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Josh Richards Racing
SHINNSTON, W.V. (May 6) - Josh Richards proved his adaptive abilities last Thursday night (May 1) when he made a head-turning DIRTcar big-block Modified debut at Virginia Motor Speedway.
The 20-year-old dirt Late Model star known as 'Kid Rocket' finished only 19th in the 60-lap Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series 'Paul Sawyer Memorial' event, but his qualifying effort and early performance in the feature showed how quickly he was able to make the transition to the open-wheel machine.
Josh's special appearance behind the wheel of DIRTcar big-block Modified legend Brett Hearn's backup Madsen Motorsports No. 20 highlighted a busy stretch of racing for the Shinnston, W.Va., product. He also drove the Ernie Davis-owned Rocket No. 25 dirt Late Model to a fifth-place finish in the division's 40-lap companion event on May 1 at VMS, then battled some missteps and bad breaks in weekend World of Outlaws Late Model Series events to finish 13th on Saturday night (May 3) at Missouri's Lebanon I-44 Speedway and 20th on Sunday night (May 4) at Monett (Mo.) Speedway steering his familiar Mark Richards Racing Rocket No. 1.
The big-block Modified ride was what Josh will always remember about his on-track action last week. He recorded the fourth-fastest lap among 48 entries in time trials, finished second to Hearn in a heat race and led the feature's first eight laps from the pole position before his evening went downhill.
Shortly after losing the lead, Josh made unintentional contact with New Yorker Dale Planck, causing Planck to spin and sending Josh to the rear of the field for the restart. Josh continued for a short time before his involvement in a couple multi-car scrapes prompted him to retire from further competition.
"Driving the Modified was a lot of fun," said Josh, who thanked Hearn for providing him a ride. "I had the track record for awhile (in time trials) and led a few laps of the feature, but the car was just too free and I let a couple cars pass me. Then by accident my foot slipped off the brake pedal going into turn one and I ran right in the back of the 77 (Planck), which I feel real bad about."
Josh noted that the big-block Modified had a distinctly different feel from the dirt Late Models he regularly campaigns, especially in terms of motor responsiveness.
"It felt like I was in a Top-Fuel dragster when I got back in the Late Model," said Josh. "The Modified didn't respond as fast as a Late Model, but it was real racy to drive. It seems like you have more time to think about everything in the Modified, which is probably why the racing is so good."
Josh's biggest problem with the Modified? Getting comfortable sitting in a more upright position in the seat than he does in his dirt Late Model.
After flying to St. Louis, Mo., on Saturday morning to meet up with his dirt Late Model team, Josh experienced his worst night of WoO LMS racing this season on Saturday at Lebanon I-44 Speedway. He recorded the night's fifth-fastest lap in time trials, but a slap of the homestretch wall early in his heat forced him to the pits with his thoroughly-damaged Seubert Calf Ranches/Ace Metal Works/TSR-Tony Stewart Racing/Petroff Towing/MCB Motorsports/Ernie's Auto & Hauling No. 1.
Josh had to use a provisional to start a WoO LMS A-Main for the first time since 2006 - and he barely made the starting grid. His crew worked right up until the start of the feature pace laps to fix his machine, which he manhandled to a 13th-place finish in the 40-lapper.
"We had the car just about ready when we realized that the driveshaft was damaged and needed to be changed," said Josh. "We got a new one on just in time to roll out for the feature. The problem was that we didn't have a chance to fix the front end, so it was towed-out about four inches."
The following night's first-ever WoO LMS event at Monett Speedway started off great for Josh, who set a new track record of 15.711 seconds around the three-eighths-mile oval in qualifying to earn his first fast-time honor of 2008. He went on to win a heat race and draw the outside pole for the feature, but he couldn't outgun polesitter and eventual winner Brian Birkhofer at the initial green flag and settled into fifth place soon after.
Josh's hopes for a strong finish ended on lap 35 when his car's right-rear tire went flat. He slowed and pitted after the caution flag flew, but he made no headway over the final five circuits and was the last driver on the lead lap at the finish, taking 20th place.
"I knew the tire was going down, so I just tried to ride it out," said Josh. "I was just holding on the whole race anyway. We were really good early in the night, but we tried to experiment for the feature and it didn't work out. We'll just look at like it wouldn't have mattered anyway because we got a flat."
Josh entered the weekend ranked second in the WoO LMS points standings, but he fell into a tie for sixth with Shannon Babb, 38 points out of the lead.
Josh is spending the week at the Petroff Towing shop outside St. Louis to prepare for this weekend's SuperClean Diamond Nationals at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. The 100-lap Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event is set for Friday (May 9) and Saturday (May 10) and offers a $40,000 top prize.
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