|
 SHINNSTON,
WV – Josh went from being a dejected race car driver to an elated one during
a busy weekend on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series.
After taking the blame for the mid-race spin that left him with a subpar
14th-place finish in Friday night’s ‘Summer Sizzler 50’ at Virginia Motor
Speedway, Josh roared back to win the WoO LMS events on Saturday night at
Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway and Sunday night at Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa.
The 19-year-old sensation enjoyed the first back-to-back victories of his
young career and put some nice cash in the bank account of his Mark Richards
Racing Enterprises team. He earned a career-high $12,225 for winning
Hagerstown’s ‘60th Anniversary Classic’ and pocketed $10,225 for capturing
the ‘Roberts Trucking/Rohrer Trucking 50’ at Eriez.
The triumphs were Josh’s first on the WoO LMS since he won the season opener
on Feb. 17 at Volusia Speedway Park, but his second and third of the month.
He won the unsanctioned ‘Red Miley Memorial Penn National 53’ on July 1 at
Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway.
“It’s definitely weird how this deal works,” Josh said of his sudden
turnaround. “When you’re down, you just have to stay focused and keep your
head, and things will come back to you sometime. That’s what we’ve done.
“We’ve struggled a little and had some bad luck lately, but hopefully now
things are turning around for us.”
Josh credited his crew members – Jimmy Frey, Jeff Dillinger and Matt Barnes,
plus his father Mark – for propelling him to the spotlight.
“I wouldn’t be able to do it without the help of my crew guys,” said Josh.
“I had a great group of guys this week. Everybody stayed focused on what we
had to do.”
The rising star also recognized the assistance of his longtime sponsor Mike
Seubert, whose Seubert Calf Ranches in Wisconsin has appeared on Josh’s car
since the start of his career, and Randy Sweet of Sweet Manufacturing in
Kalamazoo, Mich., whose rack-and-pinion steering system has been making Josh
more and more comfortable behind the wheel since the spring.
Josh kept firm control of the Hagerstown and Eriez features from
start-to-finish in his Seubert Calf Ranches/Ace Metal Works/TSR-Tony Stewart
Racing/Petroff Towing/MCB Motorsports Rocket Chassis No. 1. He raced off the
outside pole to pace the entire 60-lap distance at Hagerstown, and he took
advantage of a pole position start to lead Eriez’s 50-lapper from
flag-too-flag. He beat Clint Smith to the finish line in both races.
Josh was victorious in his first-ever start at Eriez. Winning at Hagerstown,
however, was a bit more special for the talented speedster, who made his
first career dirt Late Model feature-event start at the half-mile oval in
2004.
Josh now sits fifth in the WoO LMS points standings – 94 points behind
leader Steve Francis – entering the this week’s National Interstate
Speedweek. The tour will visit Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park on Wed., July 25;
Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway on Thurs., July 26; Eldora Speedway in
Rossburg, Ohio, on Fri., July 27; and Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, on
Sat., July 28. |
