Whitesville, Ken., (July 31)- With the exception of NASCAR star Darrell Waltrip, perhaps no one knows their way around the quick 3/8 mile Kentucky Motor Speedway better than Sammy Sanders. Sanders put that knowledge to good use Saturday night as he drove away from the competition to take a dominating victory in the Ken Ten Pro Late Model 100 lap race.
Sanders, from Bowling Green, Ken., was the fast qualifier, and drew a two in the redraw. This put him on the outside of Brentwood, Tenn., driver Mason Mingus. At the green flag, Mingus was able to get the jump on Sanders and moved out to the lead, while Sanders fell in behind.
“Mason got a good run at the start,” said Sanders. “We were a little tight on low air pressure, so we just wanted to ride for a little bit.”
Sanders, racing with new sponsorship from Culver’s Frozen Custard and Butterburgers, got his opportunity to make a move a few laps later. After a caution for a crash involving Kraig Hall and Hunter Willis, Sanders was able to work the outside line on the restart to get around Mingus and take the lead. From there it was smooth sailing.
“We did what we could, but Sammy just had better bite off of the corners,” said Mingus. “We’re chasing the championship, so once I realized I couldn’t catch Sammy, we were just riding and making sure we held onto second.”
“Billy Russell tuned our motor, and it’s really driver friendly,” said Sanders. “It’s really easy to put the power down coming out of the corner. Also, we have a good exhaust package with Headman Hustler headers, and that’s an often overlooked area that can help gain horsepower.”
The race was only slowed once more for a caution when Eric Centers made contact with the wall on the frontstretch. Sanders had no problems on the final restart and pulled away to take the easy victory. In all, Sanders led 90 of the 100 laps.
“I didn’t want to see that last caution,” Sanders said. “Mason raced me clean, though. He earned a lot of respect from me tonight.”
Sanders uses AR Bodies, Pro Machine motors, Headman Hustler headers, and Butterburgers by Culvers.
The next event on the Ken Ten schedule marks a return to Corbin Speedway. Roger Parker won the season-opening race at the track in the series’ last visit to the tight quarter-mile. The action is sure to be intense as always!
Final Results:
1. Sammy Sanders
2. Mason Mingus
3. Chad Willis
4. John Hayden
5. Ryan Isaacs
6. Tim Hollis
7. Marty Taylor
8. Eric Centers
9. Josh Clemons
10. Kraig Hall
11. Hunter Willis
Point Standings:
1. Tim Hollis- 436
2. Mason Mingus- 408
3. Chad Willis- 330
4. Brian Royalty- 312
5. Davey Coble- 282
6. Roger Parker- 266
7. Hunter Willis- 250
8. Sammy Sanders- 248
9. Ryan Isaacs- 236
10. Josh Weston- 212
10. Jason Jones- 212
12. Marty Taylor- 196
13. Dr. Jeff Berg- 192
14. Mark Day- 174
15. Blake Hillard-160
16. Tony Conway- 132
17. Jerrod Foley- 116
17. Clay Alexander- 116
17. Robbie Brown- 116
20. Chris Harmon- 114
21. Daniel Bolden- 112
21. Damon Ecoff- 112
23. John Hayden- 108
23. Michael House- 108
25. Wayne Jones- 106
26. Sterling Marlin- 104
27. Brian Cherry- 102
28. Johnny Brazier- 100
29. Gregg Carby- 96
29. Will Kimmel- 96
29. Martin Belcher- 96
32. Eric Centers- 92
32. Dakota Stroup- 92
34. Danny Smith- 90
35. Josh Clemons- 88
35. Chris Workman- 88
35. Mike Masters- 88
35. Jared Smith- 88
39. Jay Parrish- 86
40. Kraig Hall- 84
41. Tom Schuette- 82
42. TW Fisher- 80
42. Steve Brock- 80
44. Keith Montgomery- 76
44. Kevin Willis- 76
46. Jason Fuller- 72
47. Mike Bargo- 68
48, Mark Oliver- 62
49. Dennis White- 60
50. Kyle Fletcher- 56
51. Terry Smith- 36
52. Tony Ussery- 32
53. Martin Belcher- 24
54. Tony Sawyer- 20
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