---

Sanders strong in Wild West Shootout opener at CAR

Ten days into the new year, Rodney Sanders opened his 2026 season at Central Arizona Raceway as the Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout returned to its Arizona roots.

Sanders advanced into Saturday night’s opener with a strong run in his heat race, moving from fifth to second. He carried that momentum into the 25-lap feature, gaining one position to finish sixth.

Sunday’s program began with a fourth-place finish in his heat race, followed by a runner-up performance in the B-Main. Starting deep in the field from the 12th row for the feature, Sanders charged forward 20 positions to record an impressive fourth-place finish. He trailed Tyler Wolff, Blake Adams, and Jason Noll at the checkered flag, with Gabe Hodges rounding out the top five.

Full results from the opening weekend of the Wild West Shootout are available at www.WildWestShootout.net.

Back to News