FARMER CITY, Ill. - Josh Richards rolled through traffic and battled his competition in Saturday night’s Douglas Dodge Ram Trucks Illini 100 weekend opener at Farmer City Raceway in Farmer City, Ill. as the Shinnston, W.V. native claimed his third World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series victory of the season.
“The car has been phenomenal to drive, and the guys have done a great job with adjustments and figuring out what to do,” said Richards, who took home a $6,000 prize for his No. 1 Valvoline Rocket Chassis team.
Ryan Unzicker and Brandon Overton led the pack early in the 25-lap feature despite a crash on the start that left Overton’s car with heavy body damage. The two drivers traded the lead nine times in the first ten laps as Billy Moyer, Jr. and Bobby Pierce closed in. As the field began working its way through traffic, Richards closed the gap and picked up several positions.
Pierce brought out the caution with four laps left in the feature. On the restart, Richards pulled away from Unzicker to score the win. Moyer Jr. rounded out the podium finishers.
“This win…it’s very personal to me,” Richards said. “We finally won at Farmer City, but we still have another night tomorrow. Tomorrow’s the big one. (Tonight’s win) gives us confidence for tomorrow, for sure.”
Richards, who has eight total wins this season – including three series wins – expanded his championship points lead to 94 over Rick Eckert.
Unzicker said he was happy with the performance of his team.
“That was awesome,” Unzicker said. “We both raced each other clean there. I’m glad we could show you some stuff here in Farmer City. It was a heck of a good show.”
Moyer not only thanked his crew, but also the fans who stuck it out in the cold weather all day. Thursday’s practice was cancelled and Friday’s event postponed the weekend by one day due to the inclement weather.
“I can’t say enough about my guys,” Moyer said. “They worked so hard. I’ve been to a lot of cold races in my life but I really appreciate them. Congrats to Josh. That was a lot of fun.”
Earlier in the day, Richards qualified third in his group. Richards, Unzicker and Moyer all won their heat races to advance to the feature race, where Richards started on the inside third row.
Steve Casebolt was the night’s fast qualifier with a lap of 12.31 seconds.
For more information, visit WoOLMS.com.
World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series
Farmer City Raceway – Farmer City, IL
Race Results – April 2, 2016
1. 1-Josh Richards
2. 24-Ryan Unzicker
3. 21JR-Billy Moyer, Jr.
4. 76-Brandon Overton
5. C9-Steve Casebolt
6. 25-Shane Clanton
7. 157-Mike Marlar
8. 10-Scott Schmitt
9. 32s-Chris Simpson
10. 7-Rick Eckert
11. 4-Cody Mahoney
12. 1g-Devin Gilpin
13. 14M-Morgan Bagley
14. 77M-Jay Morris
15. 42-Mckay Wenger
16. 1*-Chub Frank
17. 3s-Brian Shirley
18. 99jr-Frank Heckenast, Jr.
19. 21-Billy Moyer
20. 25z-Mason Zeigler
21. 99B-Boom Briggs
22. 18-Eric Wells
23. 18c-Chase Junghans
24. 91-Tyler Erb
25. 2c-Joey Coulter
26. 32-Bobby Pierce
27. 7R-Kent Robinson
28. B1-Paul Wilmoth
29. B12-Kevin Weaver
30. 18b-Shannon Babb
