What won the race: Inheriting the lead when early pacesetter Eli Ross hopped the cushion and slammed the turn-three wall on the fifth lap, polesitter Rodney Sanders of Happy, Texas, ran away with the rest of Saturday's 25-lap Deuces Wild Championship finale at Texas Motor Speedway's Dirt Track. Sanders beat fifth-starting Tyler Wolff by a distant 6.478 seconds for the $3,000 POWRi Heartland Late Model Tour victory, his first win of any kind in more than four years.

Quotable: "We’ve been fighting to get it to run all weekend and kinda got it running last night, so we could actually work on it today," Sanders said. "I didn’t really know what to change. We didn’t change much, this is all new to me, but I just gotta thank everybody that makes this happen."

Key notes: Making his first starts in more than two years, Sanders led the final 21 laps for his first Late Model win since Oct. 8, 2022, a Tri-State Series stop at Murray County Speedway in Slayton, Minn. ... Eli Ross, winner of Friday's 20-lap Deuces Wild prelim, launched off the outside front row and led by nearly a second when he hopped the turn-three cushion and slammed the wall, ending his race before completing the fifth lap and triggering the lone caution. Sanders took over from there and never looked back. ... Tyler Wolff inherited the runner-up spot on the lap-five restart, but never had anything for Sanders over the final 20 circuits. ... Third-starting Kayden Clatt, Thursday's fast qualifier, slipped as low as fifth in the early going before dispatching of seventh-starting Sawyer Crigler for third on lap 15; Crigler settled for fourth. ... Sawyer Crigler's father, Scott Crigler, finished fifth to clinch the inaugural Heartland Tour title. ... Chase Raymond gained four spots to place sixth. ... The season finale lasted 10 minutes with eight starters completing 25 laps and 12 running at the finish. ... John Rowland and Jake Nightingale scratched.

On the move: Josh McGaha of Abilene, Texas, started 15th and finished 10th.

Winner's sponsors: Sanders drives a Rocket Chassis powered by a Hatfield Racing Engine and sponsored by Keith Hammett Trucking & Construction, Wichita Tank Racing, Mesilla Valley Transportation, ARMI Contractors, Howell Car Crushing, Paulson Rock Products and Stussy Construction, Sanitation Resources, Langford Construction, Olsen Custom Farms, Hibner Logging, Midwest Paint, Integra Racing Shocks, Swift Springs, FK Rod Ends, Wehrs Machine, Fast Shafts Driveshafts, RodneySandersRacing.net and BSG Graphics.

Points chase: 2026 final: 1. Scott Crigler (1,012); 2. Sawyer Crigler (986); 3. Kayden Clatt (876); 4. Jake Nightingale (784); 5. Joey Smith (783).

Current weather: Broken Clouds, 63°F

Car count: 18

Fast qualifier: Kayden Clatt

Time: 15.909 seconds

Polesitter: Rodney Sanders

Heat race winners: Rodney Sanders, Eli Ross