Chris Brown Scores First Career SUPR Victory
at Lone Star Speedway
Story courtesy of Jason Wise

KILGORE, Texas (May 24, 2009) — Late model rookie Chris Brown wasted little time making a name for himself as he scored his first career O’Reilly Southern United Professional Racing (SUPR) victory at Lone Star Speedway. Brown, a native of Spring, Texas, survived a rough racing surface to pick up the 40-lap feature win over “Catman” Jon Mitchell.

Brown, a successful dirt modified competitor, quickly learned the ropes behind his new dirt late model as he finished second in the third heat race, placing him ninth on the starting grid for the 40-lap feature event.

Pole sitter Ray Moore of Shreveport, La., quickly took off to a commanding lead in the opening laps of the 40-lap feature while Bub McCool of Vicksburg, Miss., and Kevin Sitton of Baytown, Texas, set their sights on the leader.

Lone Star Speedway, playing host to the O’Reilly SUPR late models for the first time in nearly five years, presented the competitors with a rough racing surface that resulted in a high attrition rate during the 40-lap feature.

Numerous caution flags waved during the feature as drivers maneuvered around the bumpy turns. Several SUPR veterans fell victim to the racing surface, including Kenny Merchant, David Ashley, Kevin Sitton and Howard Willis.
 
As the race reached the closing laps, Moore continued to hold a commanding lead over Sitton and looked poised to capture the feature win. His chances, however, were dashed when he hit one of the ruts exiting Turn 4 and pushed up into Ronny Adams, causing Moore’s No. 93 machine to spin and come to rest on the inside of the turn. While Adams was able to continue, Moore was able to get his car restarted and joined the rear of the field.

During that caution period, second-place contender Sitton also exited the track with a flat tire, handing the lead to Brown on the restart with 10 laps to go. Brown held off a hard charging Jon Mitchell in the final laps to claim his first O’Reilly SUPR late model career victory. Rob Litton, Allen Tippen and Chris Wall rounded out the top five, respectively.

NOTES: Several SUPR late model veteran drivers battled their way from the back of the field to score top-10 finishes. Rob Litton, who started 18th, moved up 15 positions to finish third while current SUPR points leader Allen Tippen moved up 15 spots to claim fourth-place honors. Ronny Adams, earning a provisional to get into the feature, advanced 13 positions to finish in eighth place. … Howard Willis experienced a night of frustration at Lone Star Speedway as he was caught up in a wreck during hot laps, took a hard hit into the wall during his heat race, and then was caught up in another wreck during his consolation race. Willis, who received a provisional spot in the feature, strapped in behind the borrowed car of Doug Ingalls for the feature, only to see himself caught up in another accident early on in the feature. … Next up for the O’Reilly SUPR late models is a first-time ever appearance on asphalt at Monroe Motor Speedway in Monroe, La., this Friday night, May 29.

SUPR @ Lone Star Speedway: (1) Chris Brown, (2) Jon Mitchell, (3) Rob Litton, (4) Allen Tippen, (5) Chris Wall, (6) Chris Holley, (7) Ray Moore, (8) Ronny Adams, (9) Lee Davis, (10) Gary Christian, (11) Kyle Cummings, (12) Josh Danzy, (13) Kenneth Crowe, (14) Kevin Sitton, (15) Jeff Chandler, (16) Bub McCool, (17) Howard Willis, (18) David Ashley, (19) Kenny Merchant, (20) Patrick Daniel, (21) Jason Ingalls, (22) Justin Ingalls. Heat race winners (among 37 cars): McCool, Christian, Sitton, Moore, Crowe. Consolation winners: Wall, Litton.

Corporate sponsors of O’Reilly SUPR include: AFCO, Barber Specialties Inc., Bert Transmission, Brodix, BSB Manufacturing, Dura-Lite Racing Wheels, GRT Race Cars, Hinchman Uniforms, Hoosier Tire Southwest, J&J Motorsports, Keith Craft Inc., Larry Shaw Race Cars, Lile's Custom Home's, Master Vac, O'Reilly Auto Parts, PBM Performance Products, Peterson Aluminum, Trick Wild, Triple A Diesel Service, X-Treme Graphics and Wall 2 Wall Performance.