NHRA Houston Spring Nationals & NODRA Dallas
April 20th-22nd & April 28th
Houston, TX & Dallas, TX
It’s officially Spring time which means one thing for Team Litton Racing, the return to Texas. As a Texas Native, Driver Bill Litton was looking forward to returning to his roots for back to back race weekends in The Lone Star State.
The first shot at being the last one standing was at the NHRA Spring Nationals at the Royal Purple Raceway in Houston on the weekend of April 20th to April 22nd.
This marked Driver Litton’s first appearance in the Mellow Yellow series in the Top Fuel division of the 2018 season. The Litton Financial dragster has made impressive runs with driver Steve Chrisman at the controls, but this weekend it was time for Litton’s return to the competition and he was looking to cause a stir.
Co-Crew Chiefs, Chuck and Del Worsham, intended for the weekend to be a chance for the team to get familiarized. “We were there to get experience, get him back into the car, get everyone re-acquainted with everything that is going on,” said Chief Worsham. Crew members Seth, Rick, Todd, and Glenn wasted no time getting back into the saddle.
The first round of qualifying solidified that Driver Litton was already feeling well acquainted back in the driver’s seat. “On his very first run, impressively, Bill lays down a 3.92 @ 306 mph. Just barely off his personal best on both ends.”
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My observation watching Bill, was by far the straightest run I have ever seen that car make and definitely the straightest run I’ve seen Bill make. We are progressing very well, had a nice run @ 3.92, it’s nice to see us qualifying in a decent position first round,” per Chief Worsham.
A decent position it was, sitting above the middle of the pack in 7th after Q1. After qualifying deep in the field, Litton made the decision to limit their qualifying runs.
Moving into the first round of eliminations in the 14th position, Driver Litton became the 100th different driver to face the 3rd position qualifier and former Top Fuel World Champion Tony Schumacher in the first elimination round. “Bill comes up with a great reaction time. Once he knew he was getting beat, he was getting out run by Schumacher at 3.70 run, he wisely clicked it off, saved the parts, knowing in 5 days we had to race again at the Dallas Nitro Outlaws race at Texas Motorplex,” stated Chief Worsham. After a great weekend with the NHRA, the team headed out on the road for the next race with the Nitro Outlaws Drag Racing Association (NODRA).
The next shot came at Dallas… Every Dallas event brings many fans, family, and friends of Litton Racing out to the track and the Nitro Outlaw race at the Texas Motorplex on April 28th was no exception. “It is great to have Del here racing his funny car with us! The excitement and support from family, friends, and fans here in the Lone Star State is priceless. We won an NHRA event here in 2015 and hope we can do it again,” per Litton. The crowd support elevated the level of excitement for the team and you could feel the intensity as the event got underway.
Going out for a test run, we are on a very tricky track, racing on track conditions that we haven’t seen in years. The car went out and I told Bill, if there is anything weird at all, go ahead and click it off. This is our test run, let’s see where we are,” said Chief Worsham. “Unfortunately, the car went out and spun the tires and he had to get off the throttle. Again though, a straight run, nice staging.”
First match up was against the previous NODRA event winner, Cory Mac. Litton launched off of the line with what appeared to be a win, when the tires started smoking and he had to get off the accelerator. Unfortunately, letting Cory Mac sneak by and move into the final rounds. Much to the delight of the crowd, Del in his Fuel Funny Car would race Cory Mac in his Top Fuel Dragster in the final round for all of the marbles! Shortly after the launch, both cars lost traction. Del and Cory were both on and off of the throttle with Del claiming his first NODRA victory!
Driver Litton has his mind set on a win and is looking forward to the next opportunity with Team Worsham Racing and the same can be said for the crew. “I think these 2 weeks were a great learning experience for Bill and for ourselves, Worsham Racing. We front halfed the car in our shop, the car went dead straight. Bill showed that, hey, given a quality race car, he can drive it like a true professional. Looking forward to making some more runs in the future,” stated Chief Worsham.
Next up, catch the Team at the Heartland NHRA Nationals in Topeka Kansas. Then it’s back to the Nitro Outlaws for the NODRA event at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado June 9th. Check out Bandimere.com for event details and ticket information. For insider updates and exclusive videos and photos, make sure to follow our Litton Racing page on Twitter and Facebook, like us on Instagram @teamlittonracing.