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SHINNSTON, WV – The 2007 season will go down as another
big step in the rising racing career of Josh Richards.
Continuing his rapid progression in the dirt Late Model world, the
19-year-old sensation known as ‘Kid Rocket’ captured more features and
entered more events in 2007 than he ever had before. He also won at two
tracks he holds close to his heart and recorded his best career finish in
the World of Outlaws Late Model Series points standings.
It was, to be frank, the most successful campaign of Josh’s burgeoning
career.
“I had a lot of fun this season,” said Josh, looking back at his fourth full
year as a dirt Late Model driver. “We went into the season knowing that I
was going to run the most races I ever had so I could get more seat-time,
and I loved every minute of it. The more you race, the better you get, and I
feel like I’ve improved a lot as a driver this year.”
In a season that saw him make a career-high 70 competitive starts, Josh
scored six wins, 27 top-five and 43 top-10 finishes. Four of his victories
came on the WoO LMS, which he focused upon as a regular for the third
consecutive year.
Driving the Mark Richards Racing-owned Seubert Calf Ranches/Ace Metal Works/TSR-Tony
Stewart Racing/Petroff Towing/MCB Motorsports Rocket Chassis No. 1, Josh
kicked off his WoO LMS campaign with a triumph in the season-opening DIRTcar
Nationals on Feb. 17 at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. He later
registered very satisfying back-to-back tour victories – the ‘60th
Anniversary Classic’ on July 21 at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway (which brought
him a career-high $12,000 payday and gave him his long-awaited initial win
at the track where he ran his first dirt Late Model feature in 2004), and a
50-lapper on July 22 at Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa. (a bullring rather
than a big, fast track that he favors). He also rolled to a dominant
flag-to-flag win in the 19th annual ‘Pittsburgher 50’ on Sept. 22 at
Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway in Imperial, Pa.
Only two drivers won more often on the WoO LMS in ’07 than Josh, who
recorded a total of 12 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes in 44 tour A-Mains en
route to finishing sixth in the points standings. In addition, he led more
laps on the series than any other driver (302 circuits); set fast time on
May 12 at Charter Raceway Park in Beaver Dam, Wis.; earned $105,707 to
become one of six drivers to break the six-figure mark in purse rewards; and
was the only driver in the top-10 of the final points standings who did not
have to use a single provisional to start an A-Main all season.
The 2005 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year was pleased with his continued
development on the tough WoO LMS – he won once in each of the previous two
seasons – but he knows his campaign could have been truly spectacular with
just a little help from Lady Luck.
“We were running up front in a few other races – Knoxville (Iowa), Delaware,
Charlotte (The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway) – when we fell out,” said
Josh, who fell one spot short of accomplishing his goal of a top-five points
finish on the WoO LMS. “If we could’ve won those, it could’ve made a big
difference for us in the points and it would’ve been a great year.”
Josh also made his presence felt away from the WoO LMS. He won the
unsanctioned ‘Red Miley Memorial Penn National 53’ on July 1 at Pittsburgh’s
Pennsylvania Motor Speedway to tune of over $7,000, and on Aug. 4 he romped
to a $5,000 victory in the 27th annual ‘Shorty Bowers/Bull Durham
Championship 40’ at Hagerstown Speedway that was part of the inaugural
Independent Racing Series (IRS).
The PPMS and Hagerstown triumphs had some extra special meaning for Josh.
With the victory at PPMS, he realized his stated pre-season goal of finally
winning at a track where he had nearly won in his third career dirt Late
Model start. The IRS win at Hagerstown, meanwhile, came behind the wheel of
Ernie Davis’s Rocket No. 25, marking the first time in his career that he
visited Victory Lane in a car not fielded by his father Mark.
Adding to his accomplishments, Josh qualified for four of the dirt Late
Model circuit’s biggest events in 2007: the $100,000 Dirt Late Model Dream
and World 100 at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway, the Knoxville Late Model Nationals
at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway and the Dirt Track World Championship at Ohio’s
K-C Raceway. He best finish came in the DTWC at the three-eighths-mile K-C
oval, where he finished a strong second after battling for the lead with
eventual winner Chub Frank.
Josh also made his ARCA RE/MAX Series stock car debut in 2007, driving a
Tony Stewart-owned Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevy No. 20 to a
third-place finish in the 55th Southern Illinois 100 on Sept. 3 at the
one-mile DuQuion (Ill.) State Fairgrounds dirt track.
“The highlights of the season for me were definitely winning at Hagerstown
and the ‘Pittsburgher,’” summed up Josh. “I’ve always wanted to win at both
those tracks – especially the ‘Pittsburgher,’ because that’s a race I’ve
been going to since I was a little kid.
“I think we definitely took a step forward this year. I learned a lot more
about driving and setting up the car, and I hope it shows up next year when
we get back to racing.”
The 2008 campaign will be here before Josh even knows it. He plans to kick
off the season by competing in the ‘Super Bowl of Racing’ at Golden Isles
Speedway in Brunswick, Ga., where 10 nights of $10,000-to-win dirt Late
Model events begin on Jan. 23.
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