If only Josh Richards could call a do-over on Saturday night’s fourth annual Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals.
The 19-year-old sensation from Shinnston, W.Va., finished 13th in the 100-lap A-Main that closed the three-day Nationals on Saturday night at the famed Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway – disappointing, sure, but still a great educational experience for the driver known as ‘Kid Rocket. ’
“I wish we could run that race again, ” said Josh. “Even though we struggled, we learned a lot. I know we went too far in the wrong direction with our setup, and if we could run the race again we wouldn’t make the same mistake. ”
Josh’s visit to Knoxville started off on a high note during Thursday night’s first preliminary program. His lap of 17.811 seconds around the big half-mile oval was fastest of the 59-car field in time trials. A fourth-place finish in his heat earned him the pole position for the 25-lap feature, but an incorrect setup decision left him with a fifth-place finish in the event won by Iowa’s Brian Birkhofer.
“We tried to run the same setup we did back in the World of Outlaws race (at Knoxville) earlier this year, ” Josh said of his Thursday-night A-Main effort. “But the track blew off and got slick. It was way too slick for the setup we used. ”
The second preliminary show, on Friday night, was a write-off for Josh. He timed well again (second-fastest), but a blown right-rear tire and subsequent hit from another car during his heat tore up the bodywork of his Mark Richards Racing-owned Seubert Calf Ranches/Ace Metal Works/TSR-Tony Stewart Racing/Petroff Towing/MCB Motorsports Rocket Chassis No. 1. Josh and his crew spent the remainder of the night repairing their machine rather than racing.
Josh’s Thursday-night points total was good enough to give him the fourth starting spot in Saturday night’s 100-lap Knoxville Late Model Nationals A-Main. But after topping the speed charts in practice, he was never a factor in the $35,000-to-win feature that was captured by Wisconsin’s Brady Smith.
“The car felt great in hot laps, ” said Josh. “But we tried to go a little bit further with the setup for the feature, and it didn’t work out.
“I really wish we had a better car, because the track was really nice. It was slick, and you could race from top-to-bottom. It was the kind of racetrack everybody likes racing on. ”
| 
|