By David Sink
Pensacola, FL – March 22, 2013 – London, Ontario, Canada driver Ryan Litt had more than warmer weather to be excited about after traveling nearly 20 hours to garner his first career TRUFUEL Must See Racing Xtreme Sprint Series (MSRXSS) win Friday night at 5 Flags Speedway. The victory came after passing leader Jacob Wilson with only five laps remaining, and was worth $3000. It was night one of the “Royal Oak Southern Shootout” and kicked off the 2013 MSRXSS schedule.
In victory lane Litt, who had to transfer from the B-Main, explained how he patiently waited for the break he needed on lap 25.“He (Jacob Wilson) took off from me at the start. I was just trying to bide my time and save my equipment. I knew the lapped cars were gonna be difficult because the dirty air is bad here” explained Litt.”He wiggled in three and four and it killed his momentum and I had some pretty good steam going so I just put it on the bottom and it stuck for me and that was pretty much it”.
Litt acknowledged that this win against what many argue is one of the most competitive fields of drivers in recent pavement winged sprint car history, was by far the biggest win of his career. “This is the biggest win of my career, Just by the field of cars and drivers here. Must See is definitely number one for the pavement sprint car stuff” concluded Litt.
The night began with six drivers under the existing track record of 13.785 set by Jason Cox last April. Brian Gerster lowered the record to 13.203 seconds (136.33 MPH AVG) to establish the new mark and post the fastest time of the day. The track had been recently worked on and drivers indicated the improvements provided more grip. The new surface also provided three-wide racing throughout the night with two heat races thrilling the fans with nearly photo finishes.
Heat races were won by Gerster, Jimmy Kite, Todd Fayard, and Troy DeCaire. The last chance race was won by Litt. A total of twenty-eight drivers took qualifying times.
The MSRXSS now moves on to Mobile International Speedway in Irvington, AL for night two of the “Royal Oak Southern Shootout” Saturday night.
For more news and information on the “Fastest Short Track Circuit in the World” visit MustSeeRacing.com and for race day updates follow @MustSeeRacing on Twitter and Like MustSeeRacing on Facebook.
Time Trials:
1 50m Brian Gerster 13.203 NTR (136.33 MPH)
2 91s Bobby Santos III 13.477
3 7H JoJOHelberg 13.542
4 71 Brian Olson 13.650
5 33 Dave Steele 13.664
6 07L Ryan Litt 13.723
7 07w Jacob Wilson 13.806
8 17 Cody Gallogly 13.836
9 40 Troy DeCaire 13.861
10 8 Geoff Kaiser 13.864
11 81 Jimmy Kite 13.868
12 88 Jimmy McCune 13.889
13 1 Jason Cox 13.899
14 55 Shane Butler 13.901
15 2 Larry Brazil 13.905
16 26p Aaron Pierce 14.051
17 6w Billy Wease 14.078
18 91H Davey Hamilton 14.161
19 50 Mike Larrison 14.210
20 13 Todd Fayard 14.236
21 75c Jerry Caryer 14.492
22 59 Dude Teate 14.535
23 56R Ryan Myers 14.628
24 60 Davey Hamilton, Jr. 14.655
25 12 Scotty Orr 14.737
26 18 Jim Sheets 15.145
27 40 Tim Cox 15.257
28 6 Kevin Blue 16.152
Heat 1 (8 Laps)
Line Up:
RW1
59-Dude Teate-91H Davey Hamilton
RW2
55 Shane Butler-8 Geoff Kaiser
RW3
07L Ryan Litt-50m Brian Gerster
RW4
18 Jim Sheets
FINISH:
1 50m Brian Gerster
2 91H Davey Hamilton
3 8 Geoff Kaiser
4 07L Ryan Litt
5 59 Dude Teate
6 55 Shane Butler DNF
7 18 Jim Sheets DNF
Heat 2 (8 Laps)
Line Up:
RW1
56r Ryan Myers-50:1 Mike Larrison
RW2
2 Larry Brazil-81 Jimmy Kite
RW3
07w Jacob Wilson-91s Bobby Santos III
RW4
40 Tim Cox
FINISH:
1 81 Jimmy Kite
2 91s Bobby Santos III
3 07w Jacob Wilson
4 2 Larry Brazil
5 40 Tim Cox
6 50:1 Mike Larrison DNF
7 59 Ryan Myers DNF
Heat 3 (8 Laps)
Line Up:
RW1
60 Davey Hamilton, Jr-13 Todd Fayerd
RW2
26p Aaron Pierce-88 Jimmy McCune
RW3
17 Cody Gallogly-7h JoJoHelberg
RW4
6p Billy Wease
FINISH:
1 13 Todd Fayard
2 88 Jimmy McCune
3 60 Davey Hamilton, Jr.
4 26p Aaron Pierce
5 7h JoJo Helberg
6 17 Cody Gallogly
7 6b Kevin Blue
Heat 4 (8 Laps)
Line Up:
RW1
12 Scotty Orr-75c Jerry Caryer
RW2
6w Kevin Blue-1 Jason Cox
RW3
40:1 Troy DeCaire-71
FINISH:
1 40 Troy DeCaire
2 1 Jason Cox
3 6w Billy Wease
4 71 Brian Olson
5 75c Jerry Caryer
6 12 Scotty Orr
B Main 10 Laps
Line Up:
RW1
7h JoJo Helberg-07L Ryan Litt
RW2
17 Cody Gallogly-75c Jerry Caryer
RW3
12 Scotty Orr-18s Jim Sheets
RW4
40 Tim Cox-6 Kevin Blue
FINISH:
1 07L Ryan Litt
2 7H JoJo Helberg
3 75c Jerry Caryer
4 17 Cody Gallogly
5 12 Scott Orr
6 18s Jim Sheets
7 6 Kevin Blue
8 40 Tim Cox DNF
Feature Event-30 Laps
Line Up:
RW1
07w Jacob Wilson-07l Ryan Litt
RW2
71 Brian Olson-7h JoJo Helberg
RW3
91s Bobby Santos III-50m Brian Gerster
RW4
17 Cody Gallogly-40:1 Troy DeCaire
RW5
8 Geoff Kaiser-81 Jimmy Kite
RW 6
88 Jimmy McCune-1 Jason Cox
RW7
2 Larry Brazil-26p Aaron Pierce
RW8
6w Billy Wease-91h Davey Hamilton
RW9
13 Todd Fayard-75c Jerry Caryer
RW10
59 Dude Teate-60 Davey Hamilton, Jr.
FINISH:
1 7L Ryan Litt*
2 07w Jacob Wilson^
3 40:1 Troy DeCaire
4 7h JoJo Helberg
5 91s Bobby Santos III
6 17 Cody Gallogly
7 88 Jimmy McCune
8 71 Brian Olson
9 81 Jimmy Kite
10 1 Jason Cox
11 8 Geoff Kaiser
12 91h Davey Hamilton -1
13 59 Dude Teate -1
14 75c Jerry Caryer -1
15 60 Davey Hamilton, Jr. -2
16 2 Larry Brazil DNF
17 26p Aaron Pierce DNF
18 6w Billy Wease DNF
19 50m Brian Gerster DNF
20 13 Todd Fayard DNF
Time of Race: 13:13.880
*Denotes Lap Lead
^Denotes Most Laps Lead