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Life’s Journey
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Bruce Litton hopes fans see him
as more than just “that guy that thanks God all the time”
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By Bobby Bennett, Jr. Photos by Roger Richards |
Lucas Oil-sponsored Top Fuel driver Bruce Litton has a mission in life. While that grand plan may be to win as many drag races as he can, his plan reaches deeper into the soul. Litton, an enclosed trailer dealership owner, wants to be known as a person with a good heart. In the end, that’s what provides the greatest accomplishment in life; at least that’s how he sees it.
After graduating from the Top Dragster ranks in the mid-1990s, Litton made the quantum leap into the Top Fuel ranks. He never lets budget restraints sway his enthusiasm, which is equal, but less visual than that of IHRA Top Fuel rival Clay Millican. Litton loves drag racing. As he put it, “More than most people will ever know.” Litton, a 33-year veteran of the sport, considers himself the kind of individual that prefers to accentuate the positives and downplay the negatives. Often he gets upset and while a tempest of tantrum may swell on the inside, he keeps a solid front of consistency on the outside. In drag racing and life, Litton will testify that consistency means everything in terms of survival. When he lost ten final rounds opposite Millican in 2002, he chose to use the fact he reached that many finals as a means of analyzing a situation on the outside that admittedly was frustrating at times on the inside. Of course, Litton’s patience was rewarded with two national event wins last season. In fact, Litton was the only driver to stop Millican during eliminations. One of the wins came in Edmonton and the other was during the expanded 16-car show at Norwalk. While many have alluded to the fact that the Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Top Fuel title is usually a dogfight only reserved for Litton and Millican, the soft-spoken Midwesterner admits there’s a lot more out there than the two of them. “None of us know what the future holds,” explained Litton. “Drag racing has a way of humbling even the most egotistical person. It’s the nature of the game. I just try to go out there with my crew and give it my best and try to accept the end result. Sometimes we win. Sometimes we lose. But, we live to play another day and certainly God has blessed me to the point that he allows me to keep coming out here.”
One of the staunchest and longest supporters of Litton has been Lucas Oil, and when his Wix Filters backers decided to take a different direction at the end of the 2001 season, the role of primary sponsor was quickly filled by Lucas. Of course, Litton’s personal family values instantly meshed with the company’s owners Forrest and Charlotte Lucas. “I always have admired them and they have made a huge impression on me,” explained Litton. “I think a lot of Forrest and Charlotte, as well as everyone working with them. We couldn’t have asked for a better marketing partner with this deal. When you have people of their caliber that make a very good product, it makes it easy to be a spokesman.” When Litton looked around after the departure of Wix, he also found that faithful associates Freightliner, United Trailers and Allegra Printing had all remained at his side. Recently, he added Stoops and Torco Racing Fuels to the line-up. While Litton could have easily gotten down on the sport after the loss of his previous sponsorship, he just accepted the situation as the will of a higher power beyond that of anyone on earth. That’s usually his take on things – accept the things you have no control over. That’s why he doesn’t become embattled with the controversies of the sport. When the price of nitro skyrocketed in the off-season, Litton’s take was, “It went up for everyone and you have to just play the hand that has been dealt to you. It’s not really going to kill us all that much except you have to watch what you spill now. The cost of racing in general has gone up and continues to do so.”
In a sport that has become mired in greed and backbiting, especially evident in the past two decades, Litton hears the talk and the rumors. He’s even seen a few plays for his sponsorship. In fact, one driver requested that Litton send a few uniforms for their team to use on their “tryout” weekend. Of course, that driver’s highlight was a photo that showed his car with an oil leak on the burnout showering the trackside photographers. Then, who could forget the one effort where another driver had his car emblazoned with Lucas Oil livery only to pull the parachute, which had a Prolong logo on it. It might not have been so bad had the picture not appeared on NHRA.com as well as other Internet media outlets. “Negativity is something I try to steer clear of. It does no one any good. I run my own team and run my own races. I find it hard enough to stay on top of that. I’ve always felt if they are fighting amongst themselves they will leave me alone.” Litton is vocal when it comes to his religious convictions. While some might criticize his actions of mixing racing and religion, he stands by the feelings that permeate his heart. In his assessment, a person should be known by their actions. With that said, he’s always tried to let his actions speak louder than words, although he finds no problem in speaking his mind.
“It’s what I am called to do as a Christian,” explained Litton. “Christianity is not a religion, it is a faith. Jesus Christ is my personal savior and I believe it with all of my heart. I think it’s good news that the whole world should hear.” Litton admits that he’s never had a sponsor that’s requested him to tone down his religion in interviews, and he’s not exactly sure how he would react to such to a request. “I’ve never had a sponsor that wouldn’t discouraged it any,” added Litton. “Everyone has their own beliefs. I’ve always had free reign to say or do what I wanted on the microphone. If anything, I’ve had sponsors request to be named second after God. I like that and that’s where my heart is.
“I’d like to think that each sponsor that I’ve had has gone into the deal knowing me. What you see is what you get.” Litton avoids conflicts of interest by aligning himself with companies that see the importance of family values and morality. “We can all use money and we can all use sponsors, but I really and truly don’t want a sponsor that I cannot believe in,” explained Litton. “I really mean that. It’s easy to represent a company that you believe in.” Litton always refers to the death of his older brother Dennis as a catalyst for the change in his life. “It wasn’t a light switch kind of thing,” explained Litton. “I had always leaned that way as I grew older. There were events in my life and people that have passed on that I have learned that there’s more to life than keeping up with the rat race.” Litton’s older sibling was a huge influence in his life. Bruce was the youngest of five Litton children and Dennis was nine years older. “He always took care of me and looked out for me too,” added Litton. “Through the years we shared a lot of the same passions, namely drag racing. He raced cars and I raced motorcycles. We were very competitive. There were plenty of head-to-head races between the two of us.”
Litton beams when he talks about Dennis’ prowess in drag racing. “I’m certainly not the racer that he was,” Litton says with a smile. “He had great reactions and was very flexible in driving. Later in life we went in business together and he made it to where my racing and work peacefully co-existed. He covered for me a lot of times.” On September 19, 1985, Litton’s life was dealt a sudden blow. Dennis was critically injured on the job at General Motors. “I remember him saying on more than one occasion that he didn’t want to go to work that day,” Litton recalled. “Dennis was a hard worker and that was uncharacteristic for him. He worked more than one job and never complained. I was the last person to see him.” Litton added that Dennis never alluded to being sick; he just didn’t have a good feeling about going to work. After going in, Dennis was given a pass to leave at 4:30 that day. He applied for the dismissal at 3:30. At 4:15, Dennis was inspecting panels that were due to be shipped to the customer that day. A forklift driver attempted to lift one of the racks being inspected and several of the adjoining racks collapsed on Dennis.
“Dennis was a well-built guy and he worked out quite a bit,” added Litton. “That was what saved his life that day. He was pinned for 15 minutes before anyone found him. With him being in the shape he was, it enabled him to prevent being crushed to death and dying on the spot.” Dennis was in the ICU unit for 19 weeks and his suffering was unbearable for Litton to watch. “He never really improved physically, and shortly before his death, he accepted Christ in his heart,” Litton said. “That was before I did. He was at peace when he left this world. I think God allowed him to live longer to get that peace.” The tragedy had a profound affect on his little brother. “I was very angry,” recalled Litton. “He was only 38 years old and had his whole life ahead of him. It took me a long time to get over it. I lost interest in the business and eventually sold it. I didn’t want to do it without Dennis.” The shoe was on the other foot for Litton. Just three years earlier, Dennis had watched Bruce cling to life after a motorcycle racing accident nearly cost him his hand and eventually his life. “When I was trying to get back on my feet, he never left my side.” Litton’s accident took place in Gulfport, MS., and it was Dennis that came to his bedside. Bruce vividly remembers that day. “I was beat up pretty bad,” recalled Litton. “It basically tore my left hand off and ground my right thumb off. The doctors thought I had internal injuries and that I was dying. I was blue as could be. I can remember Dennis standing over my bed and crying. I remember that vividly.” The brothers were that close. The Litton brothers borrowed things without asking and that actually worked against them once. Bruce conveyed the time that Dennis thought he had borrowed his Suburban, but it actually had been stolen. When Litton suits up these days, he thinks about Dennis. He also thinks about the plan that God has for him on this day. Not to ever be forgotten is his supportive wife Carol, who has been at his side throughout the ups and downs of life. Never did Litton need her support more than a few years ago when his race shop burned to the ground, destroying a lifetime of memories and collectible items accrued over the course of decades. Whether it was pedal cars or a nostalgic product sign of decades past, or even more serious, a complete Top Fuel operation, Litton rebounded in a span of two months to return to action. Insurance replaced most everything, but Litton points out that it was God that replaced everything ten-fold. He often refers to the biblical account of Job to point out that God will never put more on a man than they can bear. “We do just fine,” adds Litton. “It’s all about being the best person you can be. When everything is said and done, that’s what’s most valuable in life. “That’s what makes you a real winner.”
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