Two Wins Over The 4th Of July Weekend Propels Josh Richards

Two Wins Over The 4th Of July Weekend Propels Josh Richards

A pair of wins during the Fourth of July weekend and another top five propelled Josh Richards into the FloRacing Late Model Rankings top five.

Jul 6, 2017 by Dan Beaver
Two Wins Over The 4th Of July Weekend Propels Josh Richards
Josh Richards was the big mover inside the FloRacing Late Model Power Rankings top five this week on the strength of two wins and another fifth-place finish during the Fourth of July weekend.

With back-to-back Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series victories in the Independence 60 at Portsmouth (Ohio) Raceway Park and the Freedom 50 at Mansfield (Ohio) Speedway, he added 100 percentage points each night to his total. A fifth-place finish at Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville, Ohio, also improved his average from 81.78 to 85.09 and was entirely responsible for moving him three position up the grid to fourth.

In the past 60 days, Richards has earned nine top 10s in 10 races. Five of those were top fives.

The World of Outlaws Late Model Series had an unintentionally light week with only one race in the books. The UMP/DIRTcar Hell Tour occupied most of the available slots on the calendar, but two of their events were scheduled to offer points both in that series and for the season-long Outlaws. Friday night's show at the Terre Haute (IN) Action Track was rained out, but the next night Brandon Sheppard grabbed his second consecutive win in Outlaws competition at Federated Auto Parts Raceway in Pevely, MO, to help secure his lead.

While the Hell Tour is not part of the FloRacing formula, it is nevertheless notable that Sheppard has now won the last four races in this series to give him five consecutive wins.

Brandon Overton advanced one spot to third in the rankings without racing last week. The Power Rankings looks at the past 60 days in order to measure a driver's current strength, and Overton benefited from a 20th-place finish at Cherokee Super Speedway in Gaffney, SC, aging out.

Tim McCreadie dropped a position to third in the rankings despite scoring three consecutive top fives in the Fourth of July Ohio swing, but that does not mean he has struggled during the past two months. The difference is that he has only one win to Overton's two. McCreadie has made 13 feature starts to Overton's five, so his winning percentage is lower. He has dominated the top five, however, with 11 in that span of races.

Don O'Neal rounds out the top five this week with seven top fives and 10 top 10s in the past 13 races. Last week, he was third in the standings, but a single bobble at Mansfield on Sunday sent him home with an 11th-place finish. The late model competition is fierce, and it does not take much to get passed.

Dirt Track Power Rankings

1. Brandon Sheppard, 95.00 percentage points
2. Brandon Overton, 91.50
3. Tim McCreadie, 87.86
4. Josh Richards, 85.09
5. Don O'Neal, 84.43
6. Mike Marlar, 82.67
7. Bobby Pierce, 81.83
8. Shane Clanton, 80.83
9. Shannon Babb, 80.14
10. Earl Pearson Jr., 78.67
View Full Late Model Rankings