Wins 15th Feature of the Season, Three Shy of Single-Season Record
Story By: BRENDAN CAPERIA / WOO LATE MODEL SERIES MEDIA
Photos By: RACERSGUIDE.COM PHOTO STAFF
MECHANICSVILLE, Md. – August 13. 2016 – Josh Richards’ victory Friday night at Potomac Speedway was part of a greater whole. With the win, Richards stands alone up-top the World of Outlaws Craftsman® Late Model Series all-time feature wins list.
By the numbers, Richards earned his 73rd win against a stout collection of drivers at the 3/8-mile oval. The victory was his third consecutive win, and it marked his 15th win of the season. While Richards reclaimed the all-time wins title from Darrell Lanigan, he also has his single season wins record in his cross-hairs. Lanigan made 17 trips to victory lane in 2014.
“This one is definitely special,” said Richards, also taking home the $10,000 purse. “We could definitely lose [the record] again, but right now to be up on top is really neat. We couldn’t be more thankful for the fans giving out their support and giving us a place to race. I couldn’t ask for more.”
At the end of the 2014 season, Lanigan had 70 career A-Main victories in the series, leading the tour’s all-time wins list over Richards; Lanigan stepped away from the series in 2015. Richards, who did not compete in the series in 2012 and 2014, reentered the series last season and began to chisel away at Lanigan’s record. After a nine-win season in 2015, Richards had 15 wins to go to before reclaiming a record that was once his.
The tie-breaker came at Potomac Speedway – a track he won at in 2015. Richards’ “Rocket Man” nickname suited him well in his campaign. Richards not only recorded his seventh fast time of the season, but also his 22nd heat win in 2016. He started fourth in the 50-lap feature.
In a caution-ridden feature, Richards endured a series of battles. While York Haven, Pa. native Jason Covert made his way to the front by lap 16, Richards was constantly contested by fellow series drivers within the top five. One of his greater tasks was fending-off a strong push from defending champion Shane Clanton. Clanton passed Richards early in the race for fourth in his No. 25 Weldbank Energy/ Coopers Meat Packers Capital racecar, then proceeded to make his way to Covert; Richards rode Clanton’s rear-bumper, biding time.
Clanton managed to overtake Covert at the halfway mark of the race, and Richards swept under Covert a few laps later. The duo revisited their battle, a regular occurrence throughout the season. By lap 26, Clanton and Richards barreled down the front-stretch with first place up for grabs. Richards got the best of Clanton this time and opened-up a 1.75-second gap between them. He never looked back. On the eighth and final caution on four laps later, Covert’s strong restart with his No. 72c Mann Automotive/ Phiv-Tech Solutions Rocket car boosted him into second position. Clanton settled for third.
“You can’t give Shane or Josh an inch because they’re just too good,” said Covert, who is a two-time track champion. “I’m nowhere near their caliber so you don’t want to give them that advantage. It took a while for me to get back passed Shane. Second is no good. We’re here to win the race. I don’t care if you’re a driver or a mechanic, you want to win.”
When Richards idled to the front-stretch to celebrate his victory, he could not help but to put his career in perspective. From his first series win in 2005 to his most recent win, he said victory lane has never lost its luster. Richards has won nearly 20 percent of his races in the series.
“It’s really unreal,” Richards said. “I wanted the first one so bad. It was relief to finally get that first win, and to go from there to where we’re at now, it’s just unreal. [Racing] is all I’ve ever wanted to do, and to be championship caliber and compete for the win… it’s all I could ever ask for.”
Dirt racing has been the family mainstay for the Richards family. Josh’s father Mark Richards, a late model manufacturing guru, founded Rocket Chassis in 1991. Being born into the sport, Josh aspired to race at a young age. In different capacities, the two have impacted the sport greatly. But even in their lists of accolades, Josh’s record-breaking win was something to smile about.
“[The record] means a lot,” Mark said. “[Josh] had the record when he took the first year off, then it got away from us a little bit. Darrell had it then took this year off. It gave us a chance to get caught back up. This is what he’s worked for his whole life.”
Though Josh has the possibility to break another one of Lanigan’s records this season, his No. 1 Valvoline/ Seubert Calf Ranches team does not put an emphasis on it. Rather – and an apparent father-son similarity – Josh seeks to keep his tall-tale season away from the history books for now. When the team congregated around the car in the pits, people asked how they were going to celebrate the newest achievement. It was simply put:
“Get ready and go to the next one,” Mark said.
Both Josh and Mark take every race as it comes, with the ultimate goal of winning; the records come later. Richards will head to Winchester Speedway (Va.) next, a track he has not won at since 2011. But what makes his case stronger is the fact that he and his team have begun to gel.
“[From 2014], he just had to get back used to racing at the level we were, and we had some new guys on the team,” Mark said. “It was just a matter of everything coming together. Even last year we felt like things were coming together.”
Now, Josh is in position to potentially add his fourth series championship to his list of achievements.
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World of Outlaws Craftsman® Late Model Series Statistical Report; August 12, 2016; Potomac Speedway; Mechanicsville, Md.
A-Main (50-laps):1. 1- Josh Richards [4] [$10,850]; 2. 72c- Jason Covert [3] [$5,600]; 3. 25- Shane Clanton [6] [$3,800]; 4. 76- Brandon Overton [2] [$3,250]; 5. 7- Rick Eckert [10] [$2,850]; 6. 1*- Chub Frank [1] [$2,400]; 7. C9- Steve Casebolt [13] [$1,950]; 8. 0- Dale Hollidge [12] [$1,300]; 9. 3s- Brian Shirley [17] [$1,750]; 10. 91- Tyler Erb [21] [$1,450]; 11. 18- Eric Wells [8] [$1,600]; 12. 82- Andy Fries [22] [$1,050]; 13. 21JR- Billy Moyer Jr. [23] [$1,500]; 14. 2c- Joey Coulter [14] [$950]; 15. 14m- Morgan Bagley [19] [$1,350]; 16. 92- Nick Davis [15] [$800]; 17. 38s- Kenny Pettyjohn [9] [$770]; 18. 99jr- Frank Heckenast Jr. [24] [$1,300]; 19. 1V- Jeremy Miller [20] [$730]; 20. 4- Amanda Whaley [5] [$700]; 21. 44L- Stevie Long [16] [$700]; 22.94- Jason Miller [18] [$700]; 23. 2- Dan Stone [7] [$700]; 24. 41- Jamie Lathroum [11] [$725]
Last-Chance Showdown Group No. 1 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. 3s- Brian Shirley; 2. 14m- Morgan Bagley; 3. 91- Tyler Erb; 4. 22- Russell Erwin; 5. 99jr- Frank Heckenast Jr.; 6. 99- Kyle Hardy; 7. 99B- Boom Briggs; 8. 24- Kenny Moreland; 9. 88- Ricky Elliot; 10. 8Ball- Mark Pettyjohn (DNS); 11. 12- Charles Schaffer (DNS); 12. 7R- Ross Robinson (DNS)
Last-Chance Showdown Group No. 2 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. 94- Jason Miller; 2. 1V- Jeremy Miller; 3. 82- Andy Fries; 4. 46- Tyler Emory; 5. 90- Larry Ramsey; 6. 44- Deane Guy; 7. 21JR- Billy Moyer Jr.; 8. 93- Donald Bradsher; 9. 22R- Reese Masiello (DNS); 10. 19- Jonathan DeHaven (DNS); 11. 89- Dustin Mitchell (DNS)
Qualifying Group No. 1: 1. 18- Eric Wells, 14.637; 2. 4- Amanda Whaley, 14.641 3. 2- Dan Stone, 14.795; 4. 2c- Joey Coulter, 14.851; 5. 38s- Kenny Pettyjohn, 14.857; 6. 7- Rick Eckert, 14.863; 7. C9- Steve Casebolt, 14.953; 8. 76- Brandon Overton, 14.964; 9. 14m- Morgan Bagley, 14.978; 10. 91- Tyler Erb, 15. 073; 11. 3s- Brian Shirley, 15.095; 12. 22- Russell Erwin, 15.120 ;13. 99B- Boom Briggs, 15.148; 14. 8Ball- Mark Pettyjohn, 15.150; 15. 88- Ricky Elliot, 15.154; 16. 24- Kenny Moreland, 15.215; 17. 99jr- Frank Heckenast Jr., 15.354; 18. 7R- Ross Robinson, 15.564; 19. 99- Kyle Hardy, 15.676; 20. 12- Charles Schaffer, 16.571
Qualifying Group No. 2: 1. 1- Josh Richards, 14.595; 2. 72c- Jason Covert, 14.673; 3. 25- Shane Clanton, 14.748; 4. 0- Dale Hollidge, 14.874; 5. 92- Nick Davis, 15.088; 6. 1*- Chub Frank, 15.112; 7. 41- Jamie Lathroum, 15.132; 8. 21JR- Billy Moyer Jr., 15.243; 9. 22R- Reese Masiello, 15.359; 10. 46- Tyler Emory, 15.496; 11. 19- Jonathan DeHaven, 15.522; 12. 44L- Stevie Long, 15.552; 13. 94- Jason Miller, 15.640; 14.1V- Jeremy Miller, 15.654; 15. 93- Donald Bradsher, 15.781; 16. 44- Deane Guy, 15.893; 17. 90- Larry Ramsey, 15.967; 18. 82- Andy Fries, 16.054; 19. 89- Dustin Mitchell (DNF)
Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): 1. 18- Eric Wells; 2. 2- Dan Stone; 3. 38s- Kenny Pettyjohn; 4. C9- Steve Casebolt; 5. 3s- Brian Shirley; 6. 14m- Morgan Bagley; 7. 99B- Boom Briggs; 8. 99jr- Frank Heckenast Jr.; 9. 88- Ricky Elliot; 10. 99- Kyle Hardy
Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): 1. 76- Brandon Overton; 2. 4- Amanda Whaley; 3. 7- Rick Eckert; 4. 2c- Joey Coulter; 5. 22- Russell Erwin; 6. 8Ball- Mark Pettyjohn; 7. 24- Kenny Moreland; 8. 12- Charles Schaffer; 9. 91- Tyler Erb; 10. 7R- Ross Robinson
Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): 1. 1- Josh Richards; 2. 25- Shane Clanton; 3. 41- Jamie Lathroum; 4. 92- Nick Davis; 5. 93- Donald Bradsher; 6. 94- Jason Miller; 7. 90- Larry Ramsey; 8. 22R- Reese Masiello; 9. 19- Jonathan Davenport
Heat No. 4 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): 1. 72c- Jason Covert; 2. 1*- Chub Frank; 3. 0- Dale Hollidge; 4. 44L- Stevie Long; 5. 1V- Jeremy Miller; 6. 21JR- Billy Moyer Jr.; 7. 82- Andy Fries; 8. 46- Tyler Emory; 9. 44- Deane Guy
World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series Contingency Award Winners (awards presented to noted finisher/qualifier or next highest displaying decal):
Comp Cams – $50 Product certificate: Josh Richards
MSD – $50 Cash: Josh Richards
QuarterMaster – $100 Product certificate: Jason Covert
Wrisco Aluminum – 3 Sheets of aluminum: Josh Richards
Penske Shocks – TBD Product certificate: Brandon Overton
JE Pistons – $50 Cash: Rick Eckert
VP Racing Fuels – $50 Cash: Brian Shirley
Edelbrock – $50 Cash: Tyler Erb
Comp Cams – $50 Cash: Tyler Erb
Morton Buildings – $50 Cash: Eric Wells
Cometic Gasket – $50 Cash: Andy Fries
JRI Shocks – $50 Cash: Billy Moyer Jr.
SuperFlow – $50 Cash: Joey Coulter
QuarterMaster – $25 Product certificate: Nick Davis
JE Pistons – Set of rings: Nick Davis
QuarterMaster – $50 Product certificate: Jason Covert
Arizona Sport Shirts – $100 Product certificate: Jamie Lathroum
JE Pistons – Set of rings: Josh Richards
MSD – $25 Cash: Jamie Lathroum
QA1 – $50 Cash: Brandon Overton
Bonus Bucks – $500 Cash: Jason Covert
Rookie Bonus – $250 Cash: Tyler Erb
Craftsman Bonus – $100 Cash: Jason Covert
Craftsman Bonus – $200 Cash: Josh Richards
Craftsman Bonus – $200 Cash: Shane Clanton
Craftsman Bonus – $200 Cash: Brandon Overton
Craftsman Bonus – $200 Cash: Rick Eckert
Craftsman Bonus – $200 Cash: Chub Frank
2016 World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series Point Standings as of August 12 – 31 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/residence/points/deficit to leader):
Pos. Car # Driver Residence Points Trail By
1 1 Josh Richards Shinnston, WV 4416 0
2 25 Shane Clanton Zebulon, GA 4168 248
3 7 Rick Eckert York, PA 4056 360
4 76 Brandon Overton Evans, GA 3918 498
5 3S Brian Shirley Chatham, IL 3910 506
6 C9 Steve Casebolt Richmond, IN 3796 620
7 1* Chub Frank Bear Lake, PA 3794 622
8 21JR Billy Moyer Jr. Batesville, AR 3790 626
9 99JR Frank Heckenast Jr. Frankfort, IL 3774 642
10 18 Eric Wells Hazard, KY 3712 704
11 14M Morgan Bagley Gladewater, TX 3698 718
12 91 Tyler Erb New Waverly, TX 3352 1064
13 18C Chase Junghans Manhattan, KS 3348 1068
14 2C Joey Coulter Union Grove, NC 3188 1228
15 99B Boom Briggs Bear Lake, PA 2942 1474
16 77 Jordan Yaggy Rochester, MN 1586 2830
17 11 Austin Smith Cedartown, GA 1368 3048
18 6 Jonathan Davenport Blairsville, GA 1210 3206
19 39 Tim McCreadie Avon, NY 1178 3238
20 25Z Mason Zeigler Chalk Hill, PA 1156 3260
The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Bad Boy Off Road (Official Side-by-Side Vehicle), Craftsman (Official Tool), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Morton Buildings (Official Building), Sears (Official Home Store), The Kenny Wallace Dirt Racing Experience (Official Racing Experience, VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel) and DirtonDirt.com (Hard Charger Award); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, MSD, Penske Shocks, QA1, QuarterMaster, Superflow Dynos and Wrisco Aluminum; along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Capital Race Cars, Integra Shocks, Impact Racing Products, Intercomp, Racing Electronics, Rocket Chassis and TNT Rescue.
