Fought off challenges on late restarts for first Gator trophy of the week
BARBERVILLE, Fla. Feb. 16, 2016 Three-time World of Outlaws Craftsman® Late Model Series champion Josh Richards continued his hot streak Tuesday night, starting from the front row en route to scoring the checkered flag on night two of DIRTcar Late Models week at the 45th Annual DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park.
Driving the Valvoline, Rocket Chassis house car, Richards showed his speed early in the night, winning his heat race then drawing the pole position in the re-draw. Gregg Satterlee, piloting the Satterlee Petroleum No. 22, started on the outside of row one.
A native of Indiana, Penn., Satterlee challenged Richards on the initial start but fell back as Richards muscled his way to an early lead. With Richards out front, the action took place behind the leader. Drivers from third to 24th battled side-by-side, and even three-wide for much of the race.
Drivers such as World of Outlaws regular Rick Eckert and Billy Moyer Jr. charged their way to the front utilizing a track that allowed for multiple lanes of racing. Eckert navigated his No. 7 Monumental Paving and Excavating, Longhorn Chassis from the tail-end of the field to a fifth placed finish.
At the front of the field, Richards set a blistering pace, but a red-hot Jonathan Davenport and 2006 World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series champion Tim McCreadie lurked behind the leader after they both maneuvered around a fading Satterlee to crack the top three. Davenport, running the top line had chances on multiple restarts to slingshot around Richards for the lead, but could never complete the pass.
Richards eventually pulled away from Davenport on a restart with three laps to go, leaving Davenport to battle with McCreadie for the runner-up position. McCreadie eventually overtook Davenport for second, but never had a shot at the leader who dominated his way to another victory in the young 2016 season, his first DIRTcar Nationals win of the week.
It sure wasnt pretty but we will take it, Richards said. I saw [Davenport] in second and knew I had to give it all I had.
It was touchy out there. There was a lot of traction in spots. If you could get through it smoothly, which was hard to do, then you could gain some speed. You dont really know when youre leading whos behind you and how fast theyre going. It was a handful but we will take it, we have a long week to go.
McCreadie started at the front of the field and maintained a top-five run the entire race, finishing only behind Richards.
Were digging all the time, I just dont know where I need to be most nights, the Watertown, N.Y.-native said. It was fun. The track was rough it had some character, but you could at least pass when guys made mistakes.
Were just working every day to get this Longhorn [Chassis] better. Its not easy but we are working our tails off. For the time we have in the car its amazing the strides we have made to be able to run with Richards and Davenport and be competitive.
Even though Davenport faded in the final laps, he still ran top three much of the night, showing how strong he has been so far in 2016.
We didnt have anything for Josh [Richards], Davenport, who started in the 12th position, said. I gave it all I had that last restart, but we did good getting to where we finished. Thats the best I have ever finished I had a third here one time.
This place is just a little different. I need to watch the videos and see what Im doing right and wrong and get it tuned in here for tomorrow.
The DIRTcar Late Models continue on Wednesday before the World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series takes on DIRTcar Nationals on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Great seats remain for DIRTcar Nationals and are available by calling 844-DIRT-TIX (347-8849), or by visiting http://www.DIRTcarNationals.com. Infield parking will be available on a first come, first served basis to all fans with a pit pass. The cost of the infield parking pass is $10 and will be available at the pit gate off of turn four.
Visit http://www.DIRTcarNationals.com for the latest news and information from the event. Follow DIRTcar Nationals on Twitter at http://www.Twitter.com/DIRTcarNats and on Facebook athttp://www.Facebook.com/DIRTcarNationals.
DIRTcar Nationals Statistical Report; Feb. 16, 2016; Volusia Speedway Park; Barberville, Fla.
A-Main (30-laps): 1. 1 Josh Richards ($7,000), 2. 39 Tim McCreadie, 3. 6 Jonathan Davenport, 4. 5w Mark Whitener, 5. 7 Rick Eckert, 6. 15 Steve Francis, 7. 25 Shane Clanton, 8. 99j Frank Heckenast Jr, 9. 21 Ivedent Lloyd Jr, 10. 21J Billy Moyer Jr, 11. 15s Donny Schatz, 12. 7W Ricky Weiss, 13. 201 Billy Ogle Jr, 14. 22 Gregg Satterlee, 15. 40B Kyle Bronson, 16. 99B Boom Briggs, 17. 15L Darrell Lanigan, 18. 17M Dale McDowell, 19. 777 Jared Landers, 20. 20 Rodney Sanders, 21. 5 Don O’Neal, 22. 94 Austin Rettig, 23. 16 Justin Rattliff, 24. C9 Steve Casebolt.
Qualifying Group 1: Sanders, Bloomquist, Clanton, Weiss, Moyer Jr., Bruening, Hollenbeck, Erb Jr., Kurtz.
Qualifying Group 2: Shirley, Whitener, Wilmoth, Casebolt, Boles, Frye, Rattliff, Francis, Bagley.
Qualifying Group 3: Lloyd Jr., Norris, McCreadie, Rettig, Briggs, Lanigan, LaPlant, Feger, Millard.
Qualifying Group 4: Ogle Jr., Clem, Sheppard, Heckenast Jr., Frank, Zeigler, McDowell, Smith.
Qualifying Group 5: Franklin, Satterlee, Bronson, ONeal, Yaggy, Lawler, Julien, Hammerle.
Qualifying Group 6: Davenport, Landers, Schatz, Richards, Pettyjohn, Eckert, Wells, Carpenter.
Heat No. 1 (8 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Clanton, Sanders, Weiss, Moyer Jr., Hollenbeck, Bruening, Kurt, Erb Jr., Bloomquist
Heat No. 2 (8 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Casebolt, Whitener, Francis, Boles, Bagley, Rattliff, Wilmoth, Shirley, Frye.
Heat No. 3 (8 laps Top 3 Transfer): McCreadie, Rettig, Lloyd Jr., Briggs, Lanigan, Norris, LaPlant, Feger, Millard.
Heat No. 4 (8 laps Top 3 Transfer): Ogle Jr., McDowell, Heckenast Jr., Frank, Zeigler, Clem, Sheppard, Smith.
Heat No. 5 (8 laps Top 3 Transfer): Satterlee, ONeal, Bronson, Franklin, Yaggy, Julien, Hammerle, Lawler.
Heat No. 6 (8 laps Top 3 Transfer): Richards, Davenport, Schatz, Landers, Eckert, Pettyjohn, Wells, Carpenter.
Last-Chance Showdown No. 1 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Moyer Jr., Rattliff, Bagley, Bruening, Erb Jr., Boles, Frye, Wilmoth, Kurtz, Hollenbeck, Shirley, Bloomquist.
Last-Chance Showdown No. 2 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Lanigan, Briggs, Feger, Norris, Clem, Millard, Frank, Smith, Zeigler, LaPlant, Sheppard.
Last-Chance Showdown No. 3 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Landers, Eckert, Wells, Yaggy, Pettyjohn, Carpenter, Julien, Franklin, Hammerle, Lawler.
The 2016 DIRTcar Nationals is supported by Budweiser, Daytona Harley-Davidson, Hampton Inn-Palm Coast, Integrity Painting with Valspar, Ring Power CAT, and Safety-Kleen. The World of Outlaws are brought to fans by official partners: Bad Boy Buggies (Official Side-by-Side Vehicle), The Kenny Wallace Dirt Racing Experience (Official Racing Experience), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Morton Buildings (Official Building), and VP Racing Fuel (Official Racing Fuel). Additional support is provided by Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company of WoO Late Model), DirtonDirt.com (WoO Late Model Hard Charger Award), and Chevrolet Performance. Contingency sponsors include: ASI, Beyea Headers, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, Fox Shocks, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, KSE Racing Products, Mobil 1, MSD Performance, Penske Racing Shocks, Ohlins Shocks, QA1, QuarterMaster, Sweet Manufacturing, Superflow Dynos and Wrisco Aluminum Manufacturer sponsors include: Capital Race Cars, Impact Racing Products, Intercomp, Motorsports Safety Systems, Racing Electronics, Rocket Chassis, S&S Volvo, and TNT Rescue.