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Kevin Kovac
CONCORD, N.C. (January 14) - World of Outlaws Late Model Series star Josh Richards didn't get the results he had hoped for in last week's 22nd annual Dodge Chili Bowl Midget Nationals.
But while the teenage sensation fell short of his first A-Main start in the famed mid-winter dirt-track event inside the Tulsa (Okla.) Expo Center, he was certainly glad he made the trip.
"It was a lot of fun," said Richards, the 2005 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year and a winner of four tour A-Mains in 2007. "Every time you go it's always a new experience. I had a great time, and I just appreciate that Tony (Stewart) gave me an opportunity to run it again."
Competing as a member of the formidable Tony Stewart Racing team that also included the two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion and USAC stars Tracy Hines and Levi Jones, Richards was confident that his third attempt at making the show would be the charm. But he ran into trouble on the opening lap of his preliminary-night heat race on Friday, flipping wildly through the air.
"The track was just wide-open for the first few heats," Richards said of the specially-built quarter-mile clay oval. "I went in the corner so fast, when I tried to roll the top it just went over. I went over quite a few times, actually."
Richards, 19, of Shinnston, W.Va., escaped the accident with only some bumps and bruises. His TSR/Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops/Armor All Midget also emerged from the ride with relatively light suspension damage, so he was able to return and score a second-place finish in the night's Last Chance Qualifier. He ultimately finished ninth in the first B-Main, leaving him five spots short of an A-Main transfer position.
Facing a run through Saturday night's 'Alphabet Soup' qualifying races in order to make the 24-car A-Main field, Richards went to the post in the first E-Main with a reworked setup on his Midget that was designed to let him "drive off the front end more, like a Late Model," he said. He led almost half of the E-Main before losing the lead to NASCAR Sprint Car regular J.J. Yeley, but a third-place finish moved him on to the first D-Main. That's where his 2008 Chili Bowl bid ended, with a 14th-place finish.
While Richards's TSR teammates cracked the Chili Bowl starting field - Stewart finished eighth, Hines ninth and Jones 11th in the 50-lapper - he had no reason to feel disappointed. Stewart, Hines and Jones have vast open-wheel racing experience; Richards has run a Midget only three times - just in the biggest Midget event of the year, a show that this year drew 274 entries.
Also among the drivers to miss the A-Main was 2006 WoO LMS champion Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y. The 2006 Chili Bowl winner finished ninth in Wednesday night's preliminary A-Main, but a late-race spin in Saturday night's first B-Main left him with a 16th-place finish and out of the finale.
"It's so tough because there's so many good cars," said Richards. "And it's hard to get used to the car when you only run one once a year. I felt like by Saturday I was really getting a good feel for the car, but it was too late."
Richards will get back in his familiar Mark Richards Racing Rocket No. 1 dirt Late Model next week, when he enters the 'Super Bowl of Racing' at Golden Isles Speedway in Brunswick, Ga. The event's 10 nights of action from Jan. 23-Feb. 2 includes seven programs sanctioned by UMP DIRTcar Racing (Jan. 23, Jan. 24, Jan. 25, Jan. 26, Jan. 28, Jan. 29 and Feb. 2).
'Kid Rocket' will kick off the 2008 WoO LMS campaign with a pair of 50-lap/$10,000-to-win events, on Feb. 14 and 16, during the 37th annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. Four UMP DIRTcar Racing programs (Feb. 11, 12, 13, 15) will also make up the Late Model portion of the Florida DIRTcar Nationals.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
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