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SHINNSTON, WV – With a little change in fate, Josh Richards might have
headed off for this week’s Dirt Late Model Dream activities at Eldora
Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, with the momentum of a victory in his back
pocket.
The 20-year-old sensation known as ‘Kid Rocket’ suffered a heartbreaking
defeat last Saturday night (May 31) in the 50-lap Independent Racing Series
(IRS) event at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, relinquishing the lead
after a mid-race tangle with Robbie Blair.
An unexpected entrant in Sharon’s event after morning thunderstorms forced
the cancellation of Saturday night’s scheduled World of Outlaws Late Model
Series ‘Conococheague 50’ at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway, Josh made a strong
push to put his Mark Richards Racing-owned Seubert Calf Ranches/Ace Metal
Works/TSR-Tony Stewart Racing/Petroff Towing/MCB Motorsports/Ernie’s Auto &
Hauling Rocket Chassis No. 1 in Victory Lane. He won a heat race and then
stormed to the front in the A-Main, advancing from the seventh starting spot
to the lead by lap 20.
But on lap 23, disaster struck Josh. As he attempted to overtake a pesky
lapped car, there was contact between him and the challenging Blair. Damage
to the left-rear corner of Josh’s car eliminated him, leaving him with a
21st-place finish.
“Our car was extremely fast and we went right to the front,” said Josh.
“When I got to a lapped car that was on the top one lap, then on the bottom
the next, I got held up a little bit. Finally I went into the turn (one)
against the cushion because I wanted to cut down under the lapped car, but I
guess Blair never lifted and he drove into my left-rear. It was probably a
racing deal, but I think it could’ve been avoided.
“It’s too bad, because I think we could’ve won the race. We had on harder
tires and my car was still getting better.”
Josh’s one WoO LMS start of the week, last Thursday night (May 29) at
Delaware International Speedway, ended with a quiet seventh-place finish in
the ‘First State 50.’ He timed second-fastest in qualifying and won his heat
race, but he selected the worst possible starting spot in the pre-race draw
(eighth) and was unable to make much headway in the A-Main.
“I think we were a little soft on tires,” said Josh, who left Delaware
ranked third in the WoO LMS points standings (18 points behind co-leaders
Steve Francis and Darrell Lanigan). “We might have had a fourth-place car if
we had a better starting spot, but once everyone got so strung out it was
tough to pass.”
Josh spent Sunday, Monday and most of Tuesday in his race shop preparing for
his busy ‘Dream’ week at Eldora Speedway. It begins on Wednesday night (June
4), when Josh serves as crew chief for NASCAR star and Eldora Speedway owner
Tony Stewart’s assault on the Old Spice Prelude to the Dream, a special
event televised live on HBO Pay-Per-View that pits 25 world-renowned drivers
against each other in dirt Late Models.
Josh oversaw the preparation of Stewart’s Old Spice/Bass Pro Shops Rocket
No. 20, which sports a distinctive Day-Glo orange color scheme for the
Prelude. He also was involved in the preparation of the Ernie Davis-owned
Rocket car that former NASCAR Sprint Cup champ Matt Kenseth will drive in
the Prelude; Josh, of course, runs many non-WoO LMS events in Davis’s car,
which for the Prelude will carry Kenseth’s familiar No. 17, yellow-and-black
colors and sponsorship from DeWalt and Blain’s Farm & Fleet.
“The Prelude is definitely going to be a lot of fun,” said Josh. “Being able
to work with two Cup champions is an opportunity that doesn’t come along
very often.”
On Friday and Saturday (June 6-7), Josh will go to the post in his No. 1
mount in search of a $100,000 victory in the 14th annual Dirt Late Model
Dream. His hopes for the event are sky-high because he’s coming off his
first career win at Eldora in the track’s Johnny Appleseed Classic on May
25. |
