Richards Rolls to Illini Win

Josh Richards Battles for Win on Night One at Farmer City Raceway

Brandon Overton battles back from an early wreck to place fourth

FARMER CITY, Ill. – April 2, 2016 – 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 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 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 in his No. 21JR DynaGro Moyer Victory Chassis.

“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, a native of nearby El Paso, Ill., said he was happy with the performance of his No. 24 Kingdom Farms/RJR Transportation 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. 

The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Late Model Series returns to action Sunday night at Farmer City Raceway for the Douglas Dodge Ram Trucks Illini 100. Hot laps get underway at 3 p.m. Tickets are still available at the gate.

To learn more about the World of Outlaws Craftsman® Late Model Series visit WoOLMS.com. Follow the World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series on Twitter at Twitter.com/WoOLateModels, like it on Facebook at Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsLateModelSeries, or check out the latest videos on YouTube at Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws.

World of Outlaws Craftsman® Late Model Series Statistical Report; April 2, 2016; Farmer City Raceway; Farmer City, Ill.

A-Main (25-laps): 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;

Last-Chance Showdown No. 1 (10 laps – Top 2 Transfer): 1. 25z-Mason Zeigler; 2. 21-Billy Moyer; 3. 3s-Brian Shirley; 4. 16T-Tyler Bruening; 5. 9-Eric Smith; 6. 29D-Spencer Diercks; 7. 75-Billy Drake; 8. 25F-Jason Feger; 9. 77-Jordan Yaggy; 10. Z-Joe Harlan; 11. 30-Mike Glasscock; 12. 45-Kyle Hammer; 13. 134-Chuck Mitchell; 14. 55-Jeep Van Wormer; 15. 89s-Mike Spatola

Last-Chance Showdown No. 2 (10 laps – Top 2 Transfer): 1. 18-Eric Wells; 2. B12-Kevin Weaver; 3. 18c-Chase Junghans; 4. 14M-Morgan Bagley; 5. 99jr-Frank Heckenast Jr; 6. 4G-Bob Gardner; 7. B1-Paul Wilmoth; 8. 91-Tyler Erb; 9. 38c-John Gardner Jr; 10. 2c-Joey Coulter; 11. 79-Nick Kurtz; 12. 77A-Adam Bowman; 13. 15-Kolby Vanderbergh; 14. 98-Danny Smith; 15. 99B-Boom Briggs

Qualifying Group A: 1. C9-Steve Casebolt, 12.31; 2. 18b-Shannon Babb, 12.338; 3. 1-Josh Richards, 12.383; 4. 32-Bobby Pierce, 12.429; 5. 21JR-Billy Moyer Jr, 12.464; 6. 77M-Jay Morris, 12.487; 7. 9-Eric Smith, 12.492; 8. 3s-Brian Shirley, 12.611; 9. 89s-Mike Spatola, 12.664; 10. 7-Rick Eckert, 12.802; 11. 32s-Chris Simpson, 12.813; 12. 157-Mike Marlar, 12.823; 13. 77-Jordan Yaggy, 12.835; 14. 21-Billy Moyer, 12.882; 15. 25F-Jason Feger, 12.888; 16. 25z-Mason Zeigler, 12.897; 17. 30-Mike Glasscock, 12.934; 18. Z-Joe Harlan, 12.941; 19. 75-Billy Drake, 13.012; 20. 29D-Spencer Diercks, 13.068; 21. 16T-Tyler Bruening, 13.177; 22. 55-Jeep Van Wormer, 13.217; 23. 45-Kyle Hammer, 13.281; 24. 134-Chuck Mitchell, 13.282

Qualifying Group B: 1. 10-Scott Schmitt, 12.875; 2. 7R-Kent Robinson, 13.032; 3. 1g-Devin Gilpin, 13.045; 4. 4-Cody Mahoney, 13.075; 5. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 13.125; 6. 76-Brandon Overton, 13.154; 7. 42-Mckay Wenger, 13.154; 8. 18-Eric Wells, 13.25; 9. 25-Shane Clanton, 13.25; 10. B12-Kevin Weaver, 13.285; 11. 1*-Chub Frank, 13.3; 12. 2c-Joey Coulter, 13.377; 13. 15-Kolby Vanderbergh, 13.418; 14. 77A-Adam Bowman, 13.468; 15. 18c-Chase Junghans, 13.474; 16. 99B-Boom Briggs, 13.508; 17. 14M-Morgan Bagley, 13.727; 18. B1-Paul Wilmoth, 13.733; 19. 99jr-Frank Heckenast Jr, 13.75; 20. 38c-John Gardner Jr, 13.81; 21. 91-Tyler Erb, 13.826; 22. 4G-Bob Gardner, 13.85; 23. 79-Nick Kurtz, 14.37; 24. 98-Danny Smith, 14.574

Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce; 2. C9-Steve Casebolt; 3. 7-Rick Eckert; 4. 9-Eric Smith; 5. 55-Jeep Van Wormer; 6. 25z-Mason Zeigler; 7. 77-Jordan Yaggy; 8. 75-Billy Drake

Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. 21JR-Billy Moyer Jr; 2. 18b-Shannon Babb; 3. 32s-Chris Simpson; 4. 3s-Brian Shirley; 5. 21-Billy Moyer; 6. 30-Mike Glasscock; 7. 29D-Spencer Diercks; 8. 45-Kyle Hammer

Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. 1-Josh Richards; 2. 157-Mike Marlar; 3. 77M-Jay Morris; 4. 89s-Mike Spatola; 5. 25F-Jason Feger; 6. 16T-Tyler Bruening; 7. Z-Joe Harlan; 8. 134-Chuck Mitchell

Heat No. 4 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. 10-Scott Schmitt; 2. 4-Cody Mahoney; 3. 42-Mckay Wenger; 4. B12-Kevin Weaver; 5. 99B-Boom Briggs; 6. 99jr-Frank Heckenast Jr; 7. 4G-Bob Gardner; 8. 15-Kolby Vanderbergh

Heat No. 5 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. 24-Ryan Unzicker; 2. 7R-Kent Robinson; 3. 1*-Chub Frank; 4. 18-Eric Wells; 5. 14M-Morgan Bagley; 6. 38c-John Gardner Jr; 7. 79-Nick Kurtz; 8. 77A-Adam Bowman

Heat No. 6 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton; 2. 25-Shane Clanton; 3. 1g-Devin Gilpin; 4. B1-Paul Wilmoth; 5. 18c-Chase Junghans; 6. 2c-Joey Coulter; 7. 91-Tyler Erb; 8. 98-Danny Smith

World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series Contingency Award Winners (awards presented to noted finisher/qualifier or next highest displaying decal):

Comp Cams – $50 Product certificate : Josh Richards
MSD – $50 Cash: Josh Richards
QuarterMaster – $100 Product certificate: Ryan Unzicker
Wrisco Aluminum – 3 Sheets of aluminum: Josh Richards
Penske Shocks – TBD Product certificate: Billy Moyer Jr.
Mobil 1 – $50 Cash: –
JE Pistons – $50 Cash: Steve Casebolt
VP Racing Fuels – $50 Cash: Rick Eckert
Edelbrock – $50 Cash: Rick Eckert
Comp Cams – $50 Cash: Rick Eckert
Morton Buildings – $50 Cash: Morgan Bagley
Cometic Gasket – $50 Cash: Morgan Bagley
JRI Shocks – $50 Cash: Josh Richards
SuperFlow – $50 Cash: Josh Richards
QuarterMaster – $25 Product certificate: Josh Richards
JE Pistons – Set of rings: Josh Richards
QuarterMaster – $50 Product certificate: Billy Moyer Jr.
Arizona Sport Shirts – $100 Product certificate: Shannon Babb
JE Pistons – Set of rings: Boom Briggs
MSD – $25 Cash: Tyler Erb
QA1 – $50 Cash: Billy Moyer Jr.
Bonus Bucks – $500 Cash: Ryan Unzicker
Rookie Bonus – $250 Cash: Billy Moyer Jr.
Craftsman Bonus – $200 Cash: Josh Richards
Craftsman Bonus – $100 Cash: Ryan Unzicker
Craftsman Bonus – $200 Cash: Billy Moyer Jr.
Craftsman Bonus – $200 Cash: Brandon Overton
Craftsman Bonus – $200 Cash: Steve Casebolt
Craftsman Bonus – $200 Cash: Shane Clanton

2016 World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series Point Standings as of April 2 – 6 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/residence/points/deficit to leader):

The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Bad Boy Buggies (Official Side-by-Side Vehicle), The Kenny Wallace Dirt Racing Experience (Official Racing Experience), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Morton Buildings (Official Building) and DirtonDirt.com (Hard Charger Award); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, Mobil 1, MSD, Ohlins Shocks, Penske Shocks, QA1, QuarterMaster, Superflow Dynos and Wrisco Aluminum; along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Capital Race Cars, Integra Shocks, Impact Racing Products, Intercomp, Racing Electronics, Rocket Chassis and TNT Rescue.