SHINNSTON, W. Va. – Aug. 2, 2011 – A three-race World of Outlaws Late Model Series (WoO LMS) swing through western Pennsylvania treated Josh Richards very well. As a result of the three races Richards gained valuable points on the current leader in championship standings.
The tour’s two-time defending champion sandwiched a victory in the Penn Gold 40 on July 27 at McKean County Raceway in East Smethport, Pa., with a third-place finish in the Laurel Highlands 40 on July 26 at Dog Hollow Speedway in Strongstown, Pa., and a runner-up outing in Sunday night’s 50-lap A-Main at Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa., inching him closer to points leader Rick Eckert in the race for the 2011 World of Outlaws title.
“We had a real good swing,” said Richards, who ended the tripleheader trailing Eckert by 42 points in the WoO LMS standings after 21 events. “I really feel like we had a car capable of winning all three races, but we’re happy with how things went. Everybody on the team did a great job and we were able to gain a little bit of ground on Rick in the points.”
The 23-year-old from Shinnston, W.Va., shined brightest in the first-ever WoO LMS event at McKean County, a one-third-mile oval that drew a standing room only crowd to its historic show. He drove his Mark Richards Racing Enterprises/Seubert Calf Ranches/Kentucky Fuel Corporation Rocket No. 1 forward from the fourth starting spot to pass Vic Coffey for the lead on lap 27 and never looked back.
“Vic was doing a great job,” Richards said in a WoO LMS press release after earning his fourth win of the season on the circuit. “The track was a little dirty and he got caught up in the dust (losing traction) and that opened the door for me.
“When he slid up the track and I got by him, I hated that for him. I know Vic’s really hungry for a win and he’ll get one here before too long.
“At the same time, we’re trying to win,” added Richards, who timed second-fastest and won a heat race at McKean. “We’ve had a fast car all year. I feel like we could have won six or seven races this year, but we’ve just had some tough breaks. We haven’t stopped working hard though, and it shows with a night like this.”
Richards was a player in the Dog Hollow and Eriez races as well. In the tour’s first-ever stop at Dog Hollow, he earned his first fast-time honor of 2011 and a heat race win but drew the eighth starting spot for the 40-lap A-Main and never got a caution flag to tighten the field once he reached third place. At Eriez, Richards was eighth-fastest in time trials and once again won a heat race; he reached second place from the fifth starting spot by lap 23 and had a late-race restart opportunity to challenge Darrell Lanigan but with a fouled spark-plug wire hampering his ability to negotiate the turns, he was unable to pull off a winning pass and settled for second place.
Richards drove the Ernie Davies-owned No. 25 Rocket dirt Late Model in Saturday evening’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway (he finished seventh after failing to “tighten up” the machine’s setup for the 50-lap feature).
The WoO LMS returns to action Wednesday for three events in the Upper Midwest. The swing begins with a 50-lap race on Aug. 3, at Shawano (Wis.) Speedway before heading to Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis., for the 24th annual USA Nationals presented by U.S. Steel, including the Cornbelt Clash Series event on Aug. 4 and the USA Nationals on Aug. 5-6. The tour then makes its way to Independence (Iowa) Motor Speedway on Mon., Aug. 8 for a rain-postponed 50-lapper.
For more information on Josh Richards, visit www.joshrichards.com. Follow on Twitter @Josh_Richards1.
