Richards Emerges Victorious at Golden Isles Speedway

[rebelracewriter]

Richards Emerges Victorious at Golden Isles Speedway Capturing First Win with Best Performance Motorsports

 

ST MARYS, Ohio (Feb. 13, 2017) – In just his second race with Best Performance Motorsports, Josh Richards cruised to a convincing victory in front of a packed crowd at Golden Isle Speedway during Saturday night’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event. Richards also recorded a solid sixth-place effort on Friday at the Brunswick, Ga., track.

 

It didn’t take long for the 28-year-old driver to click with his new team, starting Friday with qualifying. Richards turned the fourth quickest lap in Group B qualifying to secure a starting spot on the outside-pole of Heat 4. He didn’t waste any time making his way to the front, taking over the top spot on Lap 2. Richards led the remaining eight laps en route to his first heat race win of the season.

 

Richards’ victory in Heat 4 lined him up in second-place for the start of the 50-lap Feature. Starting on the outside of Row 1, Richards slipped back to fifth on the initial start after he was caught in the outside groove, unable to get to the preferred bottom line. Just eight laps later, the caution flag flew, setting the young driver up for another restart on the outside. Again, Richards was stuck on top, slipping back to seventh, before he could make his way to the bottom on Lap 11. With a one-groove race track, Richards was unable to make up any ground until a Lap 37 caution allowed him to advance to sixth. The Best Performance Motorsports driver maintained his position for the remainder of the event, collecting a solid sixth-place finish on a track that saw little-to-no passing.

 

Saturday began much the same for Richards and crew, as he was the third quickest qualifier in Group A. His time trial effort put him on the pole of Heat 3 and Richards led flag-to-flag to collect the heat victory by a five second margin. The win lined the West Virginia native up in the fifth spot for the night’s 60-lap finale.

 

Knowing the track was bottom-dominate Friday, Richards didn’t waste anytime muscling his way to the point position on Lap 3. Once out front, the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet remained in command of the race for the next 57 laps to collect his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win this season by a 3.5 second margin over second-place Scott Bloomquist. The win marks his 13th-career victory in the Series.

Richards sits in second-place in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series point standings heading into Monday’s race at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Florida.

 

Friday Race Results
Qualifying – 4th Heat Race - 1st Feature Start – 2nd Feature Finish – 6th

Saturday Race Results
Qualifying – 3rd Heat Race - 1st Feature Start -5th Feature Finish – 1st

 

JOSH RICHARDS QUOTES: “I don’t know what to say right now. I can't thank everyone enough. Randall (Edwards), Garrett (Paugh), Keith (Edwards), Doyle (Edwards), my wife Andrea and all the guys back at the shop. This is just overwhelming for me. Everyone put their faith in me and it feels good to get a win for them. I also want to thank all the fans for their support. Thanks to Best Performance Motorsports for this opportunity. It’s great to win the second night out in this car. My team worked really hard to give me a great car all weekend. Everything is new on this ride and we are just trying to get acclimated to it all.

 

“I couldn’t be happier or more blessed, what a phenomenal weekend. Now, it’s off to East Bay (Raceway Park) where we’ll try our best to make it to Victory Lane again.”