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SHINNSTON, WV – Josh Richards proved his adaptive abilities last Thursday
night (May 1) when he made a head-turning DIRTcar big-block Modified debut
at Virginia Motor Speedway.
The 20-year-old dirt Late Model star known as ‘Kid Rocket’ finished only
19th in the 60-lap Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series ‘Paul Sawyer
Memorial’ event, but his qualifying effort and early performance in the
feature showed how quickly he was able to make the transition to the
open-wheel machine.
Josh’s special appearance behind the wheel of DIRTcar big-block Modified
legend Brett Hearn’s backup Madsen Motorsports No. 20 highlighted a busy
stretch of racing for the Shinnston, W.Va., product. He also drove the Ernie
Davis-owned Rocket No. 25 dirt Late Model to a fifth-place finish in the
division’s 40-lap companion event on May 1 at VMS, then battled some
missteps and bad breaks in weekend World of Outlaws Late Model Series events
to finish 13th on Saturday night (May 3) at Missouri’s Lebanon I-44 Speedway
and 20th on Sunday night (May 4) at Monett (Mo.) Speedway steering his
familiar Mark Richards Racing Rocket No. 1.
The big-block Modified ride was what Josh will always remember about his
on-track action last week. He recorded the fourth-fastest lap among 48
entries in time trials, finished second to Hearn in a heat race and led the
feature’s first eight laps from the pole position before his evening went
downhill.
Shortly after losing the lead, Josh made unintentional contact with New
Yorker Dale Planck, causing Planck to spin and sending Josh to the rear of
the field for the restart. Josh continued for a short time before his
involvement in a couple multi-car scrapes prompted him to retire from
further competition.
“Driving the Modified was a lot of fun,” said Josh, who thanked Hearn for
providing him a ride. “I had the track record for awhile (in time trials)
and led a few laps of the feature, but the car was just too free and I let a
couple cars pass me. Then by accident my foot slipped off the brake pedal
going into turn one and I ran right in the back of the 77 (Planck), which I
feel real bad about.”
Josh noted that the big-block Modified had a distinctly different feel from
the dirt Late Models he regularly campaigns, especially in terms of motor
responsiveness.
“It felt like I was in a Top-Fuel dragster when I got back in the Late
Model,” said Josh. “The Modified didn’t respond as fast as a Late Model, but
it was real racy to drive. It seems like you have more time to think about
everything in the Modified, which is probably why the racing is so good.”
Josh’s biggest problem with the Modified? Getting comfortable sitting in a
more upright position in the seat than he does in his dirt Late Model.
After flying to St. Louis, Mo., on Saturday morning to meet up with his dirt
Late Model team, Josh experienced his worst night of WoO LMS racing this
season on Saturday at Lebanon I-44 Speedway. He recorded the night’s
fifth-fastest lap in time trials, but a slap of the homestretch wall early
in his heat forced him to the pits with his thoroughly-damaged Seubert Calf
Ranches/Ace Metal Works/TSR-Tony Stewart Racing/Petroff Towing/MCB
Motorsports/Ernie’s Auto & Hauling No. 1.
Josh had to use a provisional to start a WoO LMS A-Main for the first time
since 2006 – and he barely made the starting grid. His crew worked right up
until the start of the feature pace laps to fix his machine, which he
manhandled to a 13th-place finish in the 40-lapper.
“We had the car just about ready when we realized that the driveshaft was
damaged and needed to be changed,” said Josh. “We got a new one on just in
time to roll out for the feature. The problem was that we didn’t have a
chance to fix the front end, so it was towed-out about four inches.”
The following night’s first-ever WoO LMS event at Monett Speedway started
off great for Josh, who set a new track record of 15.711 seconds around the
three-eighths-mile oval in qualifying to earn his first fast-time honor of
2008. He went on to win a heat race and draw the outside pole for the
feature, but he couldn’t outgun polesitter and eventual winner Brian
Birkhofer at the initial green flag and settled into fifth place soon after.
Josh’s hopes for a strong finish ended on lap 35 when his car’s right-rear
tire went flat. He slowed and pitted after the caution flag flew, but he
made no headway over the final five circuits and was the last driver on the
lead lap at the finish, taking 20th place.
“I knew the tire was going down, so I just tried to ride it out,” said Josh.
“I was just holding on the whole race anyway. We were really good early in
the night, but we tried to experiment for the feature and it didn’t work
out. We’ll just look at like it wouldn’t have mattered anyway because we got
a flat.”
Josh entered the weekend ranked second in the WoO LMS points standings, but
he fell into a tie for sixth with Shannon Babb, 38 points out of the lead.
Josh is spending the week at the Petroff Towing shop outside St. Louis to
prepare for this weekend’s SuperClean Diamond Nationals at Lucas Oil
Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. The 100-lap Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
event is set for Friday (May 9) and Saturday (May 10) and offers a $40,000
top prize.
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