SHINNSTON, W. Va. - May 17, 2010 - Josh Richards is on a roll in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. The 22-year-old sensation from Shinnston, W.Va. caught fire during the national tour's east coast doubleheader last weekend sweeping the pair of 50-lap events held on May 13 at Delaware International Speedway in Delmar and May 15 at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway.
And after pushing his series-leading 2010 victory total to four, Richards vaulted from second place in the WoO LMS points standings to a healthy lead of 56 points as he pursues his second consecutive championship.
"We had an awesome weekend," said Richards, the only driver with more than one WoO LMS A-Main win after 14 A-Mains this season. "We were able to qualify well both nights, run well in the heats, start from the outside pole twice and stay up front in clean air. We couldn't ask for things to go any better."
Indeed, Richards was rock-solid steady in both events behind the wheel of the Mark Richards Racing Enterprises Rocket car. He qualified fifth-fastest at Delaware and second-quick at Hagerstown, finished second in a heat race both nights and drew the outside pole starting spot for both features. Topping off his domination of the swing, he led all but one lap of the races' 100 combined circuits - lap 18 at Hagerstown, when Steve Francis snuck by him momentarily amid lapped traffic.
But Richards didn't waltz to the 23rd and 24th wins of his WoO LMS career. He had to withstand challenges from Francis in both A-Mains and he spent the second half of Delaware's First State 50 battling to stay ahead with an engine that had lost some power.
"I don't know what happened exactly, but I felt something change in the engine just before halfway," Richards said of the problem he experienced en route to his first-ever triumph in the state of Delaware. "When it happened I thought we were done, because we were definitely down on power. But after 10 or 15 laps I was still leading and I really hadn't heard anybody, so I was like, 'I must be O.K.'
"Actually, being down on power might have helped because I could roll through the corner, run wide open and the car stuck. I could keep all my momentum up."
Richards also never had a moment to relax during Saturday night's 29th annual Conococheague 50 at Hagerstown, a half-mile oval that he's frequented throughout his young dirt Late Model career. He fought hard to find the fast route around the track.
"I had an awesome car from the start of the night," Richards said of his Hagerstown effort. "After hot laps, that was the most relaxed I've ever felt (at Hagerstown). I just had to stay calm.
"It was definitely a hard race. We were holding on - we were a little soft on the right-front tire (compound) and I kept losing the right-front tire running the top of (turns) one and two, so I moved down and slowed down but it helped me maintain the lead."
With the weekend's triumphs, Richards is already halfway to his career-high single-season win total of eight on the WoO LMS, established last year. With 48 races currently on the 2010 schedule he has plenty of time to add more checkered flags to his ledger.
"We're off to a great start this year," said Richards. "We've already won four times and I feel like we had a car capable of winning at Lincoln (Illinois on May 7) if we hadn't run into trouble with a lapped car on the final lap, so things are going real well.
"I can't thank my team enough for all the hard work and extra effort. We're all focused on being well prepared every time we unload. We're trying to enjoy this and win as many races as we can.
Richards was hoping to cap his weekend with one more victory driving the Ernie Davis-owned Rocket No. 25 car on Sunday night (May 16) in an O'Reilly All-Star Late Model Series event at West Virginia Motor Speedway in Mineral Wells, but Mother Nature ended those hopes. He drove the car to a heat race win, but rain arrived and forced officials to postpone the feature. A new date for the completion of the program was not immediately announced.
With the WoO LMS off until Memorial Day weekend when it visits Bedford (Pa.) Speedway on May 28 and West Virginia Motor Speedway on May 29-30, Richards has plans to go pavement racing this weekend (May 22-23). He is scheduled to drive the Dave Davis Motorsports entry in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series Goodyear Dealers of Iowa 200 at Iowa Speedway.
For more information on Josh Richards, visit www.joshrichards.com, follows Josh on Twitter @Josh_Richards1.
Josh Richards's No. 1 team carries support from Rocket Chassis, Cornett Racing Engines, Seubert Calf Ranches, Ernie D's Enterprises, ACE Metal Works, 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, Jones Racing Products, TurboStart Racing Batteries, US Brake, Weld Racing Wheels, Wehr's Machine, Wilwood and Wrisco Aluminum.
And after pushing his series-leading 2010 victory total to four, Richards vaulted from second place in the WoO LMS points standings to a healthy lead of 56 points as he pursues his second consecutive championship.
"We had an awesome weekend," said Richards, the only driver with more than one WoO LMS A-Main win after 14 A-Mains this season. "We were able to qualify well both nights, run well in the heats, start from the outside pole twice and stay up front in clean air. We couldn't ask for things to go any better."
Indeed, Richards was rock-solid steady in both events behind the wheel of the Mark Richards Racing Enterprises Rocket car. He qualified fifth-fastest at Delaware and second-quick at Hagerstown, finished second in a heat race both nights and drew the outside pole starting spot for both features. Topping off his domination of the swing, he led all but one lap of the races' 100 combined circuits - lap 18 at Hagerstown, when Steve Francis snuck by him momentarily amid lapped traffic.
But Richards didn't waltz to the 23rd and 24th wins of his WoO LMS career. He had to withstand challenges from Francis in both A-Mains and he spent the second half of Delaware's First State 50 battling to stay ahead with an engine that had lost some power.
"I don't know what happened exactly, but I felt something change in the engine just before halfway," Richards said of the problem he experienced en route to his first-ever triumph in the state of Delaware. "When it happened I thought we were done, because we were definitely down on power. But after 10 or 15 laps I was still leading and I really hadn't heard anybody, so I was like, 'I must be O.K.'
"Actually, being down on power might have helped because I could roll through the corner, run wide open and the car stuck. I could keep all my momentum up."
Richards also never had a moment to relax during Saturday night's 29th annual Conococheague 50 at Hagerstown, a half-mile oval that he's frequented throughout his young dirt Late Model career. He fought hard to find the fast route around the track.
"I had an awesome car from the start of the night," Richards said of his Hagerstown effort. "After hot laps, that was the most relaxed I've ever felt (at Hagerstown). I just had to stay calm.
"It was definitely a hard race. We were holding on - we were a little soft on the right-front tire (compound) and I kept losing the right-front tire running the top of (turns) one and two, so I moved down and slowed down but it helped me maintain the lead."
With the weekend's triumphs, Richards is already halfway to his career-high single-season win total of eight on the WoO LMS, established last year. With 48 races currently on the 2010 schedule he has plenty of time to add more checkered flags to his ledger.
"We're off to a great start this year," said Richards. "We've already won four times and I feel like we had a car capable of winning at Lincoln (Illinois on May 7) if we hadn't run into trouble with a lapped car on the final lap, so things are going real well.
"I can't thank my team enough for all the hard work and extra effort. We're all focused on being well prepared every time we unload. We're trying to enjoy this and win as many races as we can.
Richards was hoping to cap his weekend with one more victory driving the Ernie Davis-owned Rocket No. 25 car on Sunday night (May 16) in an O'Reilly All-Star Late Model Series event at West Virginia Motor Speedway in Mineral Wells, but Mother Nature ended those hopes. He drove the car to a heat race win, but rain arrived and forced officials to postpone the feature. A new date for the completion of the program was not immediately announced.
With the WoO LMS off until Memorial Day weekend when it visits Bedford (Pa.) Speedway on May 28 and West Virginia Motor Speedway on May 29-30, Richards has plans to go pavement racing this weekend (May 22-23). He is scheduled to drive the Dave Davis Motorsports entry in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series Goodyear Dealers of Iowa 200 at Iowa Speedway.
For more information on Josh Richards, visit www.joshrichards.com, follows Josh on Twitter @Josh_Richards1.
Josh Richards's No. 1 team carries support from Rocket Chassis, Cornett Racing Engines, Seubert Calf Ranches, Ernie D's Enterprises, ACE Metal Works, 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, Jones Racing Products, TurboStart Racing Batteries, US Brake, Weld Racing Wheels, Wehr's Machine, Wilwood and Wrisco Aluminum.
