FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 8, 2011
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Richards Tops Memorable Weekend with Back-to-Back Appalachian Mountain Speedweek Victories at Winchester and Roaring Knob

SHINNSTON, WV - June 8, 2011 - Josh Richards topped off a memorable weekend with a flourish, winning back-to-back events on the Appalachian Mountain Speedweek presented by Century Link event at Winchester (Va.) Speedway and Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex in Markleysburg, Pa.

Less than 24 hours after driving the Venturini Motorsports Kentucky Fuel Corp./Texas Corrall/Joy Mining Equipment Toyota to a third-place finish from a pole position start in Saturday night's ARCA Racing Series Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 150 at Chicagoland Speedway, Richards climbed into the Ernie Davis-owned Ernie D's Enterprises Rocket Dirt Late Model and continued his recent mastery of the one-third-mile Winchester oval. The win marked his second in 2011 and seventh triumph in the past two seasons at the Greg Gunter-promoted track.

Richards' latest success at Winchester came after he doggedly worked the outside groove to his advantage in the feature. He ran third behind leader Jeremy Miller and second-place Austin Hubbard for more than half the distance before breaking out, first driving underneath Hubbard for second and shortly thereafter using the high line to grab the lead from Miller with 10 circuits remaining.

"Most of us were on softer tires due to the quicker surface, but you could really carry momentum and I ran up there hoping to clean off the top groove a little bit," Richards said following his victory. "It felt like I was the only one trying to do that. After the first 15 or 20 laps, I was starting to think we didn't have a shot."

But Richards got the job done with his Roush-Yates Ford-powered machine, pulling away to defeat Miller by a comfortable margin. It was his third overall win of 2011.

Richards doubled his pleasure on Monday night, rolling to another 40-lap triumph in the first-ever Appalachian Mountain Speedweek event at Roaring Knob. He drove the Davis mount forward from the fourth starting spot to grab the lead from Jason Covert on lap 20 and never looked back.

The victory at Roaring Knob put Richards into the record book as the first driver to win consecutive features on the three-year-old Appalachian Mountain Speedweek.

Richards now shifts his attention for the remainder of the week to Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, the famed half-mile oval owned by NASCAR star Tony Stewart that will host the Prelude to the Dream event on Wednesday night (June 8) and the $100,000-to-win Dirt Late Model Dream 100 on June 10-11.

The two-time defending World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion will put on his crew chief's hat for the sixth annual Prelude to the Dream, a charity race for nationally-known motorsports stars. He will turn wrenches for Stewart, who is once again set to enter the special event in a Bass Pro Shops/Office Depot/Mobil 1 Rocket No. 14 prepared by Richards and the Rocket Chassis staff.

The 23-year-old from Shinnston, W.Va., will chase his first-ever Dream victory at Eldora in the Kentucky Fuel Corporation/Seubert Calf Ranches Rocket. Richards has a career-high finish of sixth in last year's event.

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.

Honey Elizabeth Rentz
Rising Star Management Group
hrentz@risingstarmg.com
(704) 658-7650