Josh Richards Captures East Bay Winternationals Opener

Josh Richards Captures East Bay Winternationals Opener

(TAMPA, FL - February 8, 2016) - On Monday Night at East Bay Raceway Park, Josh Richards continued his recent hot streak by winning his third Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event this season. Richards started ninth and charged to the front, taking the lead on lap 20 from Jimmy Owens.

 Owens came home second, followed by Jared Landers, Tim Dohm, and Tim McCreadie.

 "What a great start to the season! I would like to thank everybody on the crew. The track was really good tonight. It was back to the typical East Bay racing. It was slimy to start with and it worked in quite nicely. Starting ninth, I knew it was going to be a chore to get to the front. We had some cautions there early on, but once the race settled down it was really competitive."

 "A big thanks to Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Integra, Sunoco, Ace Metal Works, Petroff Towing, Sallack Well Services, Keyser, Hoosier Tires, and Durham Racing Engines." It was the fifth career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win for the 27-year-old driver at East Bay.

 Owens led the first 19 laps and was looking for the first win for his new team, R&W Motorsports. A classic slide job by Richards for the lead with five laps to go ended those hopes. "We had a really good car here tonight. We had a really good car yesterday at Golden Isles before getting in a mishap. We were pretty much stuck to the top tonight, and that's fine. The track was really racy all night."

 Owens, who entered the event with two career wins at the "Clay by the Bay," thought he could hold on for the win tonight. "Those cautions early on certainly hurt our momentum; just as soon as we were starting to pull away, a yellow would come out. I thought I was going to be ok until Josh got by me in turn four. I want to thank E3 Spark Plugs, Red Line OiI, Sunoco; Lance and Barry Wright; and R&W Racing."

 Landers continues his impressive string of top five finishes coming home in third in the East Bay opener. "We are going to get a win soon. This car [Sweet-Bloomquist] is just a joy to drive. Jason, [Durham] my crew chief, and everybody on the team are working hard to keep us up front. It was a good race, we could run side-by-side out there with anybody.   I would also like to thank Crop Production Services, Mark Martin Automotive, ASC Warranty, and everybody else for all of their support."

 Completing the top ten were Brian Shirley, Steve Francis, Ricky Weiss, Eddie Carrier Jr., and Kyle Bronson.

In preliminary action, Jonathan Davenport set the overall Miller Welders Fast Time (Group B) amongst the 35 entrants, with a lap of 14.957 seconds. Tim Dohm set the fastest time in Group A with a time of 15.307 seconds. Tim Dohm, Mike Marlar, Jimmy Owens, and Billy Moyer Jr. won their respective heat races. Brandon Sheppard and Earl Pearson Jr. won their respective B-Mains. John Gardner earned the Miller Welders Fast Time Provisional and Chad Hollenbeck won the DirtOnDirt.com Strawberry Dash.

For the latest breaking news concerning the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, including the latest series standings, 2016 tour schedule, driver information, and more visit the official website at: www.lucasdirt.com.