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Josh Richards Racing
SHINNSTON, W.V. (May 19) - Hard work paid off for Josh Richards and the Mark Richards Racing team.
After spending three full days thoroughly reworking their cars following Josh's seventh-place finish on May 11 in the Diamond Nationals at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo., the 20-year-old sensation from Shinnston, W.Va., enjoyed one of the most spectacular weekends of his career during a two-race World of Outlaws Late Model Series swing through the Midwest.
Josh registered an exciting victory in Friday night's 50-lap WoO LMS A-Main at Attica-(Ohio) Raceway Park, then backed it up with a runner-up finish in Sunday night's 'Land of Lincoln 40' at Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway.
"We had a great weekend," said Josh, who joined Billy Moyer as this season's only repeat winners on the WoO LMS with his $10,000 triumph at Attica. "When we got back from Wheatland we worked until midnight every night to get these cars ready. We made a bunch of changes and everything really worked out."
Driving his Seubert Calf Ranches/Ace Metal Works/TSR-Tony Stewart Racing/Petroff Towing/MCB Motorsports/Ernie's Auto & Hauling Rocket Chassis No. 1, Josh authored a memorable run in the first-ever WoO LMS event at the one-third-mile Attica oval. He swept the night, setting fast time, winning a heat race and capturing the feature.
Josh spent most of the A-Main's distance chasing leader Chub Frank before finally slipping by the Pennsylvania veteran for the top spot with a high-side pass off turn on lap 44.
"That was one of the most fun races I've ever run," said Josh, who recorded his first WoO LMS win since the season opener on Feb. 14 at Florida's Volusia Speedway Park. "I just kept trying and trying to find a way to get by Chub, and finally I was able to get him."
Following an off-day on Saturday because the scheduled WoO LMS event at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway was indefinitely postponed due to ongoing reconstruction of the track, Josh nearly pulled off a mirror-image of his Attica success on Sunday night at Lincoln Speedway.
'Kid Rocket' once again spent much of the A-Main running second behind Frank. He made several bids to grab the lead, but Frank held on this time to score his first WoO LMS win of the season, leaving Josh to settle for runner-up money.
Josh still had a big smile on his face after Lincoln's checkered flag.
"I feel like I won it," said Josh. "A track like this (tight quarter-mile) normally isn't my kind of deal. I was just hoping for at least a top 10 tonight.
"We're real happy with our weekend. These are the kind of runs you have to put together to be a championship contender."
Josh's weekend outburst moved him into the thick of the WoO LMS points battle through 11 events. He's now fourth in the tight standings, 10 points behind leader Steve Francis.
The Mark Richards Racing team returned to its homebase in West Virginia on Monday. Josh and Co. have more shop time planned to gear up for the busy summer stretch of racing on their doorstep.
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