Rockingham: Bruce Litton preview

Litton Looks to Rebound in Rockingham
Will look to build on 2007 World Finals win at IHRA Spring Nationals

(ROCKINGHAM, NC; April 16, 2008) -- Last fall IHRA Top Fuel World Champion Bruce Litton's trip to Rockingham was one part business, one part celebration. After watching T.J. Zizzo falter in the first round, all Litton had to do was knock off Luigi Novelli in the last pair of cars of the first session and he would clinch his first-ever Top Fuel world championship. He was up to the task, despite an oil-down the pair before the biggest run of his career. He not only knocked off Novelli, he went on to win his 12th career Ironman.

Clinching the 2007 world championship just reinforced Litton's high opinion of Rockingham Dragway.

"I always enjoy coming to Rockingham because this was the site of our first career victory at the 1999 Spring Nationals," Litton said. "I like the people and I like the community so it's always been a good track for us. To win the championship in Rockingham last year was awesome."

Litton will look to recapture some of that "Rockingham Magic" April 18-20 at the 2008 IHRA Spring Nationals. Litton qualified at the top of the sheet at the '08 season opener in San Antonio, but fell in the first round of eliminations to eventual event champion, Spencer Massey.

"Actually San Antonio was good to us," Litton said. "We were the #1 qualifier and had a fast car. But we got beat on Sunday and it was just one of those things. The car performed exactly how it did and we tried to run our own race, but Spencer just beat us. It was good for him and good for the sport to see a young guy like that come in and win that race. That's what it's all about, that's drag racing. You're going to lose some like that and you'll win some like that."

Massey defeated Litton on a hole-shot and took the round win by less than two feet in San Antonio, but Litton is not looking back at the Texas Nationals...he is looking ahead to the IHRA Spring Nationals.

"We'll go out and try to get secure in the field, then try a few things," he said. "We'll see how the track looks, see what we think the track will hold and go as fast as we can. Our goal is to go as fast as we can without tearing a bunch of stuff up."

-credit: ihra