Summer Sullivan’s first career Carteret County Speedway victory was made all the more special when her father, Steve, picked up a win on the same night in Sunday’s Memorial Classic at Carteret County Speedway.
Summer Sullivan had finished either second or third in every race in 2021 while division points leader Adam Mattice had entered the season undefeated. On this night, however, it was the 12-year-old from Swansboro who would shine – starting on the pole, leading the most laps, and retaking the lead on the last lap from Mattice en route to her first career win.
“I am so freaking excited,” Summer Sullivan said with maximum enthusiasm in victory lane. “This is my first time winning here and I am so excited. It’s so special. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I’m so glad and I hope it can happen again.”
After scoring the victory, Summer watched as her father, Steve, led wire-to-wire in a wild U-CAR feature to pick up the second win of the evening for the Sullivan family. After the race, Summer, with her trophy still in hand, hugged her father in victory lane.
“I am so proud of him,” she stated on the microphone after the U-CAR race. “He did such a good job staying in front.”
Sullivan had to hold on to the lead during a frantic start of the race when multiple cautions set up multiple restarts, but once the race got going, he was able to drive away from the field to score his fourth consecutive U-CAR win.
“I never thought, in a million years, that we would have wins together on the same night,” Steve Sullivan said in victory lane after the U-CAR feature. “We’re definitely going to do some partying tonight.”
The celebration for the Sullivan family was not just limited to Steve and Summer. Steve’s son, Russell, said after the U-CAR race, “I’m so proud of my dad out there, I love you dad so much.”
Adam Mattice went on to finish second in the Jr. Mini Cup feature over Alexis Steffan, Mylah Provost, and Blaine Mattice. Curtis Lanier finished second to Sullivan in the U-CAR race while Lynn Waller, Abby Jolly, and Ricky Houser rounded out the top-five.
