10/1/14 – Josh Richards Cleared to Return to Racing Josh Richards Cleared to Return to Racing Defending-champion plans to be behind the wheel this weekend at Eldora !!~ DTSS news : Three-time World of Outlaws Late Model Series Champion Josh Richards announced today that doctors have cleared him to return to racing after medical issues have kept him out of the car this season. Richards plans to be back behind the wheel of his Mark Richards Racing owned, Valvoline/Seubert Calf Ranches sponsored machine this Saturday at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, for the UMP DIRTcar Fall Nationals. Richards has been sidelined since learning of medical issues during the off-season. After extensive testing it was determined that he suffered nerve damage to his hands due to past racing injuries. Though Richards has been cleared by doctors to race, he will be periodically monitored to make sure there is no further progression with his injury. “I have the best sponsors, race team and fans in the sport,” said Richards. “I want to thank them for their patience and continued support while I worked though my medical issues. I’m also grateful to Brandon Sheppard and Rick Eckert for filling in during my absence. “I’m excited to get back in the car Saturday at Eldora Speedway. It’s been really hard to sit out this season and have to watch from the sidelines. I’m ready to get back behind the wheel of the Valvoline/Seubert Calf Ranches car and make some laps at one of my favorite tracks this weekend.” In addition to Saturday’s UMP DIRTCar Fall Nationals at Eldora Speedway, Richards also plans to compete in the Dirt Track World Championship, Oct. 17-18 at Portsmouth (Ohio) Raceway Park and the season-ending World of Outlaws World Finals, Nov. 6-8 at The Dirt Track at Charlotte (N.C.). Richards will have teammates for the final two races of the season. Brandon Sheppard will drive a second house-car for Mark Richards Racing at Portsmouth Raceway Park in hopes of defending his title from the 2013 Dirt Track World Championship. Rick Eckert, who’s been filling in for Richards is competing for points in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series and will run a second house-car in the World of Outlaws World Finals. ABOUT Rosh Richards : Josh Richards was born and raised in the racing industry. At only five years old he was running pack cars at his family’s I-79 speedway, and working with his father, Mark Richards, at Rocket Chassis. By the age of 14, with no other racing experience he was driving and racing super dirt late models. His first race would come in Bardstown, Kentucky for the 2003 Dirt Track World Championship (DTWC) where he ran a Young Guns feature and qualified better than two-thirds of a field of 100-plus cars. He narrowly missed making that year’s DTWC and has only missed one other since. Josh became a full-time World of Outlaws Late Model Series competitor in 2005, winning Rookie of the Year honors and his first race at Lebanon Valley. He won his second WoO event in Columbus in 2006, when he finished ninth in the series standings. Josh starting winning consistently from 2007 to2008. He added wins at Pittsburgh Motor Speedway’s Pittsburgher, Hagerstown’s 60th Anniversary Classic, the Hungry Man Showdown and Vault World Finals at Charlotte, along with other various regional and World of Outlaw events. He finished the 2008 season second in WoO standings. In 2009 Josh was crowned the youngest World of Outlaws Series Champion. In 2010 Josh became the first two-time champion. He won over 30 national and regional races those years, including his fourth consecutive WoO opener at Volusia, second and third consecutive Showdown in Charlotte, a $20,000 Mohawk 100, and a Raye Vest Memorial. He was also the first driver to have three consecutive Lucas Oil Series victories in a 24-hour period at Eastbay Raceway. In 2011 and 2012 Josh expanded his racing ventures into asphalt, competing in the NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series while continuing to race on dirt. In 2011 he won his first Crown Jewel event, Cedar Lake’s $50,000-to-win USA Nationals. With 11 other World of Outlaws Series wins over that span, including Deer Creeks prestigious Gopher 50 and various East Coast regional victories over that span, Josh became the WoO’s winningest driver at that time. Heading into his 10th full year in racing at 25 years old, Josh has amassed more than 60 wins – over 40 of which are World of Outlaws Late Model Series victories – and has competed at almost 200 different tracks.
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 09:55:24 +0000
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