Notes: SUPR points tight heading into tripleheader
By Bryan Wimberley
O'Reilly SUPR
Allen Tippen is third in SUPR points. (DirtonDirt.com)
The points chase on the O'Reilly Southern United Professional Racing tour is a tight one as the series heads into a tripleheader Memorial Day weekend.
Rookie Morgan Bagley of Longview, Texas, who once held a 68-point lead, now just has a 15-point margin on Timothy Culp of West Monroe, La., while Allen Tippen of Minden, La., is lurking in third, 67 points behind Bagley.
Just out of the mix in fourth is two-time and reigning SUPR champion Rob Litton of Alexandria, La., who hasn't finished outside the top 10 all year long and is only hampered by skipping the season's first race.
The holiday weekend kicks off Friday at USA Speedway in Sterlington, La., where Bagley will try to win for the third consecutive visit. Saturday the tour heads to Champion Park Speedway near Minden, then wraps up the weekend Sunday at Lone Star Speedway in Kilgore, Texas. The visit to Lone Star will be the first since the track was shortened to 3/8-mile from its original half-mile configuration.
Bagley will try to become the first series driver to win three SUPR races in a row at one track since Kenny Merchant pulled off the feature at Champion Park in 2010.
SITTON DEBUTING BARRY WRIGHT RACE CAR: Kevin Sitton of Baytown, Texas, fifth in SUPR points, plans to debut a new Barry Wright Race Car soon. He shook it down with a recent practice at Battleground Speedway in Highland, Texas. Sitton doesn't plan on chasing series points, but he's been fast in recent SUPR outings. He put his 2005 Rocket Chassis up for sale several weeks ago, and recently sold the car to fellow Baytown driver Robbie Starnes.
MERCHANT, CUMMINGS MISSING FROM ACTION: All-time SUPR victories leader Kenny Merchant of West Monroe, La., and second-generation standout Kyle Cummings of Sibley, La., have run limited schedules, combining for just five Late Model starts in 2011. With the retirement of long-time sponsor and employer J.D. Caver, Merchant started his own trucking business — Ruston Rock It — and has been building launching the new operation. Cummings made a single start in a Gilbert Swayne-owned car and is building his own modified while subbing for other modified teams. Kyle's wife, Cheree, is due to deliver a girl in late September, and they recently moved closer to Kyle's parents after his father Rusty Cummings, a former SUPR champion, was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS).
SUPR ADDS EVENT AT 171 SPEEDWAY: Despite losing severals races from its original schedule because of track closings or cancellations, SUPR recently added a July 1 event at 171 Speedway in Leesville, La. The $2,000-to-win event will be the first leg of a Fourth of July weekend tripleheader. The event will be the first SUPR race in 14 years at the Leesville track, which reopened this season after being closed for seven seasons. Besides losing races at two closes tracks (Boothill Speedway and Pike County Speedway), Drew County Speedway in Monticello, Ark., has decided to stick with its weekly program and dropped its June 25 SUPR date.
ODDS AND ENDS: Father-and-son drivers David & Alex Ashley of Zachary, La., haven't competed in Late Models in 2011 after losing sponsorship from B&K Underground. ... Because of engine problems in his usual Erb Racing No. 28, Chris Holley of Dayton, Texas, will be in a GRT backup car Memorial Day weekend. ... Louisiana-based Childress Racing will field a car for NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Justin Allgaier on June 8 for the NASCAR all-star charity event Prelude to the Dream at Ohio's Eldora Speedway.
