Sanders Stays on the Right Path at Off-Road Speedway

Despite the first time visit, Sanders felt at home dominating the feature for USMTS career win #126.

Inaugural Nebraska Nationals
Off Road Speedway, Norfolk, NE 

Weather Conditions via NWS in Omaha, NE
77 Degrees
Mostly Cloudy
NW winds 5-10 MPH  

Car Counts via MRP live timing and scoring: 
USMTS: 19
IMCA Sports Mod: 19
GOTRA: 12-15, these were not listed on MRP but a rough estimate from me. Fun little vintage cars from the past. 

Qualifying Quick Time: Joe Chisholm 14.991 
Dice of Doom Invert: 2.  Giving the people what they want with the Dice of Doom returning. 
Real Race Wheels B-main: Due to 19 cars, no b-main was needed. 
Provisionals: Due to 19 cars, everyone made the feature. 

Next Race:
12th Annual Amarillo Ambush presented by B&J Welding and Walkcon Construction
Route 66 Motor Speedway, Amarillo, TX 

**SUMMIT USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt Points Standings after 6-18-2025 Post Tech**

*Denotes Grant Junghans Rookie of the Year contenders
** These aren't the official USMTS points.  These are how I score them based on the rule book points and MRP scoring at the end of the feature. Bonus points for laps led and most laps led are included each night.**
***Tanner Mullens points were adjusted from Mason City.  I accidentally gave him 10 extra points thanks to my quick fingers adding up results that night. Today's off day gave me a chance to review things.
****Starting with Fairmont Raceway, I'll be narrowing down the points standings on my recaps.  I'll still keep track on my hard copy for those curious who's #142 😄

Top 10 Recap: 
1) Rodney Sanders: New track, no problem for Rodney and crew.  A dominating performance lapping close to half the field.  Summer time usually is when Rodney catches fire and puts together some good finishes.  Right "on track" for Rodney.

2) Gary Christian: Team is starting to mesh well, understanding what everyone needs nightly to succeed.  It's been a good week with a win and two top 10's. It's starting to look like the "Sophomore Slump" won't be found in the 58 team.  Moved up to 7th in my point standings with the opportunity to advance more.

3) Joe Chisholm:  What happened the previous night was a distant memory.  Thanks to his crew and multiple other teams, Joe was able to rebound for a Featherlite podium finish at Off-Road. As I've written about his brother Jim, it's very unlikely you'll see two bad nights from either Jim or Joe.  They put their heads down, get the work done and perform to their expectations. 

4) Tanner Mullens: The A-main redraw wasn't Tanner's friend by drawing a 7 ball. Still was able to sneak a few positions after a first lap caution. Again, as I've written quite a bit, a good night of learning what the new Mullens chassis will adapt too. He'll "keep on trucking" and trying his best for his supporters and fans.

5) Tyler Davis: Ended his 2 day run with USMTS with a top 5 finish.  He'll miss out on the trip to Texas with a prior engagement elsewhere.  The "outlaw" schedule outside of his Heartland series commitments has shown the hard work that's gone into developing his BOM chassis. The chassis's have found their way up into my area thanks to a alliance with Alex Williamson Racing. A couple drivers race them at Deer Creek in the a-mod and b-mod divisions.

6) Trevor Hughes: What I wrote about Joe, I could stay for Trevor.  One thing about this tour, you have to keep pressing forward. A bad night the previous night is that. Dust yourself off and get ready for the next night. Another top 10 to add to a good rookie season on the USMTS tour. 

7) Jim Chisholm: Moved up 3 places from his starting spot in the a-main.  Nothing exciting but nothing terrible.  Ran with what was in front of him.  It wasn't from a lack of effort, trying multiple lanes to get something that his Skyrocket would latch onto.  A upcoming trip to Texas and his prior success in the Lonestar state is good timing.

8) Terry Phillips:  Returns to the top 10 after a couple nights that aren't up to the TP standards he expects of himself. Sitting 6th in my points, he's within reach of catching Joe for 5th as the 5-9 place teams are getting closer together.

9) Kyle Strickler: Trouble in his heat race had him starting 16th in the feature.  Cracked the whip on his CDR chassis and earned the hard charger award for the evening.  The opportunity to be at a track for 2 days will be valuable for the team as many of the tracks have been first time visits in a mod.

10) Matthew Day: A newcomer to the top 10 recap.  Made the long tow from Farmersville, TX, he's ran a few times this year with the tour down in Louisiana. Able to advance from 15th with the help of some DNF's and keeping his nose clean.

Honorable Mention: 19 car USMTS field (opinion post, my views regarding car counts and other thoughts): For those who have been reading these all year, first of all I thank you for doing so, I love the data and information that USMTS can provide.  It's not just who won (I miss that message board), it's also everything I try to provide that most may not see. 

When I was watching MRP for the car count, it was becoming clear to our discord group that this was likely going to be a low car count night.  So of course I started to research it quickly before qualifying started.  Here is what I was able to come with within 15 minutes. I posted this on our group channel but wanted to share it here as well.  I could've stayed up all night and looked through 27 years of USMTS data but these were ones I either remember off-hand or were at in person. 

Rapid Speedway: August 30, 2018 18 cars (2 cars didn't start the feature)
Off-Road Speedway: June 18, 2025 19 cars
Mason City:  June 18, 2020 20 cars (1 car didn't start)
Tipton: May 21, 2014 21 cars
Britt: 6-4-2014, 21 cars ( 3 cars didn't start, one of the cars in the field was a b-mod)
Decorah: 5-24-2014 23 cars 

Several factors were in play.  The weather before or day of weren't very promising. It made for a challenging day for the track crews to get the tracks ready.  That is why a few loaded up to save their equipment. The date during the week that makes it hard for those with a 5 or 6 am shift the next day trying not to use a PTO day. Another factor I think of is the location, some of the tracks are run under a different type of sanctioning body (IMCA). Some teams may not want to change their car over for one night or not have the right equipment to compete with USMTS.  

It's nice to see new tracks on tour, especially for the fans who aren't able to make it to the tracks USMTS visits yearly. Personally, I'd love to see them run in Illinois again and run at the tracks known to many in the country. One involving a "#" comes to mind.  Sometimes it works out, other times you learn from that first time and hope adjustments can be made to draw more interest for a return trip. It's not easy on the pocketbook either at the end of the night for the promotor or touring series. The crowd looked to be pretty good at Off-Road.  When the WoO late models made their appearance, I thought surely if and when USMTS could visit, it'd have similar results with the cars and fans.  

I'd love to see Off-Road get another date next year on the schedule.  Maybe something that works with a 3–4-day swing through Kansas that's easier for teams in the area to latch onto and not so many miles.  USMTS has transitioned a lot through the years.  Between "regions", 70+ races a year, "hunts for championships", "pod schedule" with 2-3 races at the same track.  They always try to keep it spicy and expand to new areas many wouldn't dare to try.  

That's what I like about USMTS and why I've followed it for 21 years now.  Each night is different, whether it's car count, track size, announcer, possible winner (unless it was Kelly Shryock back in the day winning several in a row). They're going to give you the best show possible, along with a fair and honest tech crew. 

You may not get the big car numbers that'll keep you there all night every night, but you'll get the best of the best that paid their entry fee that night.    

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'.