If there was any doubt that Josh Richards would come back from his year-long absence as strong as he was before, that doubt is being erased quickly as Richards became the first repeat winner of Speedweeks Wednesday night by capturing the $5,000 victory at East Bay Raceway. It was the first time that Josh had won at "the clay by the bay" since 2009 when the nickname "Kid Rocket" really suited him well and he won three of the six Winternational races that season.
Last night Richards swapped the lead with veteran Billy Moyer a couple of times in the early going and then when Moyer actually tangled with the slower car of his own son entering turn one, Richards took advantage to steal the lead away for good. For the second night in a row come feature time the Lucas Oil Late Model drivers looked like they were racing around a skating rink, or one of those go kart tracks where they powder the turns to give you the sensation of a slick track. And as the laps wound down nearly all of the competitors were just hugging the bottom and holding their position, so whether it is a symptom of track prep, the new tire rule for the series or a combination of both, I do hope that they can get it figured out soon. East Bay has always been one of my top-five favorite tracks due to the wide and racy surface normally found throughout the entire night, but from what I have seen on video from these first two nights a track that looks fast and racy during the heat races morphs into something completely opposite by showtime.
Florida driver Mark Whitener worked his way into the second position at the finish, the best that a "local" driver has run at East Bay since Keith Nosbisch used to be a threat to win very night out at his home track. Steve Francis and Don O'Neal who had both taken Tuesday night off since it was a non-points event finished third and fourth respectively on Wednesday while Moyer faded to fifth at the checkers.
One more non-points show to go on Thursday night, well two if you count the Monday show that will be made up around the regular programs tonight and tomorrow, before the Lucas Oil series points start counting again on Friday and Saturday.
Greg Hodnett started on the pole and went flag-to-flag in dominating fashion to win the All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car feature at the Volusia County Speedway Wednesday night. Danny Lasoski was second followed by Brad Sweet, Paul McMahan and Kerry Madsen. This of course broke the three race win streak that Madsen enjoyed over the weekend at Bubba Raceway Park just a few miles west of here in Ocala. The All Stars will again sanction tonight's racing before the World of Outlaws takeover on Friday.
Kyle Strickler was the best of a nearly 50-car UMP Modified field at Volusia holding off Ty Dillon to take the win. Tuesday's winner Austin Dillon was third, Nick Hoffman was fourth and longtime Late Model competitor Jackie Boggs finished fifth. Kewanee's Ray Bollinger was 15th and Burlington's Dugan Thye did not qualify for the main event.
The forecast is for cool, but dry weather in Florida for the rest of the weekend while in Texas the temps are much closer to normal where the USMTS Modified season will get underway tonight at the Shady Oaks Speedway in Goliad.
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