From the very first mains of the morning, it was clear the lower mains were going to matter. Every non-A main sent the top two into the next round, and those transfer spots became everything. A clean win was one thing, but a second-place transfer could feel just as big as a trophy. Some racers were protecting a bump spot, some were charging from the back, and some were just trying to stay out of the latest kurfuffle long enough to keep moving on.

The strongest lower-main stories belonged to the bump racers. Jackson Kroll and Dee Nice were the names that kept coming up all day, and for good reason. Both ended Sunday with four total bump-ups, the most of anyone in the mains. Kroll’s Sportsman Electric Buggy run started in the H Main and kept rolling upward, while Dee Nice built one of the cleanest ladders of the day in Sportsman Electric Buggy, climbing from F to E, E to D, D to C, and C to B. Every time the mains reset, it felt like one of those two was lining up again.

The biggest lower-main charge of the day belonged to Dee Nice in Sportsman Electric Buggy D Main, where he came from 18th on the grid to win. That was the biggest move by any race winner on Sunday. Jackson Kroll answered with huge lower-main wins of his own, taking both the Sportsman Electric Buggy H Main and G Main from 17th on the grid. Kasen Brown matched that kind of run in Sportsman Nitro Buggy, winning the D Main from 17th as well.

Some of the best lower-main stories were not just about winning, but about what happened next. Ben Decker’s whole Sunday was built in the lower mains. He transferred out of Intermediate Electric Buggy B Main, took that momentum into the A Main, and went on to win the class. That was the best example of a lower-main result turning directly into one of the biggest stories of the day. John Blaze also made big noise in the lower mains, especially in 40+ Nitro Buggy, where he won the B Main from 17th and bumped into A. Nick Reppen nearly stole Open Etruggy B from the very back, going 18th to 2nd before bumping up.

Sportsman Electric Buggy may have been the signature lower-main class of the day. It had the longest ladders, the biggest movers, and the most repeat names. Dee Nice, Jackson Kroll, Keyn Humes, Uriel Tolentino, Mike Malone, Adam Raber, and Cayden Schlick all became part of the class story as the ladder kept rolling upward. It was the class where the transfer format showed off exactly what Sunday mains can become when enough racers get hot at the right time.

Sportsman Nitro Buggy also produced a strong ladder. Brandon Cline bumped from F to E and then E to D. Kasen Brown followed with one of the best Sunday runs in the nitro mains, bumping from E to D, then D to C, winning along the way. By the time the nitro sportsman classes got deeper into the order, the transfer racers had already changed the complexion of the day.

Intermediate Electric Buggy had another strong lower-main ladder. Ben Ellis and Greg Swiatek came out of E. Chase Antill and Garrett Tucker advanced from D. Thomas Kauffman and Cole Whitehead came through C. Then Ben Decker and Evan Tapp bumped from B into A, with Decker turning that lower-main opportunity into the class win. That was one of the cleanest main-ladder story arcs of the event.

Intermediate Nitro Buggy had its own group of hard chargers. Dylan Co and John Blaze came through D. Jeremy Alvarado and Toot Hollingsworth moved up from C. Javon Mallory and Jeremy Alvarado transferred from B to A. Alvarado finished the day with three total bump-ups across classes, making him one of the most active transfer racers on Sunday.

Open Etruggy gave us a solid lower-main story too. Michael Percell won out of C and Nick Reppen took the other bump. Then Clinton Kryger and Nick Reppen came through B, with Reppen making one of the strongest back-row pushes of the day to get there. Sportsman Electric Truggy also had a deep, active ladder with Ronnie Prince, Braeden Ellis, Jason Kessinger, Anthony Donley, Kevin Moyer, and Jackson Kroll all figuring into the transfer story at different points.