gary Christian: One of his best runs at Deer Creek, as he admitted he's still learning how to run here.  A much needed top 10 run as he's had a rough few weeks.  Timing couldn't be better as he's won a few times at Mason City and looks to improve his points position.
8. Joe Chisholm:  Another steady feature for Joe after coming through a b-main. Took what the track was going to give him and advanced 5 positions.  Just like his brother Jim, Mason City should lead to good results and a positive end to the swing.
9. Brandon Davis: Invert got the best of Brandon last night after qualifying. Between the heat race and b-main, he finished where he started.  Brandon was able to advance 6 places into the top 10. A tough night but will be a contender once again next week at MTS.
10. Jake Timm: Similar to everyone in the top 10, Jake has countless laps around Deer Creek.  Rebounded after a DNF last night at Britt to get a top 10 result.  Expectations will be high for the 49 team next week as he looks to keep the big check with the family.

Honorable Mention: Memorial Day Swing 
In the past this has been one of the highlights of the USMTS tour.  This has normally been anywhere from 4-5 days along with good car counts.  After struggling the past year or two with car counts and weather, this weekend so far has been just like the good old days.  Mason City will take over the "final night" of the swing. In the past this has been the kryptonite date as some teams will head home to spend time with family or lick their wounds.  I don't feel this will be the case tomorrow.  There are a couple drivers enroute to MTS that are planning to race at Mason City first. One is confirmed; a couple are "wait and see" if their hauler pulls into town.  Either way it'll be nice to see a full infield of cars tomorrow night from the variety of classes expected. 

Follow Along: DirtInfo | Dirt Racing Analysis & Opinions  My writings can be found here.  As they say, things are "in the works" for some other projects.  Right now, I'll recap all the USMTS events, either in person, or thanks to the fine folks at RacinDirt | USMTS, Dirt Modifieds & Live Racing Streams.  The nights I'm at the track and in the pits,  I'll have a race recap similar to my Mason City USMTS fair race article. A modified version of the Recliner Reactions those nights will still be available. 

DirtInfo - YouTube I have a voice and face for writing so you won't see me here :).  A weekly podcast my discord friends put on with a buffet of racing topics, series, schedules and other topics of interest.  I will toss them a USMTS nugget or two when asked. More importantly, they'll always leave you with "One for the Road'.