|
SHINNSTON, WV – Josh Richards was planning to spend all of last Saturday
working in the shop to help prepare his team’s equipment for the remainder
of the 2007 season.
But then he received a last-minute ride offer for Saturday night’s
Independent Racing Series event at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway.
After deciding that he could accept the seat in Ernie Davis’s Rocket No. 25
without hindering the ongoing work on his own cars, Josh made the short
drive to Hagerstown and proceeded to add an unexpected victory to his
resume. The 19-year-old from Shinnston, W.Va., took the lead from Ricky
Elliott on lap 12 and romped to a $5,000 triumph in the 27th annual ‘Shorty
Bowers/Bull Durham Championship 40.’
“It was a lot of fun to win a race like that,” said Josh, who registered his
first career victory with the new IRS dirt Late Model tour. “We weren’t even
planning on running anywhere all weekend. I was in the shop with my Dad when
Robbie (Allen, a noted crew chief/consultant) called (for Davis) and asked
if I wanted to drive Ernie’s car.
“We were in the middle of doing maintenance on our cars for the races coming
up and I was just planning to spend the rest of the day doing that.”
It was just the third time in Josh’s four-year dirt Late Model career that
he piloted a car that wasn’t from his father’s Mark Richards Racing
Enterprises stable, placing him in a decidedly unfamiliar situation.
“It was definitely different driving somebody else’s car,” said Josh, who
has a three-week break from competition on the World of Outlaws Late Model
Series. “It was a different style car than I’m used to driving – it’s an old
‘black front-end’ car, and I run the new-style front-end – the motor was
different, and the seat was different. But it didn’t take me too long to get
comfortable in it.”
Josh was victorious at Hagerstown for the second time in a span of 14 days.
He won his first career feature at the half-mile oval on July 21, capturing
the 60-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series-sanctioned ‘60th Anniversary
Classic’ that was worth over $12,000 to his team’s bank account.
“Hagerstown’s been good to us lately,” said Josh. “It took me a long time to
get the place figured out, so it’s kind of cool to win there in two
different types of track conditions (slick on July 21, tackier with a
cushion on Aug. 4) and in two different style cars.”
The win gave Josh five overall triumphs in 2007 – four of which have come
since July 1.
Josh also saw action last Tuesday night (July 31) at Paducah (Ky.)
International Raceway. On an evening during which he served as the crew
chief for NASCAR star Tony Stewart’s special dirt Late Model appearance
behind the wheel of the Tracker Boats/Bass Pro Shops Rocket No. 20, Josh ran
an Ed Petroff-owned Rocket car as a teammate to Chatham, Ill.’s Brian
Shirley.
Josh performed well in the 25-lap ‘NASCAR Night’ dirt Late Model feature,
finishing third. Shirley was right behind in fourth at the checkered flag.
Stewart, meanwhile, had a rough night. He spun on the homestretch early in
the event while trying to move into third place, then charged back up to
sixth place in a handful of laps before being forced out due to a broken
rear caliper that resulted from him jamming hard on the binders to avoid
another car.
After spending some much-needed time in the shop going over his team’s
Seubert Calf Ranches/Ace Metal Works/TSR-Tony Stewart Racing/Petroff Towing/MCB
Motorsports Rocket Chassis No. 1 machines following a grueling summer
stretch of racing with the WoO LMS, Josh will swing back into competition
with his familiar colors this weekend. He’ll go for the $50,000 top prize in
the annual North-South 100 at Florence Speedway in Union, Ky., which is
scheduled for Aug. 9-11.
|
