SHINNSTON, W. Va. (September 4, 2013) – Josh Richards pocketed over $10,000 in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series RaceFest 50 at West Virginia Motor Speedway in Mineral Wells over the Labor Day weekend, extending his WoO LMS points lead even further as he closes in on a third career title. In addition to the win, he earned three more top-five finishes over the course of the holiday weekend.

After tuning up for WVMS’s first WoO LMS show since 2010 with a strong second-place finish in last Thursday night’s 30-lap ADRA Super Late Model feature, Richards proved to be the class of the field on Friday night. He set fast time (his series-leading sixth such honor of 2013), won a heat race and dominated the 50-lap A-Main after passing for the lead amid lapped traffic on lap 14.

The victory was Richards’s eighth of 2013 and the 47th of his career on the WoO LMS. It was also his second victory this season in his home state.

“It’s awesome to win again in West Virginia, especially at a track I’ve been coming to since I was a kid,” said Richards, whose first triumph in his home state came on May 25 in a WoO LMS event at Tyler County Speedway in Middlebourne. “It feels good that we’ve been able to run good on the smaller track every time we’ve (entered a race) this year.”

Regaining his checkered-flag touch on the WoO LMS also put a smile on Richards’s face at WVMS.

“It feels like it’s been forever since we’ve been in victory lane,” said Richards, whose eighth WoO LMS win of 2013 was his first since July 11 at Red River Co-op Speedway in Winnipeg, Manitoba. “We’ve had some really good runs (over the past month-and-a-half), but we’ve just been lacking a little bit and we had a few races where we had stuff just not go our way. It definitely went our way (on Friday).”

After a six-hour overnight haul from WVMS to central Pennsylvania, Richards was steady during his weekend visit to Selinsgrove Speedway. He finished fourth in both ends of the half-mile oval’s inaugural WoO LMS doubleheader – the 40-lap Showdown On Sand Hill on Saturday night and the 50-lap National Open on Sunday evening – to give him a series-leading 28 top-five finishes in 41 A-Mains this season.

The trio of WoO LMS top-five finishes pushed Richards’s points lead to 96 points over his nearest competitor with just seven events remaining on the tour’s 2013 schedule. If he averages a seventh-place finish over the final seven races, he cannot be overtaken for the championship.

Richards and his Valvoline-sponsored Mark Richards Racing Enterprises Rocket Chassis team capped their weekend on Labor Day Monday with a stop at Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex for the National Dirt Racing League’s Let’s Get Dirty 75. Shooting for his second $20,000 NDRL victory in three starts this season on the fledgling mini-series, he rallied from a lap-58 pit stop for a flat tire to finish third.

Richards will be back in action this weekend at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, where he will gun for his first career victory in dirt Late Model racing’s most prestigious event, the $46,000-to-win World 100. The weekend includes twin 25-lap preliminary features paying $5,000-to-win each on Thursday, September 5, and Friday, September 6 (the field is split after time trials on Thursday and Friday) and the traditional World 100 program on Saturday, September 7.

For more information on Josh Richards, visit www.joshrichards.com and follow him on Twitter at @Josh_Richards1 and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/JoshRichardsRacing.

Josh Richards’ No. 1 team carries support from Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Ernie D’s, Ace Welding, Petroff Towing, Sallack Well Service, Tony Stewart Racing, Rocket Chassis, Roush Yates Engines, Hoosier Racing Tires, Sunoco Racing Fuels, Keyser Manufacturing, Integra Shocks, Sweet Manufacturing, Slavic Custom Tee Shirts And Graphics, Brown and Miller, Brazwell Carburetors, Bazell Racing Fuels, ButlerBuilt Seat, Beyea Headers, Performance Rod and Custom, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Frankland Rear Ends, Simpson Safety Equipment, J E Pistons, Strange Oval, Wrisco Aluminum, R2C Filters, Aurora Rod Ends, Snap On Tools, Scott Wires, Trick Carbon Fiber Drive Shafts, Five Star Bodies, Jones Racing Products, Howe Racing, Performance Bodies, Turbo Start Batteries, Brinn Transmissions, Eagle One, Car Brite, ATL Fuel Cells, Dohm’s Cycles, Weld Wheels, Barnes Oil Systems, Tel-Tac, MSD Ignitions.

Josh Richards’ No. 1 team carries support from Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Ernie D’s, Ace Welding, Petroff Towing, Sallack Well Service, Tony Stewart Racing, Rocket Chassis, Roush Yates Engines, Hoosier Racing Tires, Sunoco Racing Fuels, Keyser Manufacturing, Integra Shocks, Sweet Manufacturing, Slavic Custom Tee Shirts And Graphics, Brown and Miller, Brazwell Carburetors, Bazell Racing Fuels, ButlerBuilt Seat, Beyea Headers, Performance Rod and Custom, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Frankland Rear Ends, Simpson Safety Equipment, J E Pistons, Strange Oval, Wrisco Aluminum, R2C Filters, Aurora Rod Ends, Snap On Tools, Scott Wires, Trick Carbon Fiber Drive Shafts, Five Star Bodies, Jones Racing Products, Howe Racing, Performance Bodies, Turbo Start Batteries, Brinn Transmissions, Eagle One, Car Brite, ATL Fuel Cells, Dohm’s Cycles, Weld Wheels, Barnes Oil Systems, Tel-Tac, MSD Ignitions.

Honey Rentz Carrigan
Rising Star Management Group
hcarrigan@risingstarmg.com
(704) 658-7650