HARTFORD, OH (April 21, 2017) – Josh Richards was victorious in the first ever appearance by the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series on Friday night at Sharon Speedway. Richards took the lead from Scott Bloomquist on lap four and withstood the challenges of both Brandon Sheppard and Gregg Satterlee to take the win in the Steel Valley 50.
“I can’t thank the track staff enough for trying to get the track raceable for the feature. It was tough on the drivers and especially the cars; I know they had put new dirt on the track, but with the rain they had the last couple of days, that didn’t help. We raced as hard as we could to put on a show for these fans. It feels good to come out on top,” said Richards in Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the third time this season.
Bloomquist led the first three laps of the race before yielding the lead to Richards. Sheppard then moved into second and started to challenge Richards for the lead. Satterlee picked up steam and sprinted around Sheppard for second on lap 17. Satterlee tracked down Richards and the two ran side-by-side for a while until Richards pulled away from him.
Sheppard managed to regain the second spot on lap 38 from Satterlee. Sheppard then spent the final 12 laps pursuing Richards. Sheppard was turning faster laps than Richards on several occasions, but Richards held his line and held a steady lead until the finish.
“I was trying to move around a lot in the final laps. As a driver, it’s mentally challenging. We are going to have to go through these cars from front to back for tomorrow at Hagerstown. The crews work very hard during the week to get these cars ready. Thanks to the crowd for coming out tonight, it looked like a big crowd,” said the driver for the Best Performance Motorsports, Dargie Race Engines, Rocket Chassis.
Sheppard tried chasing down the car and team he had driven for the last two years but came up short. “The track finally blew off there a little bit and the racing was good. We dropped back to sixth or seventh early on, but as the race went on, we got stronger and stronger. I would like to thank Mark Richards and Steve Baker from Rocket Chassis, Valvoline, and Seubert Calf Ranches for all of their help.”
The remainder of the top ten were: Alex Ferree, Boom Briggs, Colton Flinner, Dylan Yoder, and Chub Frank.
The entire staff at Sharon Speedway worked diligently to prepare the race track, however the track surface got away from them tonight. Before the feature, after a unanimous vote by the top-fourteen in championship standings, it was decided to award 100 show-up points to the entire field.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Friday, April 21st, 2017
Steel Valley 50
Sharon Speedway – Hartford, OH
Miller Welders Fast Time Group A: Brandon Sheppard / 14.842 seconds ***NEW TRACK RECORD***
Miller Welders Fast Time Group B: Timothy Culp / 14.979 seconds
Eibach Springs Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 6 Transfer): Brandon Sheppard, Gregg Satterlee, Devin Moran, Don O’Neal, Jimmy Owens, Russ King, Darrell Lanigan, Chad McClellan, Clay Ruffo
FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 6 Transfer): Scott Bloomquist, Timothy Culp, Jared Miley, Michael Norris, Steve Francis, Tim McCreadie, Dennis Erb, Jr., Keith Barbara, Bobby Rohrer
Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 6 Transfer): Josh Richards, Chub Frank, Hudson O’Neal, Alex Ferree, Earl Pearson, Jr., Boom Briggs, Dylan Yoder, Robert Anderzack, Colton Flinner
Penske Racing Shocks B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Dylan Yoder, Dennis Erb, Jr., Robert Anderzack, Keith Barbara, Darrell Lanigan, Colton Flinner, Clay Ruffo, Bobby Rohrer-DNS, Chad McClellan-DNS
Feature Finish (50 Laps):
| FINISH | START | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | EARNINGS |
| 1 | 3 | 1R | Josh Richards | Shinnston, WV | $10,800 |
| 2 | 1 | 1S | Brandon Sheppard | New Berlin, IL | $5,600 |
| 3 | 4 | 22 | Gregg Satterlee | Rochester Mills, PA | $4,300 |
| 4 | 7 | 9 | Devin Moran | Dresden, OH | $2,750 |
| 5 | 13 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | $3,050 |
| 6 | 12 | 10 | Alex Ferree | Valencia, PA | $1,800 |
| 7 | 18 | 99B | Boom Briggs | Bear Lake, PA | $2,200 |
| 8 | 24 | 75 | Colton Flinner | Allison Park, PA | $1,300 |
| 9 | 19 | 24 | Dylan Yoder | Selinsgrove, PA | $1,200 |
| 10 | 6 | 1* | Chub Frank | Bear Lake, PA | $1,100 |
| 11 | 5 | C8 | Timothy Culp | Prattsville, AR | $1,775 |
| 12 | 10 | 5 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | $1,850 |
| 13 | 22 | 17b | Keith Barbara | South Park, PA | $1,025 |
| 14 | 15 | 1 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | $1,700 |
| 15 | 11 | 72 | Michael Norris | Sarver, PA | $950 |
| 16 | 9 | 71 | Hudson O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | $1,625 |
| 17 | 8 | H1 | Jared Miley | South Park, PA | $900 |
| 18 | 16 | 56 | Russ King | Bristolville, OH | $875 |
| 19 | 2 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN | $1,850 |
| 20 | 23 | 14 | Darrell Lanigan | Union, KY | $1,525 |
| 21 | 21 | 8a | Robert Anderzack | Swanton, OH | $800 |
| 22 | 17 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | $1,500 |
| 23 | 14 | 15 | Steve Francis | Bowling Green, KY | $1,500 |
| 24 | 20 | 28E | Dennis Erb, Jr. | Carpentersville, IL | $1,500 |
Race Statistics
Entrants: 27
Lap Leaders: Scott Bloomquist (Laps 1 – 3); Josh Richards (Laps 4 – 50)
Cautions: Scott Bloomquist (Lap 15); Hudson O’Neal (Lap 18); Timothy Culp (Lap 28); Chub Frank (Lap 33)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Darrell Lanigan, Colton Flinner
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisionals: n/a
Wrisco Feature Winner: Josh Richards
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Colton Flinner (Started: 24th; Finished: 8th; Advanced 16 Positions)
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Scott Bloomquist
Allstar Performance Power Move of the Race: Josh Richards
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Josh Richards
Hot Rod Processing Rookie of the Race: Gregg Satterlee
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Durham Racing Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket Chassis
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Randall Edwards (Josh Richards)
Fastest Lap of the Race: Josh Richards (Lap #4 – 14.909 seconds)
Safecraft Most Laps Led: Josh Richards
PFC Brakes Pole Award: Brandon Sheppard
Time of Race: 27 minutes 38 seconds