FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2011

Richards Salvages Eighth-Place Finish in Rain-Delayed Commonwealth 100 at Virginia Motor Speedway

SHINNSTON, W. Va. - April 20, 2011 - By no means was Josh Richards thrilled about finishing eighth in Sunday afternoon's rain-delayed Commonwealth 100 at Virginia Motor Speedway in Jamaica, Va., but he wasn't totally disappointed with his performance either.

Considering the way his weekend was going, a top-10 finish was certainly respectable for the two-time defending World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion.

"I'm actually happy with eighth," said Richards, whose run allowed him to remain atop the 2011 WoO LMS points standings by two markers over Rick Eckert through five events. "I would've much rather been up front, but we salvaged a pretty good finish. We could've ended up much worse."

Indeed, Richards kicked off the second annual, $25,000-to-win Commonwealth 100 weekend by timing 19th fastest among 43 entrants in Friday night's time trials and missing a transfer spot with a fifth-place finish in the third of four 15-lap qualifying heats. He won the second B-Main to earn the 17th starting position in Sunday's 100-lapper - a race that was postponed from Saturday night due to wet and stormy weather - but then was forced to restart at the rear of the field after being involved in a multi-car turn-two tangle on a lap-nine restart.

Richards made a strong rally, however, working his way forward to crack the top 10 just before the lap-70 mark. He picked up two more spots over the feature's final 28-lap green-flag stretch to bring his Kentucky Fuel Corporation/Seubert Calf Ranches Rocket No. 1 home in eighth place for his fourth top-10 finish in five WoO LMS A-Mains this season.

"It was a tough weekend," said Richards. "We just put ourselves behind qualifying, and then we were just too tight in the heat.

"Our car was actually pretty decent in the feature. On the restarts you could really make time if you could get on the outside and that let us get some spots.

"Believe it or not, for being a daytime race, the track was just wet enough to be pretty decent. That cushion in (turns) one and two made it a pretty good race - the bottom was kind wet, the middle had some rubber and the top had a little bit of a lip on it."

The Commonwealth 100 continued Richards' frustrating pursuit of victory at VMS, a half-mile oval that has proved to be a rough place for the 23-year-old star from Shinnston, W. Va. It's one of the few tracks Richards has visited annually for most of his career that he's still attempting to conquer.

"There's just something about this place I guess. We have to figure out what it is. We've run decent (at VMS), but we just haven't run like I feel we should. We can't put a whole night together."

With the WoO LMS off until a doubleheader weekend on April 29 at Hartford (Mich.) Speedway and April 30 at Bluegrass Speedway in Bardstown, Ky., Richards will jump back behind the wheel of the Ernie Davis-owned Rocket No. 25 this weekend to compete in the 30th Annual Three State Flyers Series Stanley Schetrompf Classic at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway.

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

Josh Richards' No. 1 team carries support from Rocket Chassis, Kentucky Fuel Corporation, 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, 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, LSI, MSD Ignition, Outerwears, Performance Bodies, Performance Friction Brakes, Performance Rod & Custom, Rand, 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, Ultra Lite Brakes, US Brake, Weld Racing Wheels, Will Kinzer Foundation, Wehr's Machine, Wilwood and Wrisco Aluminum.