Josh Richards Looking Forward to the World 100
SHINNSTON, WV – Josh Richards put his full focus on this weekend’s World 100 at Eldora Speedway as soon as the final checkered flag flew on his holiday weekend of World of Outlaws Late Model Series racing in Pennsylvania.
It was the best thing for his psyche after he experienced three frustrating outings in the Keystone State to unofficially close the summer of 2008.
“I always look forward to going to Eldora,” said the 20-year-old sensation from Shinnston, W.Va., who won a Sunoco American Late Model Series event earlier this season at Eldora. “I just hope this (past) weekend doesn’t drag me down going into the World. I’m always confident going into a race at Eldora, but I just hate being in a slump going there.”
Josh’s level of frustration hits its zenith on Sunday night (Aug. 31) when he labored to a 18th-place finish (one lap down) in the 50-lap finale of the Oil Region Labor Day Classic Weekend at Tri-City Speedway in Franklin, Pa. He started the program off in fine fashion by recording his fourth fast-time honor of the 2008 WoO LMS campaign, but he faded to a fourth-place finish in his heat and went backward from the 13th starting spot in the A-Main.
“It wasn’t a very good night – I don’t know what else to say,” the disappointed young driver said of his weekend-ending performance. “We were just so bad, I don’t even know what the problem was. We set fast time and were feeling pretty good, but then we fell back in our heat race and everything went downhill.”
Josh ran better on Saturday night (Aug. 30) at Tri-City, finishing sixth in the 50-lap feature. But he started the race from the pole position after winning a qualifying heat, so he was certainly expecting more than a placing outside the top five.
“I was just too free getting into the corners (on Saturday night ),” Josh said of his Mark Richards Racing-owned Seubert Calf Ranches/Ace Metal Works/TSR-Tony Stewart Racing/Petroff Towing/MCB Motorsports/Ernie’s Auto & Hauling Rocket Chassis No. 1. “I couldn’t enter the corners like I needed to. I never went in the same way twice.”
Josh also struggled in Friday night’s opening event of the weekend at Bedford (Pa.) Speedway. Noting that the motor in his car was down slightly on power because it was ready for a rebuild, Josh finished a quiet eighth in the 50-lap A-Main after taking the green flag from the 10th starting spot.
Following the weekend’s action, Josh sits fourth in the WoO LMS points standings, 214 points behind leader Darrell Lanigan.
The standout racer known as ‘Kid Rocket’ will look to break out of his doldrums this weekend in the World 100, dirt Late Model racing’s most prestigious event. The $41,000-to-win event will feature time trials on Friday night (Sept. 5) and heats, B-Mains and the 100-lap finale on Saturday night (Se pt. 6).
Josh is looking to make the tough World 100 starting field for the third straight year. He contended for victory in the 2006 event before settling for a fourth-place finish, and last year he placed 19th.
Eldora’s fans will have a chance to hear Josh’s thoughts on the World 100 when he participates in the Sunoco Race Fuels Pre-Race Show, which runs from 2-5 p.m. on Friday in front of the pond outside turn four of the facility. He’s one of the Team Sunoco drivers who will be interviewed during the show by host Dustin Jarrett.
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