SHINNSTON, WV – Josh Richards has spent ten days visiting tracks and sights of the Old West during the World of Outlaws’ Late Model Series’ “Wild West Tour” but credits his experiences on paved ovals of the East for his seventh tour victory of 2009.
The West Virginia native has excelled on dirt tracks of various configurations and surfaces but earned a hard-fought victory at the Dakota State Fair Speedway due to tire conservation techniques he has learned over the last year of testing ARCA RE/MAX Series and NASCAR Camping World East cars at multiple speedways. Richards’ conservative finesse in Thursday’s “Great Plains 50″ resulted in victory and regaining the points lead.
Racing on a fast half-mile oval that produced significant tire wear, Richards calmly overtook Steve Francis for the lead on lap 33 and paced the field for the remaining 17 circuits. He survived the race’s final caution flag on lap 39 to defeat Francis by 1.404 seconds while Tim Fuller, Rick Eckert and Clint Smith rounded out the Top-5.
“You had to think about this race,” said Richards, who improved his personal single-season high of six WoOLMS’ wins in 2008. “It was just like running on pavement. You could run around there wide-open if you wanted to pretty much all the way from the bottom to the middle because you’re stuck so hard to the track surface, but you had to conserve a little bit if you wanted to make it to the finish. I knew the (Hoosier) tire we had on could take some abuse but you still had to be careful. So when I was behind Francis, I just started cruising around there, running half-throttle, giving it the gas on the straightaways and coasting through the corners.”
Richards, who started fourth in his Seubert Calf Ranches Rocket factory ride, got the jolt he needed to step on the gas when he saw Brady Smith appear to his outside just before a lap 32 caution. Smith had made a stirring charge from the 13th starting spot to the verge of second place by running slightly higher on the track.
“When I saw Brady run his nose up on me before that caution, I knew the outside was good,” noted Richards. “So on the restart, Francis was going so slow and I just rolled around him on the outside of turn three and figured I could try to maintain a steady pace the rest of way. It was definitely a nerve-racking last 20 laps. I kept seeing guys getting flats, so I tried to keep conserving the best I could.”
Richards’ performance was his 19th career WoOLMS victory and boosted him to second on the tour’s win list. Unable to enjoy the celebration, the 21 year-old driver left the track shortly after the event to trek to Omaha, NE, to fly to Kentucky Speedway for mandatory meetings and practice in preparation for his ARCA RE/MAX Series’ speedway debut on Saturday. Richards will return to WoOLMS competititon on Thursday, July 23rd, when the tour visits Muskingum County Speedway for the start of “Ohio Speedweek”.
The No. 1 Rocket Chassis Factory Car carries support from Seubert Calf Ranches, Ace Metal Works, Tony Stewart Racing, Petroff Towing, MCB Motorsports, Ernie D’s Enterprises and Cornett Racing Engines.