Sanders scores first Salina Highbanks win
Photo – Lloyd Collins
Salina, Oklahoma (July 2, 2016) – Saturday’s forecast was much more favorable for racing at the Salina Highbanks Speedway, compared to Friday’s show lost to an early evening downpour. 35 of the top Super Late Models in the region signed in for $5,000 to win in the 3rd Annual Freedom Classic.
Will Vaught looked to be the one headed for Andy’s Frozen Custard Victory Lane, until his right rear tire went flat four laps shy of the checkers. He started out front and led until that point. Rodney Sanders inherited the point and rolled the final four laps to score his first win, in any division, at Salina, and first Late Model win of the season.
“We’ve been second here so many times it feels good to get a win,” said Sanders. “I lost brakes there the last 20 laps. We’ve kind of struggled this year . I saw Will was going pretty hard there at the beginning. I could run with him a little bit, then I lost brakes and was just gonna ride. Luckily we held on for the win.”
Jesse Stovall had won the previous four Late Model races at the highbanks, but fell one spot short of making it five Saturday.
“All in all I guess it was a good points night,” commented Stovall. “I really like this place. It just didn’t turn out like I thought it would tonight. I knew the bottom was gonna be there, so I thought I’d give the top a shot. Congratulations to Rodney, he got the job done. Will was probably in the cat bird’s seat, his tire just gave up on him.”
Sunoco Rookie of the Year points leader Tad Pospisil, qualified well for the feature and kept his car underneath him to record his best finish of the season in third.
“We were just way too tight to run in the rubber,” Pospisil commented after the race. “It was survival of the fittest. I’m glad to see all these fans here. This is an amazing facility.”
The initial start of the main event was called back when some front running cars stumbled on the takeoff, piling up a few of the competitors starting deeper in the field. Brantlee Gotschall lost power and slowed on lap 11 drawing a yellow, and the only other break in the pace was for Vaught near the end.
Heat race winners early in the evening were; Tad Pospisil, Josh Hughes, Will Vaught and Ryan Gustin.
Salina Highbanks Speedway Contingencies 7/2/16
Hooker Harness “11th Place” – Dave Eckrich
Andy’s Frozen Custard Victory Lane – Rodney Sanders
Fasttrack Photos – Rodney Sanders
Crew Chief of the Race – Grant Snider
Casey’s General Stores “Hard Charger of the Race” – Payton Looney
Sunoco “Rookie of the Race” – Tad Pospisil
Real Racing Wheels – Randy Timms
Wehrs Machine – Tommy Weder Jr.
DirtonDirt.com “Pole Award”- Will Vaught
Malvern Bank & Trust “Most Laps Led” – Will Vaught
AR Bodies – Bryon Allison
KRC – Brantlee Gotschall
RacingJunk.com “Hard Luck Award” – Brantlee Gotschall
Landrum Springs “Top Performer” – Will Vaught
Performance Bodies “Performer of the Race” – Rodney Sanders
LucasOilRacing.TV A Feature (40 Laps): 1. Rodney Sanders 2. Jesse Stovall 3. Tad Pospisil 4. Terry Phillips 5. Austin Siebert 6. Josh Hughes 7. Tony Jackson Jr 8. Jason Papich 9. Randy Timms 10. Brandon McCormick 11. Dave Eckrich 12. Tommy Weder Jr 13. Payton Looney 14. Jacob Magee 15. Bryon Allison 16. Will Vaught 17. Larry Campbell 18. Justin Asplin 19. JC Wyman 20. Ryan Gustin 21. Brantlee Gotschall 22. Jason Hughes 23. Shannon Scott 24. Jake Davis
Hoosier Racing Tires B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. Shannon Scott 2. Jacob Magee 3. Brantlee Gotschall 4. Justin Asplin 5. Jeff Roth 6. Eddie Marten 7. Bryon Allison 8. Jason Redman 9. Leroy Johnson 10. Randy Roth
HotRodProcessing.com B Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. Jason Hughes 2. Larry Campbell 3. Joseph Gorby 4. Dillon Rupe 5. Kylan Garner 6. Brandon Mitchell 7. John Turner 8. Payton Looney 9. Dalton Ragsdale
Bilstein Shocks Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. Tad Pospisil 2. Tony Jackson Jr. 3. Terry Phillips 4. Tommy Weder Jr. 5. Jacob Magee 6. Justin Asplin 7. Eddie Marten 8. Bryon Allison 9. Randy Roth
Casey’s General Stores Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. Josh Hughes 2. Jesse Stovall 3. Jake Davis 4. Randy Timms 5. Jeff Roth 6. Shannon Scott 7. Brantlee Gotschall 8. Jason Redman 9. Leroy Johnson
Chix Gear Racewear Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. Will Vaught 2. Brandon McCormick 3. Austin Siebert 4. Dave Eckrich 5. Payton Looney 6. Larry Campbell 7. Kylan Garner 8. Dillon Rupe 9. Brandon Mitchell
Malvern Bank Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. Ryan Gustin 2. Rodney Sanders 3. Jason Papich 4. JC Wyman 5. Dalton Ragsdale 6. Jason Hughes 7. Joseph Gorby 8. John Turner
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