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May 25, 2008

Cottle holds off Elliott to win Little 500

By KEN de la BASTIDE

ANDERSON – After years of trying, the team owned by Larry Contos has finally scored a win in the Pay Less Little 500, delivered by Shane Cottle.

Cottle took the lead for the final time on Lap 378 and then held off Tony Elliott over the final 25 laps to record his first win in the prestigious event on Saturday at Anderson Speedway.

Crew chief Tray House several times started from the front row of the Little 500 but was never able to score a win. It is the first win for a local team since Wayne Anspaugh captured the race in 1958.

Rounding out the top five were Elliott, Rodriguez, Litt and Russ Gamester.

The race featured tight racing, with Elliott, Ryan Litt and Cottle swapping the lead several times over the course of the final 250 laps.

Cottle was able to take the lead for good on Lap 382 after slipping past Litt going down the back straight.

It marked the first win in the Pay Less Little 500 for local car owner Larry Contos, who breathed new life into the Little 500 in the 1990s by sponsoring the race and helping to organize a festival around the race.

Contos had been trying to capture the Little 500 for more than two decades with a number of different drivers, but that first win eluded the team.

It was a classic three-car battle throughout the race between Elliott, Cottle and Litt. The three drivers swapped the lead a total of 10 times with only rookie driver Johnny Rodriguez grabbing the point from Lap 148 to 212.

Eric Gordon’s bid for a ninth Little 500 victory came to an end on Lap 96, in a crash that involved seven of the leading cars.

Pole sitter Doug Heveron had just moved into second place with an inside pass of Jimmy McCune going through Turn 4 and when he went into Turn 1, the car dumped fluids on the track.

The accident collected McCune, Matt Neely, Brian Tyler, Troy Decaire, Dave Steele and Gordon. Tyler, Steele and Decaire were able to continue.

During the caution period, a track worker spreading material on the track to dry fluids was struck by a race car, bringing out the red flag. The worker was transported to a local hospital for treatment, but was later pronounced dead at Saint John’s Medical Center. (See story on Page A1.)

It was the second red flag of the event. The first came at Lap 48 when Sonny Hartley lost power on the front straight and was hit by the car of Jacob Wilson. Wilson’s mount flipped and came to rest right side up in Turn 2.

A third red flag waved on Lap 134 when Kevin Feeney spun in Turn 3 and when the cars slowed behind him, Tyler’s car flipped and skidded along the outside retaining wall.

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