|
Kevin Kovac
CONCORD, N.C. (November 1) - Josh Richards was on an emotional high after capturing Saturday night's 50-lap VAULT World Finals dirt Late Model A-Main at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway.
"This is definitely my biggest win ever," said the normally reserved Richards. "To win a race like this, on live T.V. and in front of all these people, is just awesome.
With a packed house of over 14,000 fans and a national television audience on the SPEED cable network looking on, the 20-year-old star from Shinnston, W.Va., charged forward from the eighth starting spot to overtake Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., for the lead on lap 36. He held off Pearson's late bid to emerge triumphant.
It was the sixth World of Outlaws Late Model Series victory of 2008 for Richards, who ended the season tied with Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., atop the tour's win list. He also book-ended the 43-race WoO LMS campaign with wins, capturing the season opener, on Feb. 14 at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., as well as Saturday's season finale.
Richards secured a career-high finish of second in the WoO LMS points standings, worth $60,000. He ended the season 160 points behind Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., who was crowned the 2008 champion on stage at the end of the program after clinching the $100,000 title for the first time in his career the previous night.
"If we just learn the middle of the year a little better, I think we'll be all right," Richards said of his 2008 points-chasing. "We've got the beginning and the end figured out pretty good, but we gotta do better in the middle to have a shot at the championship."
Pearson, 36, settled for runner-up money after leading laps 32-35, crossing the finish line 0.535 of a second behind Richards. Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., who led laps 2-31, placed third, followed by 2007 VAULT World Finals Night 2 winner Donnie Moran of Dresden, Ohio, and 2007 WoO LMS champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., who locked down a third-place finish in the points standings.
Richards's performance exceeded his expectations for the second night of feature-event action at the blockbuster VAULT World Finals, which also included the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series.
"I had no intentions of winning," conceded Richards. "Our main goal was to focus on beating Francis and Clanton to try and wrap up second in the points. But then I got rolling and I said, 'O.K., we're running fourth. We might have a chance.'
"When I drove through the middle (groove) when Earl and Dale got caught in lapped cars, my car stuck really hard. From then on out it was pretty good, and here we are (in Victory Lane)."
Richards didn't cruise to the checkered flag once he put his Mark Richards Racing Enterprises/Seubert Calf Ranches Rocket into the top spot. He survived three late-race caution flags - on laps 37, 41 and 47 - and some heavy pressure from Pearson to win at The Dirt Track for the first time in his young career.
"I don't know if (the cautions) got my nerves worse or better, because the whole time I was a nervous wreck," said Richards, who earned $10,150 for his 12th career WoO LMS triumph. "But I think the cautions probably got me to focus more. With all the times I've been leading races and lost in the last couple laps, I wasn't gonna let it happen this time."
Pearson sure tried to send Richards home dejected. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champion got close enough to bump Richards's rear bumper racing down the homestretch with the white flag waving, but he slid high in turn one and lost too much ground to make a move for the win.
"When I got right up under (Richards) I lost my front end," said Pearson, who started second in NASCAR star Bobby Labonte's LifeLong Locks MasterSbilt car. "I got an aero-push and just couldn't steer when I got to turn one. My car just slid right up to the wall.
"My biggest problem, though, was when I passed McDowell for the lead, I stayed down low too much and Josh ended up driving by me on the outside. If I would've moved up to the middle it would've made it a lot harder for (Richards) to pass me."
McDowell, 42, appeared primed to record his first WoO LMS victory since Sept. 23, 2005, at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway in Calvert City, Ky., after blasting from the fourth starting spot to the lead on lap two. He completed the surge by passing polesitter Davey Johnson of Latrobe, Pa., who led the first lap before later bringing out caution flags on laps 15 (turn-four spin) and 20 (stopped in turn two).
But McDowell's Sanford Goddard-owned Warrior house car wasn't quite fast enough to keep him in front.
"We ran the wrong left-rear tire," said McDowell, whose sterling visit to the The Dirt Track also included a second-place finish the previous night and a third-place run in Wednesday night's Armour Vienna Sausage Showdown. "I thought I had a good read on what we should do, but we were a little too soft with the tire. The track was a little harder and drier off turn four than I thought it was and I just worked by left-rear tire too hard.
"But I can't complain. We exceeded our expectations for the weekend, so we're excited."
Finishing in positions 6-10 were Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., who clipped the turn-four wall on lap 39 while battling for fourth with Moran; Lanigan, who used a Chevy engine (borrowed from winning team owner Mark Richards) for the first in more than a decade; Steve Shaver of Vienna, W.Va., who earned the $500 'Bonus Bucks' award for being the highest-finishing driver who hasn't won a WoO LMS A-Main since 2004 and isn't ranked among the top 12 in the points standings; Josh McGuire of Grayson, Ky.; and Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., who struggled to climb forward from the 21st starting spot after capturing Friday night's A-Main.
Six caution flags slowed the event, including incidents involving top contenders Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., and Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.
McCreadie was running just outside the top 10 when he slowed on lap 14. He pitted to change his car's left-rear tire and returned to finish 11th.
Clanton, meanwhile, saw his hopes for victory - and a third-place finish in the points standings - effectively end on lap 37 when he spun between turns three and four. He went around while attempting to pass Pearson for third.
"I just got in there too hard I guess," said Clanton, who started 12th. "I thought I was far enough up for him to see me, but he was probably trying to focus on his line and didn't see me when I tried to fill the gap.
"When I hit the brakes to avoid hitting (Pearson), that was it. You spin every time when you do that."
Clanton, who entered the event tied with Francis for third in the points standings, had to settle for a fourth-place finish in the 2008 WoO LMS rankings.
Winners of Saturday night's heat races, which were aligned by the results of Thursday night's second-round time trials, were McDowell, Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn. (who dropped out of the A-Main on lap 22 while running third), Chris Madden of Gaffney, S.C., Davey Johnson, McCreadie and Pearson. The B-Mains were captured by Francis, Michael England of Glasgow, Ky., and Bloomquist.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
Results of WoO Late Model Series VAULT World Finals Night 2 (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):
1. (8) Josh Richards/50 $10,150
2. (2) Earl Pearson Jr./50 $5,100
3. (4) Dale McDowell/50 $3,100
4. (13) Donnie Moran/50 $2,500
5. (19) Steve Francis/50 $2,000
6. (9) Chub Frank/50 $1,700
7. (14) Darrell Lanigan/50 $1,400
8. (10) Steve Shaver/50 $1,800
9. (7) Josh McGuire/50 $1,200
10. (21) Scott Bloomquist/50 $1,100
11. (3) Tim McCreadie/50 $1,050
12. (26) Rick Eckert/50 $1,000
13. (25) Shannon Babb/50 $950
14. (5) Chris Madden/50 $900
15. (16) Tim Fuller/50 $850
16. (18) Jonathan Davenport/50 $800
17. (29) Clint Smith/50 $70
18. (12) Shane Clanton/50 $750
19. (20) Michael England/50 $730
20. (24) Matt Miller/50 $700
21. (17) Dan Schlieper/50 $700
22. (27) Vic Coffey/50 $950
23. (11) Ricky Weeks/50 $700
24. (23) Mike Balzano/49 $700
25. (22) Danny Johnson/46 $700
26. (1) Davey Johnson/41 $700
27. (28) Jeff Rine/40 $700
28. (6) Jimmy Owens/22 $700
29. (15) Ricky Elliott/6 $700
Time of Race: 32 Mins., 51.384 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 0.535 Secs.
Yellow Flags: 6 (Laps 14, 15, 20, 37, 41, 47)
Lap Leaders: Davey Johnson (1); McDowell (2-31); Pearson (32-35); Richards (36-50)
Provisional Starters: Babb, Eckert, Clint Smith (WoO); Coffey (fast qualifier); Rine (earliest post-mark)
Rookie of the Race: Coffey ($250)
WoO LMS 'Bonus Bucks' Winner: Shaver ($500)
Integra Shocks Crew Chief of the Race ($50): Mark Richards (Richards)
Chick Hawk Racing Hot Lap Award: Davey Johnson (half-off tire warmers)
Super Clean 'Start of the Race': McDowell ($100)
Heat No. 1 (10 laps - Top 3 Transfer): 1. Dale McDowell, 2. Josh McGuire, 3. Donnie Moran, 4. Eric Jacobsen, 5. Danny Johnson, 6. Vic Coffey, 7. Jeff Rine, 8. Jeep VanWormer, 9. Jerry Bowersock, 10. Bob Gordon, 11. Austin Hubbard
Heat No. 2 (10 laps - Top 3 Transfer): 1. Jimmy Owens, 2. Josh Richards, 3. Darrell Lanigan, 4. Steve Francis, 5. Tommy Kerr, 6. Rick Eckert, 7. Gregg Satterlee, 8. Eric Wells, 9. Joe Isabell, 10. Chris Ferguson, 11. Rob McLaughlin, 12. Curt Spalding
Heat No. 3 (10 laps - Top 3 Transfer): 1. Chris Madden, 2. Chub Frank, 3. Ricky Elliott, 4. Mike Balzano, 5. Jeff Smith, 6. Brian Shirley, 7. Jared Miley, 8. Jackie Boggs, 9. Mike Knight, 10. Jeff Isabell Jr. (DNS) Don O'Neal
Heat No. 4 (10 laps - Top 3 Transfer): 1. Davey Johnson, 2. Steve Shaver, 3. Tim Fuller, 4. Michael England, 5. Clint Smith, 6. Tim Allen, 7. Wayne Chinn, 8. Dean Bowen, 9. Austin Dillon, 10. Jill George, 11. G.R. Smith
Heat No. 5 (10 laps - Top 3 Transfer): 1. Tim McCreadie, 2. Ricky Weeks, 3. Dan Schlieper, 4. Scott Bloomquist, 5. Shannon Babb, 6. Eddie Carrier Jr., 7. Jeremy Miller, 8. Justin Rattliff, 9. Jordan Bland, 10. John Winge, 11. Justin Labonte
Heat No. 6 (10 laps - Top 3 Transfer): 1. Earl Pearson Jr., 2. Shane Clanton, 3. Jonathan Davenport, 4. Matt Miller, 5. Dan Stone, 6. Chad Ruhlman, 7. Chuck Harper, 8. Bruce Hall, 9. Chesley Dixon, 10. Tony Izzo Jr., 11. Jeremy Faircloth
B-Main No. 1 (12 laps - Top 2 Transfer): Francis, Danny Johnson, Jacobsen, Kerr, Eckert, Rine, VanWormer, Satterlee, Spalding, Gordon, Joe Isabell, Coffey, Wells, Bowersock, Ferguson (DNS) McLaughlin, Hubbard
B-Main No. 2 (12 laps - Top 2 Transfer): England, Balzano, Clint Smith, Shirley, Boggs, Allen, Miley, Jeff Smith, Dillon, Bowen, O'Neal, Chinn, George (DNS) Knight, Jeff Isabell Jr., G.R. Smith
B-Main No. 3 (12 laps - Top 2 Transfer): Bloomquist, Matt Miller, Babb, Rattliff, Carrier, Ruhlman, Harper, Stone, Labonte, Bland, Winge, Hall (DNS) Jeremy Miller, Dixon, Izzo, J. Faircloth
Final 2008 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings -
43 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/wins/top-5s/top-10s/earnings/points/deficit to leader):
1. Darrell Lanigan 2-25-36-$124,967-5866 (-0)
2. Josh Richards 6-19-30-$133,510-5706 (-160)
3. Steve Francis 6-21-33-$173,300-5686 (-180)
4. Shane Clanton 4-22-32-$125,590-5660 (-206)
5. Chub Frank 1-12-28-$84,930-5626 (-240)
6. Shannon Babb 2-18-28-$111,550-5556 (-310)
7. Rick Eckert 1-12-24-$81,500-5522 (-344)
8. Clint Smith 1-11-24-$69,690-5472 (-394)
9. Tim Fuller 2-7-19-$71,200-5323 (-543)
10. Vic Coffey 0-2-9-$43,110-4583 (-1283)
11. John Blankenship 0-0-6-$34,680-4013 (-1853)
12. Joe Isabell 0-0-0-$19,900-3765 (-2101)
13. Sean Beardsley 0-0-0-$12,520-3070 (-2796)
14. Tim McCreadie 1-10-17-$61,760-2988 (-2878)
15. Danny Johnson 0-0-1-$14,540-2437 (-3429)
|
