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SHINNSTON, WV – The only reason Josh Richards will want to remember his
racing visit to the South last week is to contemplate what might have been.
There were certainly no notable final results for ‘Kid Rocket,’ who retired
from Wednesday night’s 50-lap Jani-King Southern Showdown at The Dirt Track
@ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., while leading and finished 14th
(two laps down) in Saturday night’s Tennessee Fall Brawl 100 at Volunteer
Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn.
“We had two real frustrating nights,” said Josh. “What stinks is that I know
we had an awesome car at Charlotte (Lowe’s), and I think we were pretty good
(at Bulls Gap).”
The 19-year-old sensation’s Mark Richards Racing-owned Seubert Calf
Ranches/Ace Metal Works/TSR-Tony Stewart Racing/Petroff Towing/MCB
Motorsports Rocket Chassis No. 1 was clearly the fastest thing on four
wheels at The Dirt Track. After qualifying through a B-Main because his
car’s driveshaft fell out during a heat-race caution period, Josh blasted
from the 21st starting spot to the lead by lap 10 of the feature.
Josh found the fast track’s unruly high side to his liking and used it to
rocket forward. While soaring around the top, he turned a lap that was
nearly a full second faster than any other driver clicked off during the
entire distance.
Josh appeared headed to a big victory – a victory that would have been worth
$30,000 because he stood to collect the race’s full bonus. If any of the 18
heat-race qualifiers and three B-Main winners won the A-Main, they would
receive the $10,000 first-place prize along with an amount equal to $1,000
multiplied by their starting position. (The 20th- and 21st-place starters
both stood to earn a maximum bonus of $20,000 for winning.)
But on lap 12 Josh caught the ample cushion in turn two and damaged the
right-front corner of his car, sending him to the pits for good. Shannon
Babb inherited the lead and went on to win the race.
“I hit the cushion off of two with the right front,” said Josh. “I was
trying to run around it with the right-rear, but that time (on lap 12) I
just pushed a little bit and then I just dug in the ground and the nose
rolled under. You can’t steer like that, so we were done.
“After the third or fourth lap, I knew this car was gonna be awesome. I
could just get up on the top and roll. I think I just got a little too
excited because we were so fast.
“I think if I would’ve slowed down a little bit and paced myself, we
would’ve been better off. But it was just so much fun running up around
there so fast.”
Josh was back in action on Friday night at Volunteer Speedway, where he
recovered from a 24th-fastest time-trial lap (out of 52 cars) to transfer to
the A-Main with a fourth-place finish in the fourth heat. Scheduled to start
16th in the 100-lapper on Saturday night, Josh saw his night take a
disappointing turn when his car’s driveshaft broke during the pace laps,
forcing him into the infield.
Josh’s crew hastily installed a replacement driveshaft, but he slid back
onto the track just as the leaders were completing the race’s first lap. He
went down a lap moments later and never recovered, ultimately losing another
circuit later and finishing 14th.
“We just needed about 15 more seconds and we could’ve got it fixed to where
we could’ve made it on the track without losing a lap right off the bat,”
said Josh. “Then we might’ve had a better night then we did.”
Josh now sits sixth in the WoO LMS points standings. Just two A-Mains
remain, both part of the ‘Outlaws World Finals’ on Nov. 1-3 at The Dirt
Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
Josh will head to K-C Raceway in Alma, Ohio, this weekend for the 27th
annual Dirt Track World Championship presented by GottaRace.com. Qualifying
and heat races are scheduled for Friday night (Oct. 19), with B-Mains and
the $50,000-to-win 100-lap feature set for Saturday night (Oct. 20).
“I feel real good about K-C,” said Josh. “Last year we were running third
(in the DTWC) when the J-bar broke and broke the driveshaft. We also tested
there a couple weeks ago and I think we learned some stuff.
“I feel like we can definitely get a solid top-five finish, but the ultimate
goal is to win.”
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