Richards Capitalizes on Hubbard's Misfortune, Scores Fulton Bank 50 Victory at Delaware International Speedway

Richards Capitalizes On Hubbard’s Misfortune, Scores Fulton Bank 50 Victory At Delaware International Speedway

Three-Time World of Outlaws Late Model Series Champion Scores $10,725 Payday in First Round of National Tour's Mid-Atlantic Tripleheader Weekend

(DELMAR, DE - August 13, 2015) - Josh Richards took advantage of Austin Hubbard's misfortune to claim his fifth World of Outlaws Late Model Series victory of the season in Thursday's Fulton Bank 50, earning a $10,725 payday at Delaware International Speedway.

Richards, the three-time WoO LMS champion from Shinnston, W.Va., pressured Hubbard of Seaford, Del., through the second half of the 50-lap race before taking command when Hubbard's overheating engine expired on lap 45. Richards led the final six laps and crossed the finish line with an advantage of 7.756 seconds in scoring his second-career victory at Delaware's half-mile oval.

"This year's been up and down, so we'll definitely take it," said Richards, whose victory came in the opening round of a WoO LMS Mid-Atlantic three-race weekend. "I feel bad for Austin. He did a great job out there. I saw him smoking a few laps before, so I was trying to get in a spot in case he broke something. I figured it was a matter of time, but I feel like we had the best car tonight."

The fourth-starting Richards drove his Valvoline-sponsored Rocket Chassis house car to the 54th WoO LMS victory of his career. He was followed at the finish by polesitter Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., who led early in the race in his Longhorn Chassis before being overtaken by both Hubbard and Richards.

Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., advanced from the eighth starting spot in his Sweeteners Plus Rocket to finish third while second-starting Boom Briggs of Bear Lake, Pa., took fourth in his Longhorn. WoO LMS points leader Shane Clanton of Zebulon, Ga., rallied from the 14th starting spot to round out the top five in his Capital Race Cars house car.

Richards ran third through the race's early laps, while Frank and Hubbard mixed it up at the front. The two leaders swapped the top spot on laps two and three before Hubbard finally pulled ahead of Frank on lap eight. Richards followed suit on a lap-13 restart.

Hubbard enjoyed a comfortable lead until the race's halfway point when traffic became a factor and Richards began to apply pressure. The race's final caution waved on lap-30, giving the two leaders clear track for a final 20-lap green green-flag run. Hubbard initially edged away from Richards, but Richards closed the gap by lap 37 and made multiple bids for the lead before Hubbard's MasterSbilt by Huey machine slowed on lap 45.

"We'll take it," said Richards, whose five WoO LMS victories this season ranks second only to Clanton's nine wins. "The guys have worked really, really hard. I feel like we should have more wins than we do."

Hubbard, a former WoO LMS regular who now follows a more regional schedule, was looking to turn around his plagued 2015 season with what would've been the fourth WoO LMS victory of his career. But the 2010 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year was denied a turnaround triumph when his ailing engine let go just over five laps from the finish.

"We were pretty much a ticking time bomb," said Hubbard, whose most recent WoO LMS victory came at Potomac Speedway in Budds Creek, Md., during last year's Mid Atlantic weekend. "As long as it was going, I was going. It finally gave up and that was the end of it.

"It takes a full picture to win races like this, and apparently this year we don't have the full picture together."

The race's first caution appeared on the opening lap when a tangle back in the pack left Mark Pettyjohn of Milton, Del., spun on the back straightaway. The second yellow flag waved on lap three when Staci Warrington, also of Milton, slowed. Nick Davis of Millsboro, Del., slowed for a lap-13 caution, and Donald Lingo Jr. of Millsboro, slowed on lap 29. The final caution appeared a lap later after Amanda Whaley, another Millsboro driver, spun in turn four.

Results of World of Outlaws Late Model Series Fulton Bank 50 at Delaware International Speedway (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):

1. (4) Josh Richards/50 $10,725

2. (1) Chub Frank/50 $5,550

3. (8) Tim McCreadie/50 $3,650

4. (2) Boom Briggs/50 $3,050

5. (14) Shane Clanton/50 $2,550

6. (12) Kenny Pettyjohn/50 $2,250

7. (7) Ricky Elliott/50 $1,400

8. (5) Rick Eckert/50 $1,950

9. (9) Frank Heckenast Jr./50 $1,750

10. (16) Eric Wells/50 $1,700

11. (22) Pancho Lawler/49 $1,050

12. (17) Amanda Whaley/49 $1,000

13. (18) Chase Junghans/49 $1,500

14. (3) Austin Hubbard/44 $900

15. (15) Brandon Overton/29 $1,100

16. (13) Morgan Bagley/29 $1,350

17. (11) Donald Lingo Jr./28 $770

18. (6) Jason Covert/28 $750

19. (20) Dylan Evans/28 $730

20. (19) Ross Robinson/23 $750

21. (21) Nick Davis/12 $700

22. (23) Chad Hollenbeck/4 $700

23. (10) Staci Warrington/3 $700

24. (24) Mark Pettyjohn/1 $700

Edited from press release written by Joshua Joiner