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Kevin Kovac
CONCORD, N.C. (February 4) - Josh Richards's days as a "teenage sensation" on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series are numbered.
On March 22, he hits the big 2-O.
But while turning 20 doesn't mean 'Kid Rocket' is no longer a kid, it does reflect that he's been around the WoO LMS for awhile now - and should be primed and ready to be a serious contender for the tour's 2008 points championship.
When Richards enters the season-opening WoO LMS events on Feb. 14 and 16 during the 37th annual Alltel DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., he'll begin his fourth consecutive year as a fulltime driver on the tour. That amount of service times qualifies him for WoO LMS veteran status even though he still can't legally enter a bar, which, not surprisingly, provides Richards the confidence that he finally has enough laps under his belt to challenge his well-seasoned competition.
A product of Shinnston, W.Va., who grew up watching some of the sport's top stars drive his father Mark's Rocket Chassis house car, Richards is acutely aware that no one becomes a national dirt Late Model champion overnight.
"We're slowly getting better," said Richards, who was 16 when he ran his first WoO LMS events in 2004 and 17 when he won the 2005 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Award. "I feel like we're not too far off from being really good, but it just takes time.
"Everybody on the series who's good, they've been racing for so many years and they're just awesome at it. For a while there I thought they were so good just because they had better cars, but I've realized that experience is the biggest factor."
Richards showed last season that he has learned his lessons well since becoming his father's primary house car driver in 2005. He enjoyed a career year on the WoO LMS, winning four times - he had captured a single A-Main in both 2005 and '06 - and finishing a personal-best sixth in the points standings.
No one led more A-Main laps in WoO LMS competition during the 2007 campaign than Richards, who registered all four of his triumphs (at Volusia Speedway Park, Maryland's Hagerstown Speedway, Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa., and Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway) in flag-to-flag dominations. He also was the only driver among the top 10 of the final points standings who didn't use a provisional starting spot all season, demonstrating his qualifying consistency.
But Richards knows that with a few breaks, his '07 season could have been spectacular, not merely great. On at least six occasions last year, Richards was either leading or challenging for the top spot when he was done in by mechanical trouble or other bid-ending misfortune.
Correct the DNFs that often resulted from his bad luck and show improvement at the bullrings that have been his Achilles Heel, and Richards can undoubtedly become the youngest champion in the history of the WoO LMS.
Richards spent the off-season working overtime in his team's shop to put himself in position for a title run in '08. He enters the season with more equipment ready to go (including three new Rocket cars and a fresh Cornett engine program) than he did at the same time a year ago, and he placed a special emphasis on taking his understanding of the car's inner-workings and setups to another level.
"We've been trying to look at things that we need to do better this year," said Richards, whose familiar blue-and-yellow No. 1 machines will once again carry sponsorship from Seubert Calf Ranches, ACE Metal Works, MCB Motorsports, Petroff Towing and Tony Stewart Racing. "And I think we've found a few things with our setups, especially for the smaller tracks where we struggled a little bit."
One of two current fulltime '08 WoO LMS travelers under the age of 30 (Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., is the other), Richards has developed into one of the tour's most popular drivers. He's matured into that role, going from a shy high-school student who often responded to questions with one-word answers to a self-assured, laid-back young man who can conduct polished interviews over the track p.a. system.
It's a good bet that Richards will get plenty more practice doing Victory Lane interviews after WoO LMS events in 2008.
And with a little luck, Richards just might be the driver belting out a speech as the '08 WoO LMS champion.
"It's going to be tough (to win the title) with all the competition there is," said Richards, considering his prospects. "But I think we can do it. That's what we're shooting for."
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
Tickets for the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals are available on-line at www.volusiaspeedwaypark.com.
Fans unable to attend the spectacular week at Volusia can still catch all the action on the DIRTVision Cybercast. For just $29.99 fans can purchase the 'Alltel DIRTcar Nationals Racepass' and watch live streaming video of all 12 nights of racing action from Feb. 5-16. Log on to www.dirtvision.com for more information.
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