Richards wins Thursday prelim to 5th Annual Late Model Knoxville Nationals
Friday, September 26, 2008
Richards wins Thursday prelim to 5th Annual Late Model Knoxville Nationals
By Stacy Ervin
Josh Richards of Shinnston, West Virginia, won the opening-night preliminary feature on Thursday, September 25, at the 5th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals presented by Super Clean. “Kid Rocket” claimed $7,000 for the victory in the 25-lap main, which actually wrapped up just after 1 a.m. on Friday.
Richards started sixth and took the lead with a late-race slide job. When the race went green, outside front-row starter Billy Moyer jumped out to the lead over polesitter Earl Pearson Jr. Moyer set a fast pace, coming to lapped traffic at the fifth circuit. That allowed Darrell Lanigan, who started fourth, to close.
Lanigan edged out to the lead at the flagstand on the seventh circuit and began to run away. Meanwhile, Richards gave chase to Moyer, whose machine began smoking on the ninth lap. Moyer’s mount went up in a big puff of smoke on the 10th lap to bring out the race’s first yellow flag.
After that, Lanigan continued to lead with Richards hot on his bumper. Just when Richards looked to be making his move, the yellow flag returned when Boone McLaughlin spun in front of the leaders in turn four on the 17th lap.
When the race went green again, Lanigan led another lap before Richards put on a slide job in turn four and took the point. From there, it was all Richards.
The night started off with Lanigan suffering mechanical issues in hot laps and pulling out a second car before qualifying. Time trials saw a new track record sealed by Pearson at 16.631. In all, 20 of the 62 cars in competition on this night broke the track record set in 2006 and five cars were in the 16-second bracket.
Jimmy Mars set another track record in the first heat for 12 laps in this division. Other heat races were won by Justin Fegers, Terry Casey, Jason Utter and Scott Bloomquist.
There were several incidents in those heat races and a total of three late models got upside down during the course of those races. In the first heat, Curt Schroeder and Matt Furman got together at the start and Schroeder went hard into the first-turn fence. In the second heat, Kerry Hansen flipped on the frontstretch. In the fifth heat, Jerry Bagby Jr. and Chris Smyser got together at the start and Donnie Moran found himself collected and upside down.
Mechanical troubles also plagued several drivers in the heat races. In the second heat, former event winner Brian Birkhofer led before his machine went up in smoke and he did not return to compete on this night. In the third heat, Eric Jacobsen was leading when his machine went up in smoke and a ball of flame on the white flag lap.
Brian Harris won the C-Main and set a new track record for 10 laps in that event. Shannon Babb won the B-Main.
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