After Early Burst Forward, Josh Sees His World 100 Effort Go Awry
SHINNSTON, WV – In the blink of an eye on Sunday afternoon at Eldora Speedway, Josh went from feeling great about his World 100 hopes to feeling very bad.The 19-year-old sensation known as ‘Kid Rocket’ surged into the top 20 from the 27th starting spot by lap three of Sunday’s rain-delayed event, but then his day went awry. Josh spun between turns one and two on the third lap and was hit by another car, inflicting damage that left his Mark Richards Racing-owned Seubert Calf Ranches/Ace Metal Works/TSR-Tony Stewart Racing/Petroff Towing/MCB Motorsports Rocket Chassis No. 1 a non-factor for the remainder of the distance.
Josh continued racing but was lapped and finished 19th – one year after being a serious contender for victory in the World 100 (he ultimately finished fourth in the 2006 edition).
“We had a pretty good car,” said Josh, who has qualified for the World 100 three years in a row. “The first three laps we passed like seven or eight cars, and I was feeling pretty good about our chances of getting up through there.
“Then I got in just a little too deep beside another car and got loose, and I just spun out. I got hit in the right front, and that bent the right-front suspension. I came in (to the pits) and they tried to fix it, but after that I just couldn’t steer. I was also running on seven cylinders because we broke a rocker arm, so I was pretty much just riding around.”
Despite the disappointment, Josh felt good about the effort his team put in to make the big $40,000-to-win A-Main, which was postponed to Sunday afternoon after heavy rain washed out Saturday night’s scheduled action.
Turning the ninth-fastest lap (15.945 seconds) in Friday night’s 203-car time-trial session gave Josh the fifth starting spot in Sunday’s third heat race. He got off to a slow start in the 15-lap preliminary, however, and struggled to a seventh-place finish, leaving him with a 10th-place starting spot in a B-Main that transferred only its top-four finishers to the World 100. Josh worked his way forward to grab the last qualifying spot in the first B-Main, putting him in the 100’s final row.
“In the heat we were way too free and put the wrong tires on, and that just put us behind,” said Josh. “We put our normal stuff in for the B-Main and were really good, and then we tried some different stuff for the feature. I think we had a decent shot of running up front, but we’ll never know.”
Josh will return to World of Outlaws Late Model Series competition this weekend, traveling to the Midwest for a three-race swing. The tour will visit Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway on Fri., Sept. 14; I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo., on Sat., Sept. 15; and La Salle (Ill.) Speedway on Sun., Sept. 16.
With nine events remaining on the 2007 WoO LMS schedule, Josh currently sits fourth in the points standings, 136 points behind leader Steve Francis.
-Josh Richards Racing-