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SHINNSTON, WV. – If only Josh Richards could call a do-over on Saturday
night’s fourth annual Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals.
The 19-year-old sensation from Shinnston, W.Va., finished 13th in the
100-lap A-Main that closed the three-day Nationals on Saturday night at the
famed Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway – disappointing, sure, but still a great
educational experience for the driver known as ‘Kid Rocket.’
“I wish we could run that race again,” said Josh. “Even though we struggled,
we learned a lot. I know we went too far in the wrong direction with our
setup, and if we could run the race again we wouldn’t make the same
mistake.”
Josh’s visit to Knoxville started off on a high note during Thursday night’s
first preliminary program. His lap of 17.811 seconds around the big
half-mile oval was fastest of the 59-car field in time trials. A
fourth-place finish in his heat earned him the pole position for the 25-lap
feature, but an incorrect setup decision left him with a fifth-place finish
in the event won by Iowa’s Brian Birkhofer.
“We tried to run the same setup we did back in the World of Outlaws race (at
Knoxville) earlier this year,” Josh said of his Thursday-night A-Main
effort. “But the track blew off and got slick. It was way too slick for the
setup we used.”
The second preliminary show, on Friday night, was a write-off for Josh. He
timed well again (second-fastest), but a blown right-rear tire and
subsequent hit from another car during his heat tore up the bodywork of his
Mark Richards Racing-owned Seubert Calf Ranches/Ace Metal Works/TSR-Tony
Stewart Racing/Petroff Towing/MCB Motorsports Rocket Chassis No. 1. Josh and
his crew spent the remainder of the night repairing their machine rather
than racing.
Josh’s Thursday-night points total was good enough to give him the fourth
starting spot in Saturday night’s 100-lap Knoxville Late Model Nationals
A-Main. But after topping the speed charts in practice, he was never a
factor in the $35,000-to-win feature that was captured by Wisconsin’s Brady
Smith.
“The car felt great in hot laps,” said Josh. “But we tried to go a little
bit further with the setup for the feature, and it didn’t work out.
“I really wish we had a better car, because the track was really nice. It
was slick, and you could race from top-to-bottom. It was the kind of
racetrack everybody likes racing on.”
Josh will be back in action this weekend at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg,
Ohio, where he’ll travel for the Friday/Saturday (Oct. 5-6) UMP DIRTcar
Racing Fall Nationals. Time trials for the dirt Late Models are scheduled
for Friday night, with heats, B-Mains and the $10,000-to-win 40-lap A-Main
set for Saturday night.
Josh, who finished second in last year’s UMP DIRTcar Racing Fall Nationals
at Eldora, goes back on the road with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series
on Wed., Oct. 10, at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.
(Jani-King Southern Showdown) and Oct. 12-13 at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls
Gap, Tenn. (Tennessee Fall Brawl 100). He is currently ranked fifth in the
tour points standings, 12 points behind fourth-place Shane Clanton.
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