Sanders gets the broom out in Battle at the Border

Rodney Sanders won the USRA Modified main event.

Rodney Sanders won the USRA Modified main event.


Defending USMTS National Champion Rodney Sanders is off to a blistering start to the 2020 racing season in the Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series after completing a weekend sweep of the USRA Modifieds during the inaugural Battle at the Border at the Vado Speedway Park.

After winning from the eighth and tenth starting spots on Friday and Saturday, the 30-year-old from Happy, Texas, got the job done on Sunday after taking the green flag from sixth on the 22-car grid.

As he did on Friday, 2014 USRA Modified National Champion Fito Gallardo of Las Cruces finished second behind 'The Rocket' while former track champ Bumper Jones of Mesilla Park crossed the finish line third.

Long-distance travelers Mitch Keeter of Webb City, Missouri, and Calvin Iverson of Eleva, Wisconsin, rounded out the top five.

Competing in three divisions during dirt track racing's three-day lid-lifter of the new decade, 2015 USRA Modified National Champion Jake Gallardo of Las Cruces stormed from the 15th starting spot to capture the checkered flag in the USRA B-Mod main event.

Last year's Lebanon Midway Speedway track champion Dillon McCowan claimed runner-up honors while fellow Showm-Me State racer Clint Johnson came home third ahead of Saturday's winner, Brock Gronwold of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and Rio Rancho's Josh Cain.

The Vado Speedway Park is a new state-of-the-art, semi-banked 3/8-mile clay oval located just off I-10 at exit 155, then 0.2 mile north on Stern Dr. (track is on your left) in Vado, New Mexico (between Las Cruces and El Paso).

For more information, call (575) 524-7913 or visit VadoSpeedwayPark.com. You can also like Vado Speedway Park on Facebook or Instagram and follow on Twitter (@VadoSpeedway).

To learn more about the United States Racing Association, visit USRAracing.com. You can also like us on Facebook, visit us on Instagram, follow us on Twitter and watch us on YouTube. Keep up to speed with everything USRA and subscribe to the USRA e-Newsletter at USRAracing.com/subscribe.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series
Vado Speedway Park, Vado, New Mexico
Sunday, January 5, 2020

USRA MODIFIEDS

Heat #1:
1. (2) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
2. (1) 27X Calvin Iverson, Eleva, Wis.
3. (7) G17 Fito Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
4. (3) 12 Matt Crafton, Mooresville, N.C.
5. (4) 131 Royal Jones, Las Cruces, N.M.
6. (6) 18JR Ricardo Olague Jr., El Paso, Texas
7. (5) 28 Tom Georges, El Paso, Texas

Heat #2:
1. (2) 52 Mitch Keeter, Webb City, Mo.
2. (4) 111 Bumper Jones, Mesilla Park, N.M.
3. (8) 9 Jimmy Ray, Las Cruces, N.M.
4. (1) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
5. (7) J17 Jake Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
6. (5) 44 Christy Barnett, El Paso, Texas
7. (6) 24 Israel Ortega, Las Cruces, N.M.
8. (3) 88 Nathan Smith, Anthony, N.M.

Heat #3:
1. (2) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
2. (4) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas
3. (3) 8N Nick Rivera, Las Cruces, N.M.
4. (5) 22 Jonathon Ortega, Las Cruces, N.M.
5. (7) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
6. (6) 85 Austin Adams, El Paso, Texas
7. (1) 9C Dillon Hill, Eunice, N.M.

Feature:
1. (6) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
2. (7) G17 Fito Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
3. (2) 111 Bumper Jones, Mesilla Park, N.M.
4. (5) 52 Mitch Keeter, Webb City, Mo.
5. (8) 27X Calvin Iverson, Eleva, Wis.
6. (13) J17 Jake Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
7. (14) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
8. (3) 9 Jimmy Ray, Las Cruces, N.M.
9. (15) 131 Royal Jones, Las Cruces, N.M.
10. (16) 44 Christy Barnett, El Paso, Texas
11. (9) 8N Nick Rivera, Las Cruces, N.M.
12. (20) 28 Tom Georges, El Paso, Texas
13. (10) 22 Jonathon Ortega, Las Cruces, N.M.
14. (22) 88 Nathan Smith, Anthony, N.M.
15. (18) 18JR Ricardo Olague Jr., El Paso, Texas
16. (19) 9C Dillon Hill, Eunice, N.M.
17. (17) 85 Austin Adams, El Paso, Texas
18. (11) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
19. (12) 12 Matt Crafton, Mooresville, N.C.
20. (1) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas
21. (4) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
22. (21) 24 Israel Ortega, Las Cruces, N.M.

USRA B-MODS

Heat #1:
1. (1) 19 Lucas Rodin, Marion, N.D.
2. (2) 8 Dillon McCowan, Urbana, Mo.
3. (3) 2SS Mark Smith, Anthony, N.M.
4. (7) 7 Donavon Flores, Las Cruces, N.M.
5. (8) 3J Josh Cain, Rio Rancho, N.M.
6. (5) 3 Dickie Gorham, Las Cruces, N.M.
7. (6) 82 Sherman Barnett, El Paso, Texas
DQ – (4) G17 Jake Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.

Heat #2:
1. (3) 2G Brock Gronwold, Fergus Falls, Minn.
2. (2) 37 Clint Johnson, Neosho, Mo.
3. (5) 93 Greg Gorham, Las Cruces, N.M.
4. (1) 24 Derek Stuhler, Elephant Butte, N.M.
5. (8) 11 Lucas Ward, El Paso, Texas
6. (4) 7 Don Parra, Las Cruces, N.M.
7. (6) 777 Justin Allen, Las Cruces, N.M.
8. (9) 37A David Jay Jr., Las Cruces, N.M.
9. (7) 23H Hector Barraza, El Paso, Texas

Feature:
1. (15) G17 Jake Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (4) 8 Dillon McCowan, Urbana, Mo.
3. (3) 37 Clint Johnson, Neosho, Mo.
4. (5) 2G Brock Gronwold, Fergus Falls, Minn.
5. (9) 3J Josh Cain, Rio Rancho, N.M.
6. (6) 19 Lucas Rodin, Marion, N.D.
7. (2) 2SS Mark Smith, Anthony, N.M.
8. (1) 93 Greg Gorham, Las Cruces, N.M.
9. (8) 24 Derek Stuhler, Elephant Butte, N.M.
10. (14) 777 Justin Allen, Las Cruces, N.M.
11. (11) 3 Dickie Gorham, Las Cruces, N.M.
12. (7) 7 Donavon Flores, Las Cruces, N.M.
13. (17) 23H Hector Barraza, El Paso, Texas
14. (12) 7 Don Parra, Las Cruces, N.M.
15. (13) 82 Sherman Barnett, El Paso, Texas
16. (16) 37A David Jay Jr., Las Cruces, N.M.
17. (10) 11 Lucas Ward, El Paso, Texas