Merchant SUPR's all-time
leader after I-30 victory
Story courtesy of Todd Turner DirtonDirt.com
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.
(Aug. 1-2) — Kenny Merchant of West Monroe, La.,
became the all-time winningest driver on the
O'Reilly Southern United Professional Racing
circuit with a victory at I-30 Speedway.
Merchant's 42nd career SUPR triumph moves him
ahead of the retired Doug Ingalls of Longview,
Texas, a three-time series champion who has 41
victories.
Fittingly, Merchant's historic victory came at a
quarter-mile oval where he's been dominant in
SUPR competition. Merchant captured the Saturday
finale of the two-race weekend while Kyle
Cummings of Minden, La., won the Friday opener.
Merchant has won nine career SUPR events at I-30
and at least one at the Little Rock track each
year since 2003.
In the weekend finale, polesitter Rob Litton of
Alexandria, La., led past the halfway point of
the 35-lapper, but with virtually every car in
the low groove, he ran into trouble with lapped
traffic. Near lap 20, Litton made an outside
move on a slower car, but the slower car also
moved high and Litton fell back to third behind
second-row starters Merchant and Cummings.
Cummings kept the heat on Merchant as the race
entered the late stages, and Merchant's
right-front tire was giving up and making his
car's handling difficult. But a caution with
five laps remaining allowed Merchant to regroup,
and he held on for the victory. Litton settled
for third while Sitton and Jeff Chanler of
Minden rounded out the top five.
O'Reilly SUPR @ I-30: (1) Kenny Merchant, (2)
Kyle Cummings, (3) Rob Litton, (4) Kevin Sitton,
(5) Jeff Chanler, (6) Jordan Jones, (7) Robbie
Stuart, (8) Lee Davis, (9) Allen Tippen, (10)
Gary Scott Christian, (11) Jeff Moss, (12) Allen
Murray, (13) Jeff Floyd, (14) Ross Camponovo,
(15) Billy Moyer Jr., (16) Nicholas Brown, (17)
Joseph Long. Heat race winners (among 17 cars):
Jones, Litton.
Corporate
sponsors of
O’Reilly
SUPR
include:
AFCO, Barber
Specialties
Inc., Bert
Transmission,
Brodix, BSB
Manufacturing,
Dura-Lite
Racing
Wheels, GRT
Race Cars,
Hinchman
Uniforms,
Hoosier Tire
Southwest,
J&J
Motorsports,
Keith Craft
Inc., Larry
Shaw Race
Cars, Lile's
Custom
Home's,
Master Vac,
O'Reilly
Auto Parts,
PBM
Performance
Products,
Peterson
Aluminum,
Trick Wild,
Triple A
Diesel
Service, X-Treme
Graphics and
Wall 2 Wall
Performance.
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