CONCORD, N.C. - Josh Richards claimed his 18th World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series win of the season Friday night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, North Carolina.
The win gives Richards the new record for most wins in a single season, besting Darrell Lanigan’s previous mark.
Lanigan was also in competition at Charlotte on Friday night and ran bumper-to-bumper with Richards for the majority of the race while they battled it out between the second and third positions.
Chris Madden who led most of the way, pacing the field for with 45 of the race’s 50 laps. With only a few laps left in the feature, Richards changed his strategy and decided to ride the high side, passing both Lanigan and Madden en route to victory lane.
“I felt like we were pretty good early in the race. We were just a little free and we kind of just had to throw a Hail Mary there at the end and it worked out we were able to pull it off and win,” said Richards. “I don’t even know if it’s really sunk in yet, we just try to give 110% each and every day and to accumulate the year that we’ve had it has been a dream of mine and I guess I didn’t actually ever dream it would happen. I’m just glad to be able to race and do what I love to do and to be in this position where I can contend to win races and put on a show for the fans, that’s all I could ask for.”
Madden held on for second, while Lanigan rolled home in third.
“It was a hell of a race there at the end,” said Lanigan “We have a pretty good car there in the middle of the race and we got a little loose there coming off toward the end and Josh got by me on the restart – hats off to those guys they had good pieces too so we will come back tomorrow night and see if we can’t get something.”
Richards was not the only one on the track successfully hard-charging toward the front. Brandon Overton squeezed his way into the feature by winning the Last Chance Showdown for group two. Overton started deep in the field in the 20th-position for the feature race. A handful of cautions caused the gaps in the field to tighten while Overton, using them to his advantage, continued to move up the chain.
When the checkered flag fell, Overton had gained 16 positions from his start in the feature putting him in fourth. Zebulon, Georgia’s Shane Clanton finished in fifth.
World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series
The Dirt Track at Charlotte – Concord, NC
Race Results – October 28, 2016
1. 1- Josh Richards
2. 44- Chris Madden
3. 15L – Darrell Lanigan
4. 76 – Brandon Overton
5. 25- Shane Clanton
6. 28E- Dennis Erb, Jr.
7. 39 – Tim McCreadie
8. 17M- Dale McDowell
9. 18c – Chase Junghans
10. 18 – Eric Wells
11. 16 – Steve Francis
12. 22 – Chris Ferguson
13. 2H – Nick Hoffman
14. C9 – Steve Casebolt
15. 15s – Donny Schatz
16. 0 – Dale Hollidge
17. 7 – Rick Eckert
18. ’00 – Jesse Stovall
19. 21JR- Billy Moyer, Jr.
20. 72c – Jason Covert
21. 87 – Ross Bailes
22. 41*- Chub Frank
23. 11 – Austin Smith
24. 2c – Joey Coulter
25. 99jr – Frank Heckenast, Jr.
26. 91 – Tyler Erb
27. 14M – Morgan Bagley
28. 3s – Brain Shirley
29. Tyler Carpenter
30. 41B – Boom Briggs
