“Rocket Man” Josh Richards Blasts to Win on Night #1 of Knoxville Late Model Nationals!

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (September 14, 2017) – Shinnston, West Virginia native Josh Richards benefited from the misfortune of Jimmy Owens and stormed to his fifth career win at the Knoxville Raceway on Night #1 of the Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores. Josh pocketed $7,000 aboard the Best Performance Motorsports #1R. Jonathan Davenport was the high point man on the night after setting quick time in his group, winning his heat and running third in the feature.

Kyle Bronson led lap one in the 25-lap feature, but Jared Landers quickly took control, ahead of Bronson and Shannon Babb. Last year’s champion, Mike Marlar, tagged the backstretch wall and went in the pits. Steve Francis blew his left rear tire, bringing the caution on lap four. The restart saw Landers leading Bronson, Babb, Don O’Neal and Hudson O’Neal. Don O’Neal shot into third when the green fell, and then took second from Bronson on lap six.

Jimmy Owens was on the move in the low groove, and took third on lap nine. Hudson O’Neal stopped to bring a caution on lap ten. Owens shot into second on the restart, while Richards won a battle with Davenport for fourth. The last slowdown came on lap 13 for debris.

Owens shot under Landers to take the lead, while Richards cruised by Don O’Neal for third. Richards would also dispose of Landers to take second two laps later. Disaster struck for Owens when smoke emanated from his car and he pulled off on the sixteenth lap. Richards assumed the lead, ahead of Landers and Don O’Neal.

Richards would go on to win ahead of Landers and Davenport, who grabbed third from Don O’Neal on lap 19. Hard-charger Brandon Sheppard was a hurricane from 22nd to fifth. Don O’Neal, Jimmy Mars, Dale McDowell, Bobby Pierce, Shannon Babb and Chase Junghans rounded out the top ten. Davenport and Scott Bloomquist set quick time in their respective groups, and Davenport, Don O’Neal, Richards, Spencer Diercks, Steve Francis and Mike Marlar won heat races. Darrell Lanigan claimed the C main and Bloomquist took the B main.

“We had a really good car,” said Richards in Victory Lane. “We go really good on the bottom. I hated it for Jimmy. I don’t know if we could have got him, but the car felt good on the bottom. It was good to get a good solid night in. We need to focus on Saturday now and see what we need to do to get better. The car was really fast, but it was a bit of a handful. This track is really tricky. I can’t thank everyone enough.”

“Coming back and being at this place is great,” said Landers. “Congratulations to Josh, he was good. I was trying my best to catch him, but I lost the brakes a bit. They were spongy, but it’s not like I used them up there a lot anyway. I’m excited about our run.”

“We just want to keep on riding this wave, setting fast time and winning the heat,” said Davenport. “We need to be a little better in the feature. I finally found a line that I liked a little better. It was pretty tricky in one and two. I thought I was going to go over there one time. I have to thank everyone for what they do for us. We’ve got some good notes and we’ll build on it tomorrow.”

The 14th Annual Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores continues Friday night, September 15! For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!

Knoxville Late Model Nationals Night #1 Results (Point Totals Below)
Time Trials Group A (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 49, Jonathan Davenport, Mount Airy, NC (3), 17.258; 2. 3S, Brian Shirley, Chatham, IL (1), 17.304; 3. 20, Jimmy Owens, Newport, TN (9), 17.321; 4. 1, Earl Pearson Jr., Trinity, NC (5), 17.378; 5. 5, Don O’Neal, Martinsville, IN (24), 17.435; 6. 1777, Jared Landers, Batesville, AR (27), 17.519; 7. 20S, Rodney Sanders, Happy, TX (22), 17.547; 8. 39, Tim McCreadie, Watertown, NY (26), 17.617; 9. 1R, Josh Richards, Shinnston, WV (19), 17.631; 10. 24, Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, IA (15), 17.653; 11. 58H, Jeremiah Hurst, Dubuque, IA (11), 17.685; 12. 0J, Jake O’Neil, Tucson, AZ (16), 17.723; 13. 18, Chase Junghans, Manhattan, KS (17), 17.753; 14. 7R, Kent Robinson, Bloomington, IN (20), 17.754; 15. 98, Jason Rauen, Farley, IA (25), 17.793; 16. 16, Tyler Bruening, Decorah, IA (10), 17.901; 17. 00, Jesse Stovall, Billings, MO (18), 17.941; 18. B1, Brent Larson, Lake Elmo, MN (8), 17.953; 19. 51M, Joey Moriarty, Phoenix, AZ (12), 18.033; 20. 40, Joel Callahan, Dubuque, IA (14), 18.096; 21. 75, Colton Flinner, Allison Park, PA (21), 18.114; 22. 25F, Jason Feger, Bloomington, IL (2), 18.141; 23. 51, Matt Furman, Portland, OR (28), 18.171; 24. 93, Jay Johnson, West Burlington, IA (7), 18.248; 25. 54, Mike Fryer, Freeport, IL (6), 18.257; 26. 83, Scott James, Harrison, IL (4), 18.262; 27. 77, Jordan Yaggy, Rochester, MN (13), 18.348; 28. 56S, Chris Spieker, Massena, IA (23), 18.385

Time Trials Group B (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 0, Scott Bloomquist, Mooresburg, TN (8), 17.218; 2. 14, Darrell Lanigan, Union, KY (14), 17.359; 3. 157, Mike Marlar, Winfield, TN (3), 17.414; 4. 91, Tyler Erb, Houston, TX (26), 17.442; 5. 22, Greg Satterlee, Indiana, PA (16), 17.628; 6. 32S, Chris Simpson, Marion, IA (2), 17.639; 7. 25, Chad Simpson, Mount Vernon, IA (21), 17.668; 8. 71, Hudson O’Neal, Morgantown, IN (9), 17.681; 9. 32, Bobby Pierce, Oakwood, IL (5), 17.687; 10. 18B, Shannon Babb, Moweaqua, IL (19), 17.750; 11. 40B, Kyle Bronson, Brandon, FL (7), 17.771; 12. 1S, Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL (28), 17.777; 13. C8, Timothy Culp, Prattsville, AR (25), 17.779; 14. 21JR, Billy Moyer Jr., Batesville, AR (10), 17.914; 15. 17M, Dale McDowell, Chickamauga, GA (17), 17.925; 16. 99B, Boom Briggs, Bear Lake, PA (20), 17.941; 17. 15, Steve Francis, Ashland, KY (24), 17.958; 18. 22B, Jonathan Brauns, Muscatine, IA (11), 17.988; 19. 28, Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL (18), 18.015; 20. 48, Tim Lance, Brimfield, IL (13), 18.086; 21. 28M, Jimmy Mars, Menomonie, WI (22), 18.122; 22. 29, Spencer Diercks, Davenport, IA (15), 18.158; 23. 21X, John Anderson, Omaha, NE (1), 18.217; 24. 58, Dave Eckrich, Oxford, IA (6), 18.333; 25. 15D, Justin Duty, Happy Valley, OR (4), 18.337; 26. 5T, Randy Timms, Wheatland, OK (27), 18.525; 27. 45, Bob King, Independence, MO (12), 18.795; DQ (Light at Scales) 21, Billy Moyer, Batesville, AR (23).

Group A Heat one (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Jonathan Davenport (8); 2. Jason Feger (1); 3. Chase Junghans (4) / 4. Tyler Bruening (3); 5. Ryan Gustin (5); 6. Rodney Sanders (6) / 7. Chris Spieker (10); 8. Joey Moriarty (2); 9. Mike Fryer (9); 10. Earl Pearson Jr. (7)

Group A Heat two (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Don O’Neal (7); 2. Matt Furman (1); 3. Jesse Stovall (3) / 4. Jeremiah Hurst (5); 5. Brian Shirley (8); 6. Tim McCreadie (6) / 7. Joel Callahan (2); 8. Kent Robinson (4) DNS – 9. Scott James (9);

Group A Heat three (started), 12 Laps, 3:40.6: 1. Josh Richards (6); 2. Jimmy Owens (8); 3. Jared Landers (7) / 4. Brent Larson (3); 5. Jay Johnson (1); 6. Jordan Yaggy (9) / 7. Colton Flinner (2); 8. Jake O’Neil (5); 9. Jason Rauen (4);

Group B Heat one (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Spencer Diercks (1); 2. Timothy Culp (4); 3. Shannon Babb (5) / 4. Scott Bloomquist (8); 5. Chad Simpson (6); 6. Dennis Erb Jr. (2) / 7. Tyler Erb (7); 8. Billy Moyer (10); 9. Boom Briggs (3); 10. Justin Duty (9)

Group B Heat two (started), 12 Laps, 3:46.6: 1. Steve Francis (3); 2. Hudson O’Neal (6); 3. Kyle Bronson (5) / 4. John Anderson (1); 5. Greg Satterlee (7); 6. Billy Moyer Jr. (4) / 7. Darrell Lanigan (8); 8. Randy Timms (9); 9. Tim Lance (2)

Group B Heat three (started), 12 Laps, 3:44.2: 1. Mike Marlar (8); 2. Jimmy Mars (2); 3. Dale McDowell (4) / 4. Brandon Sheppard (5); 5. Chris Simpson (7); 6. Bobby Pierce (6) / 7. Jonathan Brauns (3); 8. Dave Eckrich (1); 9. Bob King (9);

C main (started), 12 Laps, 3:46.5: 1. Darrell Lanigan (2); 2. Earl Pearson Jr. (1); 3. Tyler Erb (4); 4. Boom Briggs (6) / 5. Kent Robinson (5); 6. Jonathan Brauns (8); 7. Tim Lance (10); 8. Joey Moriarty (7); 9. Dave Eckrich (12); 10. Randy Timms (16); 11. Billy Moyer (17); 12. Chris Spieker (15); 13. Joel Callahan (9); 14. Justin Duty (14); 15. Mike Fryer (13); 16. Jake O’Neil (3); 17. Colton Flinner (11) DNS – 18. Jason Rauen; 19. Scott James; 20. Bob King

B main (started), 15 Laps, NT: 1. Scott Bloomquist (2); 2. Greg Satterlee (4); 3. Brian Shirley (1); 4. Brandon Sheppard (12); 5. Chad Simpson (8); 6. Bobby Pierce (10) / 7. Chris Simpson (6); 8. Tim McCreadie (5); 9. Earl Pearson Jr. (20); 10. Dennis Erb Jr. (16); 11. Jeremiah Hurst (9); 12. Brent Larson (13); 13. Billy Moyer Jr. (14); 14. Jordan Yaggy (17); 15. Boom Briggs (22); 16. Ryan Gustin (7); 17. Jay Johnson (15); 18. John Anderson (18); 19. Rodney Sanders (3); 20. Tyler Bruening (11); 21. Darrell Lanigan (19); 22. Tyler Erb (21)

A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Josh Richards (9); 2. Jared Landers (1); 3. Jonathan Davenport (7); 4. Brandon Sheppard (22); 5. Don O’Neal (3); 6. Jimmy Mars (16); 7. Dale McDowell (12); 8. Bobby Pierce (24); 9. Shannon Babb (4); 10. Chase Junghans (11); 11. Chad Simpson (23); 12. Jesse Stovall (13); 13. Brian Shirley (21); 14. Timothy Culp (10); 15. Scott Bloomquist (19); 16. Jason Feger (15); 17. Steve Francis (14); 18. Spencer Diercks (18); 19. Hudson O’Neal (6); 20. Kyle Bronson (2); 21. Matt Furman (17); 22. Jimmy Owens (5); 23. Greg Satterlee (20); 24. Mike Marlar (8). Lap Leaders: Bronson 1, Landers 2-13, Owens 14-15, Richards 16-25. Hard-charger: Sheppard.

Point Totals for Night #1

1 49 Jonathan Davenport 496
2 1R Josh Richards 484
3 5 Don O’Neal 484
4 1777 Jared Landers 482
5 1S Brandon Sheppard 463
6 0 Scott Bloomquist 463
7 3S Brian Shirley 462
8 18B Shannon Babb 460
9 25 Chad Simpson 456
10 32 Bobby Pierce 455
11 17M Dale McDowell 454
12 18 Chase Junghans 452
13 20 Jimmy Owens 451
14 157 Mike Marlar 450
15 28M Jimmy Mars 447
16 C8 Timothy Culp 447
17 71 Hudson O’Neal 447
18 00 Jesse Stovall 440
19 15 Steve Francis 436
20 40B Kyle Bronson 436
21 22 Greg Satterlee 436
22 25F Jason Feger 425
23 29 Spencer Diercks 424
24 32S Chris Simpson 416
25 51 Matt Furman 413
26 39 Tim McCreadie 407
27 1 Earl Pearson Jr. 401
28 58H Jeremiah Hurst 401
29 24 Ryan Gustin 390
30 14 Darrell Lanigan 390
31 20S Rodney Sanders 387
32 B1 Brent Larson 385
33 21JR Billy Moyer Jr. 385
34 91 Tyler Erb 384
35 28 Dennis Erb Jr. 381
36 16 Tyler Bruening 373
37 99B Boom Briggs 368
38 21X John Anderson 363
39 93 Jay Johnson 360
40 77 Jordan Yaggy 357
41 7R Kent Robinson 345
42 22B Jonathan Brauns 338
43 51M Joey Moriarty 329
44 0J Jake O’Neil 327
45 48 Tim Lance 326
46 40 Joel Callahan 320
47 58 Dave Eckrich 317
48 98 Jason Rauen 314
49 5T Randy Timms 311
50 75 Colton Flinner 310
51 56S Chris Spieker 306
52 21 Billy Moyer 305
53 54 Mike Fryer 300
54 15D Justin Duty 299
55 83 Scott James 290
56 45 Bob King 286

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Category: Iowa