By Tommy Goudge
(September 2, 2010) – London, Ontario driver Ryan Litt had last weekend off, and he’s ready to get back behind the wheel in two big events in Michigan this Friday and Saturday night. Ryan will look to go three for three this season at the Dixie Motor Speedway in Birch Run, Michigan on Friday before heading to the Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan on Saturday. Both events will be sanctioned by the Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper Super Sprints series.
The #07L BS&B Radiator/OTC Tools Claxton-powered Beast Sprint Car has been on the shelf since a crash at Salem Speedway on August 8. Ryan spent the following Saturday as a hired gun driving for Wilshe Motorsports at Slinger, Wisconsin in a Must See Racing Xtreme Sprint Series event.
“Slinger was awesome…a really fun place to race,” says Ryan. “The turns are banked super high and even the straightaways have some decent banking – higher than most turns at other tracks. The fans really loved the sprint cars and are excited for us to come back.”
Ryan’s mount for the Slinger race had a 360 cubic inch engine under the hood, as opposed to the 410 engines used by most of his competitors. That didn’t stop him from running the second fastest lap of the day in time trials. Veteran Jeff Bloom was the only driver to beat Ryan’s time.
“The car was unreal at Slinger – fast right out of the trailer,” says Ryan. “We made a gear change and spring change for qualifying and had fast time with two cars to go. Bloom was one of them. Still a pretty good run, all things considered.”
The feature started out well and the car again felt good for Ryan, but problems surfaced.
“In the feature we started ninth and were running about fifth by lap twenty-five,” says Ryan. “I was just riding because of the problem I was having. The car was super fast – I was running it about 75-80% of what it had in it. I think we definitely had the car to beat.”
A hanging throttle was the culprit, and Ryan was eventually credited with a thirteenth place finish. Ryan is still fourth in the Must See Racing series points with one race left on that schedule – September 11 at the Dells Raceway Park in Wisconsin.
“The problem was with the throttle being hung up,” says Ryan. “When I let off going into the corner, it would keep pulling which forced me to ride the brakes a lot, and they eventually burnt off. There was a caution and I couldn’t even run caution speed without killing the ignition. I decided I had no choice but to pull it off. I couldn’t even stop for my pit – I had to circle around the pit area until I slowed down enough.”
Ryan would like to thank Don and Suellen Wilshe for the opportunity to drive their car at Slinger, and looks forward to working with them again in the future.
“I would have missed the Slinger race if it wasn’t for Don calling me on the Monday after Salem,” says Ryan. “Thanks to Don and Suellen for allowing me to drive for them, and also thanks to Bill, Jenny, and Jay for helping us get the car ready to go. I also need to thank Grimes, and my grandfather Alex and for spending two days in the shop putting the car together during the week.”
Ryan will be back in the family-owned #07L machine this weekend at Dixie and Berlin. The chassis was sent away for repair, and the rest of the car required quite a bit of work after the heavy crash at Salem.
“We just got the frame back from Beast on Sunday,” says Ryan. “We got the car all back together Monday night and fired the engine on Tuesday.”
Dixie and Berlin are two of Ryan’s favourite tracks, and venues where he’s had a lot of success.
Ryan has won both AVSS races contested this year at Dixie, and is looking to make it a clean sweep for 2010 this Friday. A victory at Dixie would run Ryan’s career win total to five at the high-banked 4/10 mile.
Saturday will be Ryan’s first visit to Berlin in 2010, but it’s another place where the #07L has been to victory lane. Ryan has two career feature wins at Berlin, and always runs fast at the 7/16 mile oval.
“(I’m) hoping to win both races,” says Ryan. “We are usually really good at both tracks, so if everything goes as planned it should be a great weekend.”
WHAT
Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper Super Sprints (AVSS)
2010 Season Rounds 7 and 8
www.SuperSprints.com
WHERE
Dixie Motor Speedway
10945 Dixie Highway
Birch Run, MI 48415
Phone: 989 624-9778
e-mail: info@DixieMotorSpeedway.com
On the Web: www.DixieMotorSpeedway.com
Berlin Raceway
2060 Berlin Fair Drive
Marne, MI 49435
Phone: 616-677-5000
e-mail: mstrevel@berlinraceway.com
On the Web: www.berlinraceway.com
WHEN
Dixie Motor Speedway:
Friday, September 3, 2010
Pit Gates Open 2:00p.m. – Practice Begins 3:00p.m.
Grandstands Open 5:00p.m. – Qualifying 5:30p.m. – Racing 7:30p.m.
Berlin Raceway:
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Racing 7:00p.m.
Ryan and the team would like to thank all their sponsors for their support during the 2010 season, including OTC Tools, BS&B Radiator, Linton Media, Linde Gases, Leaf Racewear, and Xtreme Metal Worx.
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