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SHINNSTON, WV – Josh climbed back behind the wheel of his familiar Mark
Richards Racing No. 1 on Friday and Saturday (March 28-29) after a six-week
hiatus.
The 20-year-old Shinnston, W.Va., star’s World of Outlaws Late Model Series
weekend at Pike County Speedway in Magnolia, Miss., didn’t go quite the way
he had hoped, however.
Tied for the WoO LMS points lead entering the ‘March Through Dixie 100’
program at the three-eighths-mile oval after a victory and a third-place
finish in last month’s season-opening tour events at Volusia Speedway Park
in Barberville, Fla., Josh was primed to pick up where he had left off. But
a rough outing during Friday’s qualifying night dulled his momentum, and
then a blown left-rear tire midway through Saturday night’s 100-lapper
forced him to settle for a 14th-place finish in an event won by veteran
Billy Moyer.
Josh got behind on Friday night, failing to qualify through a heat after a
late-race scrape with another car sent him spinning in turn one. The twirl
was the final straw of an evening during which he never found his rhythm.
Sitting in a new racing seat with head braces on it for the first time, Josh
had a hard time adjusting to a feel that was different than he had become
accustomed.
“I probably slipped up a little (on the track on Friday) because of it,”
said Josh, who made his first career visit to Pike County Speedway. “I
couldn’t run the fan that I normally do because of the braces on the
left-side of the seat, so my shield kept fogging up. I wear all that
(fireproof) skirting under my helmet so I need the fan to keep my shield
from fogging up.”
After eliminating the head-brace on the left-side of his seat prior to
Saturday’s action so he could once again use the fan, Josh transferred to
the ‘March Through Dixie 100’ with a second-place finish in the first
B-Main. He started 19th in the headliner and climbed as high as 11th before
a blown left-rear tire caused him to bring out a caution flag on lap 59.
Josh returned without losing a lap, but with passing at a premium late in
the distance he made little headway and finished 14th.
“The car was working pretty good before we lost the tire,” said Josh, who
drove the same Seubert Calf Ranches/Ace Metal Works/TSR-Tony Stewart Racing/Petroff
Towing/MCB Motorsports/Ernie’s Auto & Hauling Rocket Chassis No. 1 that he
steered to victory in last month’s WoO LMS lidlifter. “We were still moving
forward. I was trying to get everything I could before the track locked down
because I knew the top was wearing out and the bottom was getting cleaned
up.
“I guess the body just stuck in the tire. I felt it about five laps before
it went down. I could feel it getting looser and looser.”
Josh, whose only competitive starts between the end of February’s Alltel
DIRTcar Nationals in Florida and the ‘March Through Dixie 100’ were two
appearances in the Ernie Davis-owned No. 25 at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway
(third-place finishes on March 2 and 15), left southern Mississippi ranked
second in the WoO LMS points standings. He trails leader Billy Moyer by 28
points.
Next up on Josh’s schedule is the first-ever ‘Illini 100’ this weekend
(April 4-5) at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway, where he finished third in last
year’s 50-lap WoO LMS event. Saturday night’s extra-distance Outlaws affair
will pay $20,000 to win.
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