FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 28, 2010

Preliminary A-Main Victory Tops Solid Firecracker 100 Weekend at Lernerville for Josh Richards

SHINNSTON, W. Va. - June 28, 2010 - Josh Richards enjoyed a successful Firecracker 100 weekend at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., sending him into the month of July with his points lead intact as he seeks a second straight World of Outlaws Late Model Series championship.

While the 22-year-old sensation from Shinnston, W.Va., fell short of a coveted victory in Saturday night's $30,000-to-win Firecracker 100, his steady seventh-place finish in the prestigious event capped a three-day visit to the four-tenths-mile that also saw him score a triumph (Thursday) and second-place finish (Friday) in the pair of 30-lap WoO LMS preliminary A-Mains.

Since the preliminary features offered full WoO LMS points and Saturday's 100-lapper was a show-up points race (all entrants received 60 points), Richards nearly accumulated the maximum number of points available for the weekend. He departed Lernerville Speedway leading the standings by 30 points over Tim McCreadie, more than doubling the 14-point advantage he carried into the weekend after experiencing some struggles during the 'Great Northern Tour' events in Canada that preceded the Firecracker 100.

"We had some up-and-downs in Canada," said Richards, who followed a fourth-place finish in the Great Northern Tour opener on June 15 at New York's Can-Am Motorsports Park with frustrating runs of ninth on June 17 at Ontario's Merrittville Speedway (pitted to change a tire after an incorrect compound choice) and 15th at Cornwall (Ont.) Motor Speedway (hampered by a bent nosepiece). "Those were a real disappointment. You know everything's not going to go smooth all year, but it's rough on everybody when you have nights like that.

"It feels good that we were able to come back strong at Lernerville. We got a win (Thursday), a second and had a decent run (in the Firecracker), and we got back some of the points we lost in the last few races. Hopefully we got ourselves back on track."

Richards would have loved to add a Firecracker 100 triumph to his ever-growing resume after running so well in the preliminary A-Mains, but he couldn't quite get his Mark Richards Racing Enterprises/Seubert Calf Ranches Rocket car into the mix for the big money. He started and finished seventh, running in the top 10 for the entire distance.

"The last two nights the car had good balance and everything," Richards said after the 100-lapper. "Tonight we put a 30 (Hoosier compound tire) on the right-rear and it threw the whole car off balance. It worked good on 20s, but we put the 30 on and I just couldn't steer. It got to where it was stuck so hard, it got a push. When you're going that slow on a slick track you can never be where you're pushing across the track because it just kills your momentum.

"We were definitely closer than where we have been here before in this race, but we were still just a little off."

After a whirlwind month of June, Richards will spend several much-needed days away from the track working with his crew on his equipment before heading off on a three-race Independence Day weekend of competition. This year's winningest driver on the WoO LMS (five wins) has tour events scheduled for Fri., July 2, at Wartburg (Tenn.) Speedway and Sat., July 3, at Tazewell (Tenn.) Speedway - both new tracks for him - and he also plans to enter his Ernie Davis-owned No. 25 Rocket ride in a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event on Thurs., July 1, at Beckley (W.Va.) Motor Speedway.


For more information on Josh Richards, visit www.joshrichards.com and follow him on Twitter at @Josh_Richards1.

Josh Richards' No. 1 team carries support from Rocket Chassis, Cornett Racing Engines, Seubert Calf Ranches, Ernie D's Enterprises, ACE Metal Works, Petroff Towing, Tony Stewart Racing, Sunoco Race Fuels, Hoosier Racing Tires, Integra Shocks, Slavic Custom Decals, Valvoline, AEM, AFCO, ATL Fuel Cells, Aurora Bearing Company, Autolite, Banshee Graphics, Barnes Systems, Beyea Performance, Brinn Transmissions, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Braswell Carburetion, Butlerbuilt Seat Systems, CV Products, Dohm Cycles, Dyer's Top Rods, Fram Filters, Frankland Rearends, Howe Racing, Kwik Change Product, LSI, Mason Racin', MSD Ignition, Outerwears, Performance Bodies, Performance Friction Brakes, Performance Rod & Custom, Ringers Gloves, Scott Performance Wire, Simpson Race Products, Sweet Manufacturing, Tel Tech, TWM Racing Products, Trick Carbon Fiber Driveshafts, Jones Racing Products, TurboStart Racing Batteries, US Brake, Weld Racing Wheels, Wehr's Machine, Wilwood and Wrisco Aluminum.