Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series
April 17-19, 2015
The Strip Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, NV
Team Litton Racing reappeared at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Regional Event. The team was restless to get back down the track and see what they could make happen this weekend. The track was hotter and greasier than last weekend at the National event and they had 4,730 feet of density altitude to go up against. Taking all of those factors into consideration, “We went at it soft thinking it would work out and it didn’t work out,” quoted Co-Crew Chief Tony Samsel. The car quivered at two seconds, but all in all the car went straight. The crew was a little less aggressive than what they needed to be on the straight line, but the car went fast and they ran a 5.42. That qualified Team Litton in the #4 spot.
The first pass of day two, Team Litton Racing came up a little short of what they were hoping for, with a 5.47 at 264 mph. Coming up on Q3, the air was the worst that it had been of the last two weeks, they were at 5,000 feet of elevation and the temperature was between 96-97 degrees. All of the cars had slowed down, but the Litton car picked up with a 5.40. Nice run considering the best qualifying run of any team of the weekend was a 5.36. The crew knew that they had some improvements to make, but in the big picture the run turned out great. After looking at the computer the crew later knew that they could have been more aggressive. The right number might have been between 5.38 or 5.39. Crew Chief Robin Samsel stated, “In the worst air we ran our best number. I call that a good day, it’s not the best, but it’s a good day.”
Round one of eliminations and the team was really psyched. The track was plenty warm. The team was forced to take the right lane, a lane that was troublesome for all teams on the weekend. Team Litton Racing lost their opportunity for lane choice by two thousandths of a second. The team was hoping to stay in the groove like they did the previous day. This round they were going up against Ashley Sanford, her 5.51 was there for the taking, but the Litton car got loose in the middle. Tony Samsel stated, “It was a good learning experience for Bill, because he turned on both bulbs during the staging process and he made the best out of the situation. When you get to that stage you’re amped up, some people freeze up, and he did a good job there.” Bill pulled the nitro to the high side and held the clutch until he saw Sanford’s first stage light. Bill’s goal, and the crew’s goal is to always do the same routine. The car went really fast but ended up knocking the tires off (losing traction). Only one car made it down the right lane in first round. Co-Crew Chief Anthony Dicero stated, “Not how we wanted the first round to go. Hopefully we will pick ourselves up off the ground and not be too upset. Realizing that we have had three races in four weeks, with some of the best laps Bill has ever made and some of the best performances.” Always trying to build momentum from where they left off, Team Litton is definitely on a “roll”.