By Ben Deatherage
WHITE CITY, Ore. (Aug. 15, 2026) — Matt Sanders of Brookings survived a furious last-lap challenge from Bricen James to win the $10,000-to-win Legends of Dirt Modified Shootout presented by Best Homes Storage for Karl Kustoms IMCA Modifieds Saturday night at Southern Oregon Speedway.
The 40-lap main event, which paid $1,000 to start, came down to a drag race out of the final corner, with Sanders beating James to the checkered flag by just 0.051 seconds.
Former California State and multi-time Central California Clash series champion Troy Foulger put the Bill Bowers-owned No. 49 out front on the opening lap before a caution slowed the field on lap two.
Once racing resumed, Foulger began to build an advantage while defending Southern Oregon Speedway champion and 2025 National Rookie of the Year Ethan Killingsworth became locked in a fierce battle with Sanders for second.
Killingsworth eventually secured the position and quickly erased Foulger’s advantage, reaching the leader by lap eight. He tried several times to find a way around Foulger, but each move was met with a counter as Foulger maintained control. Their battle allowed Sanders, the 2026 IMCA Wild West Speedweek champion, to close in and make it a three-car fight for the lead.
Sanders went to work on Foulger on lap 13 and edged ahead at the line on the 14th circuit to become the new leader. Once in front, Sanders began to pull away while the battle for second continued behind him until a caution on lap 19 erased his advantage and brought the field back together.
Two-time Oregon State and IMCA Wild West Speedweek champion Collen Winebarger took advantage of the restart, moving the Devon Reed-provided No. 58S into second. Winebarger kept Sanders within reach as the laps clicked away and began applying serious pressure around lap 30, but Sanders successfully turned back the challenge.
The leaders caught the back of the field on lap 36, setting up a tense final four circuits. Winebarger took another shot at Sanders while the pair negotiated traffic, but Sanders again kept him behind as James began to close rapidly on both of them.
The 2019 DeVilbiss Racing Chassis Western Region champion and two-time IMCA Wild West Speedweek champion suddenly found himself in contention aboard the Schram Motorsports-owned No. 13. James made his move on the final lap and raced Sanders out of the final corner in a drag race to the checkered flag, but Sanders held on to collect the $10,000 payday.
The triumph was Sanders’ ninth DeVilbiss Racing Chassis Western Region feature win of 2026, with four of those victories coming at Southern Oregon Speedway.
The event was also a qualifier for the Fast Shafts All-Star Modified Invitational, to be held during the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. Sanders was already on the eligibility list to attempt to qualify for the invitational.
James was second, while Winebarger completed the podium after starting eighth. Killingsworth finished fourth, and Foulger rounded out the top five.
Nick Trenchard earned hard charger honors in the Biehn Racing No. 54N, advancing 11 positions from 21st to 10th.
