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Josh Richards Racing
SHINNSTON, W.V. (July 23) - The grueling World of Outlaws Late Model Series 'Wild West Tour' wasn't too bad for 20-year-old sensation Josh Richards.
After all, when the eight-race swing through six states and one Canadian province was over, Josh was still sitting a solid second in the points standings.
But while Josh rang up two top-five and five top-10 finishes, he couldn't help thinking of a potential win that slipped through his fingers.
Josh appeared to be in the driver's seat toward a series-leading fifth victory in 2008 on July 20 at the famed Belleville (Kan.) High Banks. He grabbed the lead at the start of the 35-lap A-Main from the outside pole and quickly built a comfortable edge on the field.
But on lap 13 Josh's Mark Richards Racing-owned Seubert Calf Ranches/Ace Metal Works/TSR-Tony Stewart Racing/Petroff Towing/MCB Motorsports/Ernie's Auto & Hauling Rocket Chassis No. 1 suddenly slowed on the sprawling half-mile oval. He headed to the pit area with a broken rearend and returned only to limp around the track at reduced speed to accumulate more points, finishing seven laps down in 15th place.
The race marked the first time during the 2008 WoO LMS season that Josh failed to finish an A-Main on the lead lap.
"We had an awesome car - you couldn't have asked for a better one," Josh said of his Belleville outing. "That was my kind of track - real fast and round, a place where you have to keep up your momentum. It would've been real cool to win there, but we just didn't have luck on our side."
Josh's best run of the 'Wild West Tour' came on a night that started out looking like it would be disastrous. On July 13, at Williston Basin Speedway in Will iston, N.D., Josh slid over the turn-one bank during hot laps and slapped the outer guardrail, forcing his crew to hastily repair their machine - with help from several other teams - in time for time trials. Josh later was involved in an opening-lap tangle in his heat, but he rallied to qualify in a draw position and then finished second to Tim Fuller in the 50-lap A-Main after leading laps 1-14.
The remainder of Josh's 'Wild West Tour' finishes included a fifth on July 9 at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn.; sixth on July 11 at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D. (after setting the second-fastest time in qualifying); sixth on July 12 at Estevan (Saskatchewan) Motor Speedway; 13th on July 16 at Gillette (Wyo.) Thunder Speedway (after pitting to change a flat tire with four laps remaining); sixth on July 18 at Brown County Speedway in Aberdeen, S.D.; and 11th on July 21 at Boone County Raceway in Albion, Neb. (after running as high as sixth).
"I guess the tour wasn't too bad for us," said Josh. "There were a lot of little tracks on the swing and we had a pretty good car at most of them, but a lot of our problem was tire choices. Our choices bit us too many times."
Josh ended the swing still second in the points standings, but his deficit to leader Darrell Lanigan grew from 36 points to 102 points.
"We're just getting so far behind in the points right now, I don't know if we're ever gonna be able to catch up to Darrell," said Josh. "But we're gonna do all we can to win the points. There's still time left, so we're not giving up."
Josh will get back on the points comeback trail with a flurry of WoO LMS activity to close the month of July. He'll compete in the Alltel Ohio Speedweek events on July 24 at Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville, Ohio; July 25 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio; July 26 at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio; and July 27 at Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa. (where Josh won a WoO LMS event last year), then move on to the rescheduled finale of the $40,000-to-win Firecracker 100 on Tues., July 29, at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.
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