Cut Tire Ends Justin Sanders’ Dirt Cup Finale
PC- Dryden Racing Media
PETERSEN MEDIA: Having a strong two nights to lock himself into the Saturday night Dirt Cup finale, issues on a late restart would see Justin Sanders get into the wall, cutting down a tire and ending his bid for a Dirt Cup title.
“It was a fun week,” Sanders said. “We ran well enough to lock into the second row of the Saturday night feature, but unfortunately a late restart saw us get up into the wall trying to clear a lapped car and it ended out night.”
Sanders would check into the Skagit Speedway on Thursday night for the first of three nights of action with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour. His first heat race of the weekend would see him charge from his seventh starting position to finish in the fourth spot and earn a berth into a qualifier.
Lining up fifth in his qualifier, Sanders’ third place finish would put him directly in the opening night feature event where he would take the green flag from the seventh starting position.
Looking for a strong points night to help his case for Saturday night’s finale, the Aromas, CA driver would work his way forward in the Fire Protection Management/North County Plastering/Roadside 24 Hour Service backed entry.
Finishing fourth, Sanders would quickly turn his attention to Friday night as he looked for another solid points night.
Just as he did on Thursday, Friday night saw Sanders line up seventh in heat race action and he would pick up a couple of positions to finish fifth and again make his way into a qualifier.
Qualifier action saw Sanders line up on the front row, and as he slipped back to a third place finish he would just miss the automatic transfer into the feature and found himself on the pole of the ‘B’.
Powering his way to the win in ‘B Main 1’, Sander moved into the feature event where he would take the green flag from the 17th starting position. From the ninth row, Sanders had his elbows up as each position would essentially dictate where he would start on Saturday.
Slicing and dicing his way into the Top-10, Sanders would continue to dig as he worked his way up to a seventh place finish when the dust settled on the feature event.
When points were tallied, Sanders found himself in fourth, which placed him in the second row for Saturday night’s 40-lap finale.
As the feature event came to life, Sanders admittedly went the wrong direction on his car, but was able to hang around the Top-5 and stay within striking distance.
Though he was able to work his way into second amidst some dense traffic, a late restart would see a slower car move up and get into Sanders and cause him to get into the wall and cut down his right rear.
With the damage, Sanders’ night would come to a close on the 32nd lap.
“It was a disappointing way to end our trip, but I am thankful for the opportunity to get up to Washington and race,” Sanders said. “Big thanks to Larry Antaya and this team for their hard work during what was a really unusual hot stretch in the Northwest.”
Justin and Larry Antaya Motorsports would like to thank Fire Protection Management, North County Plastering, Roadside 24 Hour Service, Wicked Cushion, FK Rod Ends, DMI, Triple X Race Co., Walker Filtration, FK Shocks, and Wings Unlimited for their support in 2021.
ON TAP: Justin Sanders and Antaya Motorsports return to action on July 10th in Petaluma, CA.
BY THE NUMBERS: Starts- 9, Wins- 2, Top-5’s-3, Top-10’s-6
STAY CONNECTED: Stay connected with Justin Sanders by visiting his website, www.teamsandersmotorsports.com.
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