SHINNSTON, WV - Feb. 18, 2010 - A mid-winter racing trip to Georgia and Florida once again served as a fine kick-off for Josh Richards' ambitious dirt track schedule.
Highlighted by his unprecedented fourth consecutive win in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series season opener and second straight DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH points title, Richards shined brighter than any other driver who entered events at all three tracks that hosted dirt Late Model action during the past three weeks.
The 21-year-old Richards authored a sterling performance record, registering two wins, seven top-five and eight top-10 finishes in his 10 starts spread over Golden Isles Speedway in Brunswick, Ga.; East Bay Raceway Park in Gibsonton, Fla.; and Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. He qualified for every event he entered, completed every A-Main lap, never finished worse than 12th - and headed home to Shinnston, W.Va., with over $32,000 in earnings for his work.
"This Speedweeks was real good for us," said Richards, the reigning WoO LMS champion. "Obviously last year was crazy (he won five times, including three races in a 24-hour period at East Bay), so it was going to be hard to top that. But overall you can't ask for much more out of a trip than this one, especially when you're competing against the caliber of competition we did the last few weeks."
Richards, who turns 22 on March 22, made his biggest mark at Volusia, the half-mile oval outside Daytona Beach that ranks among his favorite tracks in the country. He pulled off the drive of the 39th annual DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH - and one of the most memorable runs of his budding career - when he charged forward from the 17th starting spot to extend his amazing WoO LMS season-opener win streak in the tour's 50-lap A-Main on Feb. 11.
"To win four openers in a row is just really cool," said Richards, who earned $10,675 for his 21st career WoO LMS victory behind the wheel of his familiar Mark Richards Racing Enterprises Rocket Chassis car. "There's always the luck factor involved - and we've been very lucky (at Volusia). But I feel like we earned this one too.
"To come from the back really shows how strong your team is. Matt (Barnes), Jimmy (Frey), Joe (Pilkenton), Ernie (Davis), my dad (Mark Richards), Steve Baker - they all did an awesome job."
Two nights after his crowd-pleasing triumph, Richards toughed out a fourth-place finish in the 50-lap WoO LMS event that closed out the DIRTcar Nationals. He left the track tied for second in the tour's points standings, just two points behind leader Brady Smith.
The WoO LMS programs topped off a solid week at Volusia for Richards, who also registered finishes of fourth (Feb. 10) and 12th (Feb. 8) in 30-lap UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned Late Model features to help him emerge as the DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH champion. He lost two other chances at checkered flags, on Feb. 9 and 12, due to rainouts.
Earlier in his Southeastern excursion, Richards's first win of 2010 came in his second official start, on Jan. 29 at Golden Isles. He drove his father Mark's No. 1 into the lead on lap 14 of the 50-lap O'Reilly Southern All-Stars Series event and never looked back, rolling to a $10,000 score that marked his first-ever win in the state of Georgia.
Richards also excelled in the finale at Golden Isles on Jan. 30, rallying from a slap of the outside wall during heat action to qualify through a B-Main and then march from the 19th starting spot to an impressive third-place finish. His only subpar outing at the four-tenths-mile oval came in the 40-lap opener on Jan. 28, when he finished 11th.
In between the Golden Isles and Volusia meets Richards made an abbreviated visit to East Bay for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Winternationals. Driving the Ernie Davis-owned Rocket No. 25 that he campaigns in selected events away from the WoO LMS, Richards recorded finishes of fifth (Feb. 1), eighth (Feb. 2) and second (Feb. 3 after battling for the lead with Billy Moyer until the final laps) before skipping the final three nights of competition to make his stock-car debut at Daytona International Speedway in the ARCA Racing Series Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200.
"We learned some things while we were down south that I think will really help us the rest of the year," said Richards. "I feel fortunate to be running for two great dirt teams so I'm just excited to go racing again."
Richards is tentatively scheduled to make his next dirt Late Model start in the Ernie Davis No. 25 machine on Feb. 27 at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway. He returns to WoO LMS action on March 19 at Ocala (Fla.) Speedway and March 20 at Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Ga.
Josh Richards's No. 1 team carries support from Rocket Chassis, Cornett Racing Engines, Seubert Calf Ranches, Ernie D's Enterprises, ACE Metal Works, MCB Motorsports, Petroff Towing, Tony Stewart Racing, Sunoco Race Fuels, Hoosier Racing Tires, Integra Shocks, Slavic Custom Decals, Valvoline, AEM, AFCO, ATL Fuel Cells, Aurora Bearing Company, Autolite, Banshee Graphics, Barnes Systems, Beyea Performance, Brinn Transmissions, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Braswell Carburetion, Butlerbuilt Seat Systems, CV Products, Dohm Cycles, Dyer's Top Rods, Fram Filters, Frankland Rearends, Howe Racing, Kwik Change Product, LSI, Mason Racin', MSD Ignition, Outerwears, Performance Bodies, Performance Friction Brakes, Performance Rod & Custom, Ringers Gloves, Scott Performance Wire, Simpson Race Products, Sweet Manufacturing, Tel Tech, TWM Racing Products, Trick Carbon Fiber Driveshafts, TurboStart Racing Batteries, US Brake, Weld Racing Wheels, Wehr's Machine, Wilwood and Wrisco Aluminum.
Highlighted by his unprecedented fourth consecutive win in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series season opener and second straight DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH points title, Richards shined brighter than any other driver who entered events at all three tracks that hosted dirt Late Model action during the past three weeks.
The 21-year-old Richards authored a sterling performance record, registering two wins, seven top-five and eight top-10 finishes in his 10 starts spread over Golden Isles Speedway in Brunswick, Ga.; East Bay Raceway Park in Gibsonton, Fla.; and Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. He qualified for every event he entered, completed every A-Main lap, never finished worse than 12th - and headed home to Shinnston, W.Va., with over $32,000 in earnings for his work.
"This Speedweeks was real good for us," said Richards, the reigning WoO LMS champion. "Obviously last year was crazy (he won five times, including three races in a 24-hour period at East Bay), so it was going to be hard to top that. But overall you can't ask for much more out of a trip than this one, especially when you're competing against the caliber of competition we did the last few weeks."
Richards, who turns 22 on March 22, made his biggest mark at Volusia, the half-mile oval outside Daytona Beach that ranks among his favorite tracks in the country. He pulled off the drive of the 39th annual DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH - and one of the most memorable runs of his budding career - when he charged forward from the 17th starting spot to extend his amazing WoO LMS season-opener win streak in the tour's 50-lap A-Main on Feb. 11.
"To win four openers in a row is just really cool," said Richards, who earned $10,675 for his 21st career WoO LMS victory behind the wheel of his familiar Mark Richards Racing Enterprises Rocket Chassis car. "There's always the luck factor involved - and we've been very lucky (at Volusia). But I feel like we earned this one too.
"To come from the back really shows how strong your team is. Matt (Barnes), Jimmy (Frey), Joe (Pilkenton), Ernie (Davis), my dad (Mark Richards), Steve Baker - they all did an awesome job."
Two nights after his crowd-pleasing triumph, Richards toughed out a fourth-place finish in the 50-lap WoO LMS event that closed out the DIRTcar Nationals. He left the track tied for second in the tour's points standings, just two points behind leader Brady Smith.
The WoO LMS programs topped off a solid week at Volusia for Richards, who also registered finishes of fourth (Feb. 10) and 12th (Feb. 8) in 30-lap UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned Late Model features to help him emerge as the DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH champion. He lost two other chances at checkered flags, on Feb. 9 and 12, due to rainouts.
Earlier in his Southeastern excursion, Richards's first win of 2010 came in his second official start, on Jan. 29 at Golden Isles. He drove his father Mark's No. 1 into the lead on lap 14 of the 50-lap O'Reilly Southern All-Stars Series event and never looked back, rolling to a $10,000 score that marked his first-ever win in the state of Georgia.
Richards also excelled in the finale at Golden Isles on Jan. 30, rallying from a slap of the outside wall during heat action to qualify through a B-Main and then march from the 19th starting spot to an impressive third-place finish. His only subpar outing at the four-tenths-mile oval came in the 40-lap opener on Jan. 28, when he finished 11th.
In between the Golden Isles and Volusia meets Richards made an abbreviated visit to East Bay for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Winternationals. Driving the Ernie Davis-owned Rocket No. 25 that he campaigns in selected events away from the WoO LMS, Richards recorded finishes of fifth (Feb. 1), eighth (Feb. 2) and second (Feb. 3 after battling for the lead with Billy Moyer until the final laps) before skipping the final three nights of competition to make his stock-car debut at Daytona International Speedway in the ARCA Racing Series Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200.
"We learned some things while we were down south that I think will really help us the rest of the year," said Richards. "I feel fortunate to be running for two great dirt teams so I'm just excited to go racing again."
Richards is tentatively scheduled to make his next dirt Late Model start in the Ernie Davis No. 25 machine on Feb. 27 at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway. He returns to WoO LMS action on March 19 at Ocala (Fla.) Speedway and March 20 at Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Ga.
Josh Richards's No. 1 team carries support from Rocket Chassis, Cornett Racing Engines, Seubert Calf Ranches, Ernie D's Enterprises, ACE Metal Works, MCB Motorsports, Petroff Towing, Tony Stewart Racing, Sunoco Race Fuels, Hoosier Racing Tires, Integra Shocks, Slavic Custom Decals, Valvoline, AEM, AFCO, ATL Fuel Cells, Aurora Bearing Company, Autolite, Banshee Graphics, Barnes Systems, Beyea Performance, Brinn Transmissions, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Braswell Carburetion, Butlerbuilt Seat Systems, CV Products, Dohm Cycles, Dyer's Top Rods, Fram Filters, Frankland Rearends, Howe Racing, Kwik Change Product, LSI, Mason Racin', MSD Ignition, Outerwears, Performance Bodies, Performance Friction Brakes, Performance Rod & Custom, Ringers Gloves, Scott Performance Wire, Simpson Race Products, Sweet Manufacturing, Tel Tech, TWM Racing Products, Trick Carbon Fiber Driveshafts, TurboStart Racing Batteries, US Brake, Weld Racing Wheels, Wehr's Machine, Wilwood and Wrisco Aluminum.
