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Kevin Kovac
CONCORD, N.C. (May 27) - What did Josh Richards do on his weekend off from the World of Outlaws Late Model Series?
Let's just say that the 20-year-old sensation enjoyed himself immensely - a byproduct of his first career win at the famed Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
Richards captured Sunday's 39th annual 'Johnny Appleseed Classic' at the high-banked, half-mile oval. The event, which was part of the UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned Sunoco American Late Model Series, was a short 25-lap sprint and paid a modest $2,000 to win, but it gave him a coveted Eldora victory and got him dreaming even more seriously about triumphing in one of the track's major dirt Late Model shows.
"It wasn't a big race, but any win at Eldora is special," said Richards, who dominated the feature after grabbing the lead from Matt Miller on lap 15. "I love going to Eldora - I have ever since I ran my first race there. It seems like we've always been fast there and we've been close to winning so many times, but we just couldn't quite get it done.
"I'm real happy that we finally did it."
Adding more luster to Richards's performance, his score gave his father/car owner Mark Richards a first career win at Eldora as well. Mark has tasted victory there many times in his role as a car builder (he co-owns Rocket Chassis), but until Sunday night he had never prepared or fielded a car that had won a race at Eldora.
And Mark has been entering dirt Late Model races at Eldora as a mechanic or car owner for a long time - since 1974, in fact.
Now the question is: can 'Kid Rocket' turn his breakthrough win at the Big E into a checkered flag in the upcoming UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned $100,000 Dirt Late Model Dream event on June 6-7, the WoO LMS Subway 50 on July 25 or the prestigious UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned World 100 on Sept. 5-6?
"I hope so," said Richards, who in 2005 became, at the age of 17, the youngest driver in history to qualify for both the Dream and the World 100 at Eldora. "I grew up going to watch all the big races at Eldora and I'd love to win one."
'SHOW-ME' THE MONEY: Richards arrived at Eldora with his Seubert Calf Ranches Rocket No. 1 after making a nine-hour overnight haul from West Plains (Mo.) Motor Speedway, where he was one of six drivers among the top 10 in the WoO LMS points standings to compete in the weekend's prestigious Show-Me 100 that paid $42,000 to win.
Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., had the best Show-Me run of the Outlaw boys, finishing fifth in NASCAR Sprint Cup star Clint Bowyer's Rocket No. 18 to pocket a $5,500 check. He started in the same position and ran steadily near the front for the entire 100-lap distance on Saturday night.
Other WoO LMS regulars in the Show-Me feature field included Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., who started and finished ninth; Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., who set fast time on Friday night and placed 12th in the headliner; and Richards, who started and finished 14th in his first career Show-Me A-Main start.
In addition, 2004 WoO LMS titlist Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., came from the last (24th) starting spot to win the Show-Me 100 for the fifth time in his career; 2006 WoO LMS champ Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., scored a 10th-place finish; and three-time tour champion Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., who leads the WoO LMS in A-Mains wins this season, was never a factor and finished 21st.
WoO LMS regulars failing to qualify were Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga. (fourth in the first B-Main) and Rick Eckert of York, Pa., who placed eighth in the second B-Main after a tangle forced him to pit to change a flat tire.
HE WAS FAST: Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., who is tied for second in the WoO LMS points standings, joined Richards in the 'Johnny Appleseed' field at Eldora and made a statement that he'll be a threat in the upcoming Dream event.
The 'Bluegrass Bandit' experienced driveshaft woes early in the program, but he stormed forward from the 17th starting spot in the feature to cross the finish line third. He was credited with a fifth-place finish, however, because officials ruled that he jumped the final restart and thus penalized him two spots after the checkered flag.
OPEN-WHEEL VICTORY: Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., stayed close to home during his off-weekend and made a successful return to his DIRTcar Modified roots.
The 2007 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year drove to victory in a DIRTcar 358-Modified feature on Saturday night at Mohawk International Raceway in Hogansburg, N.Y. He beat his sponsor, John Lazore, to the finish line.
Fuller jumped in his big-block Modified on Sunday night and finished fourth in the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series 'Hall of Fame Classic' at Cayuga County Fair Speedway in Weedsport, N.Y.
Joining Fuller in Sunday's DIRTcar big-block Modified field at CCFS were WoO LMS Rookie of the Year contenders Vic Coffey of Leicester, N.Y., who secured his first career Super DIRTcar Series Integra Shocks Fast Time Award but only managed an 11th-place finish in the 76-lap A-Main; Danny Johnson of Phelps, N.Y., who registered a strong second-place finish in the headliner driving a JIR Motorsports Modified; and Joe Isabell of Pennellville, N.Y., who failed to qualify.
NEAR WINS: Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., who is tied for second in the WoO LMS points standings, came close to a pair of victories during his weekend racing on the home front.
The 46-year-old star finished second in both ends of the twin 30-lap 'Double Nickel' Super Late Model features on Saturday night at Stateline Speedway in Busti, N.Y., a one-third-mile oval just minutes from Frank's shop. He led the opening race until late in the distance when a scrape with eventual winner David Scott knocked him from the top spot, and his bids to overtake finale victor Matt Lux in the nightcap fell short.
Frank also registered a fifth-place finish in Friday night's 50-lap Independent Racing Series (IRS) event at Raceway 7 in Conneaut, Ohio.
LONG TRIP: Rick Eckert and his Raye Vest crew made a 14-hour, 900-mile overnight haul after missing the Show-Me 100 field to compete in Sunday night's Mid-Atlantic Championship Series (MACS) event at Bedford (Pa.) Speedway, a track he dominated in the early '90s.
Eckert was rewarded with a third-place finish in the 50-lap A-Main.
NEXT UP: The WoO LMS returns to action this week with an East Coast doubleheader on Thursday night (May 29) at Delaware International Speedway in Delmar, Del., and Saturday night (May 31) at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway.
INFO: For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
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