Litton outruns Sullivan, captures victory at I-30
 

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (July 23) - Series points leader Rob Litton of Alexandria, La., won a lead-swapping duel with Jack Sullivan of Greenbrier, Ark., over the final laps at I-30 Speedway for a victory in the opener of a weekend doubleheader on the O'Reilly Auto Parts Southern United Professional Racing series tour. Litton earned $1,250 for the 25-lap victory at the quarter-mile oval, winning by four-car lengths over Sullivan.

With his second series victory of 2010, Litton protects his slim points lead over 10th-starting Kyle Cummings of Sibley, La., who finished third. Fifth-starting Jeff Chanler of Minden, La., wound up fourth and David Ashley of Zachary, La., rounded out the top five.

"In one word, I would say lucky! Litton said. "It was a good battle there at the end," Litton said. "There on that last caution, my crew gave me a signal and I knew I had to muscle it. Whenever Jack got by me there with the laps winding down, I said to myself, 'It is time to get up on the wheel.' "

"It was nice to get the win, I would like to get a stronghold on this place like David (Ashley) did the last time we (SUPR) was here and maybe get a win tomorrow night. We will probably change to a harder tire and tighten it up, because I suspect it will be drier tomorrow with more cars and wear running on it," Litton added.

The third-starting Litton raced out to the lead at the green flag over polesitter Clay Fisher of Dewitt, Ark., with Jody Prince, Chanler and Sullivan trailing, but the night's first caution flew for Allen Tippen on the straightaway after one lap completed.

Litton took charge again on the restart while Prince gained second from Fisher. Litton expanded his lead by the fourth lap while Cummings moved into the top five as Fisher continued to fade.

Litton began driving away from the pack, increasing his lead by nearly four seconds, while Prince and Sullivan battled for second. Sullivan gained the upper hand, taking the position on lap seven, but a caution for Wendall Bolden's spin reset the field with Prince in second. Sullivan, though, made quick work of Prince on the restart and was chasing Litton when the final caution appeared just past the halfway mark, after Ronny Adams and Lee Davis made contact on the backstretch; Alex Ashley spun to avoid the accident.

With seven laps remaining, Litton, Sullivan and Cummings broke away from the field. distancing themselves from fourth-running Chanler. Sullivan continued to bring the fight by drawing to within a few lengths of Litton on lap 19. Sullivan slipped ahead to lead lap 20 by a nose, but Litton wasn't going to be denied, taking a slight advantage on lap 22. Litton managed to inch away from Sullivan over the lap three laps, to come away with the checkered flags in the spirited late race battle.

Litton's two-spot advantage over Cummings helped in his quest for his second series championship with a dozen races remaining. Litton won the SUPR points title in 2004.

"I don't like getting out there and points racing," said Litton, who has an 82-point margin going into Saturday's race. "But Kyle got us last week (at Devil's Bowl Speedway) by a few spots. I know this win tonight was important in that. Don't think we all are not watching it."

Notes: Rob Litton's Rocket Chassis is powered by Wall 2 Wall Performance Engines and sponsored by Larry Grayson & Son Trucking, TWM Racing Products, Stuckey Racing Enterprises, LMS Truck Center and Litton Motor Sports.

Litton claimed his 21st career series victory, elevating him into sixth on SUPR's all-time win list.

The victory was Litton's second series victory at I-30 Speedway, he also has three straight top five finishes on the SUPR tour at Little Rock.

Jack Sullivan, a crowd favorite at I-30 Speedway, was back in action after his recent completion of the UMP Dirtcar Summernationals tour, where he won twice, made 27 of 28 features and finished sixth in points.

"We kind of went a little harder on tires tonight than most of the other drivers did I think. I really thought the racetrack would probably go our way a little more. I kind of thought it would blow off more than it did, but it was a good race. Me and him (Litton) raced side-by-side and never touched. I got him after a caution there, they kind of beat that stuff down and I was able to get a good run on him. The longer we went, the more they threw the crumbs across the racetrack. It kind of hurt me there, but it is the case of win some, lose some. I hate to get that close and not win one," Sullivan said afterwards of his race and battle with Litton.

The checkered flag flew on the 18-minute race at 10:26 pm and was slowed by three cautions.

Robbie Stuart of Deridder, La., made it into the feature, but experienced valve problems in his 6R car, following his heat race. Stuart borrowed Skip O'Neal's LenMar #8 machine for the feature and finished in 18th.

David Ashley of Zachary, La., who swept the June 18-19 SUPR doubleheader at I-30, tangled with Clay Fisher in their heat race battling for the lead. As Fisher blocked Ashley coming out of the turn four corner, Ashley dipped low to avoid contact with him, sending his car squirrelly down the frontstretch. Ashley narrowly avoided hitting the frontstretch wall head-on. He ended up fifth in the feature, rallying from 11th-starting spot.

Jon Mitchell of Texarkana, Tex., was black-flagged for rough driving in his heat race after an incident with Rusty Cummings. Mitchell took a provisional for the feature and was the biggest mover in the top ten, improving 12 spots for an eighth-place finish.

Kyle Cummings rallied from 10th to finish in third.

"We came up there pretty good to make it an interesting (three-car) battle, but we just fell short on tires tonight," Cummings said.

Cummings has three straight top tens at I-30 Speedway in the series and won in August 2008.

Another big mover in the top ten was Darin Patrick of West Monroe, La., who went from 13th-to-sixth.

Drivers failing to make the feature included, Jay Brunson, Wesley Crutchfield, Paul Joyner and Skip O'Neal.

SUPR @ I-30: (1) Rob Litton, (2) Jack Sullivan, (3) Kyle Cummings, (4) Jeff Chanler, (5) David Ashley, (6) Darin Patrick, (7) Robbie Starnes, (8) Jon Mitchell, (9) Jody Prince, (10) Ray Moore, (11) Alex Ashley, (12) Chris Holley, (13) Timothy Culp, (14) Shane Harris, (15) Josh Danzy, (16) Ronny Adams, (17) Rusty Cummings, (18) Robbie Stuart, (19) Lee Davis, (20) Clay Fisher, (21) Wendall Bolden, (22) Allen Tippen

Heat Race winners (among 26 cars): Sullivan, Litton, Chanler, Fisher

Consolation race winner: Moore

Provisional starters: A. Ashley, Mitchell