Josh Richards was able to capture the Second Annual Six Nations 50 at Ohsweken Speedway, and the $10,000 cheque that went with.
The first 14 laps were slowed by three caution flags, and one red flag before the next restart, which saw leader, 17-year old Austin Hubbard lose a motor, turning control over to Richards.
After a quick caution, the final of the night, Kid Rocket set sail, building a lead of an entire straightaway over second-place Brady Smith. Richards got behind some lapped traffic during the late stages, allowing Smith to set up camp on the rear of The Kid, but a couple of pokes on the low side didn’t hold enough grip to make the pass.
The end of the race also saw fast qualifier, and defending Series champ Darrell Lanigan to also sneak back into the picture. Another lap, and the finish order might not have been the same.
Josh spoke about the lapped traffic, “He was holding me up a bit, but they were still running good times. My groove was blocked, so I just kept on the top, because I was committed to running the top.”
For Richards, it pulls him to within 6 points of championship leader .Steve Francis. ‘The Kentucky Colonel’ was the 2007 Series champ, and saw his point lead diminish when he hit the wall hard coming out of turn four.
Smith spoke about the late charge that brought him from four seconds back to .429 seconds under the checkered flag. “I was trying to save as much as my stuff as I could for the end. Josh was running where I wanted to run. I tried the bottom, but I just couldn’t get enough grip down there. I caught him when he was behind the lapped cars and might have got him if I had a few more laps.”
Some additional notes on the WoO LM show at Oshweken Speedway
Brad Authier of Chatham was the fastest Canadian in Time Trials, clocking in 21st, while Adam Ferri of St. Catherines was 25th.
Neither made it into the main through their heat race, and were forced to one of the B-mains. In the first B-Main, Ferri raced his way into the feature, finishing third and nabbing the final transfer position, while Authier finished fourth.
Kirk Hooker of Chatham finished 7th in the same B-Main.
In the feature Ferri retired early, finishing 20th.
Also in action was former 4-time NASCAR Cup winner Ken Schrader. Schrader qualified 15th, and finished second in his heat. The driver from Fenton, MO, looked strong early in the main, avoiding most of the carnage, but faded late to an eighth-place finish.
The Corr/Pak Merchandising Sprint Cars were also in action as the undercard to the WoO Late Models, featuring NASCAR Camping World Truck Driver J.R. Fitzpatrick in his first career attempt in a Sprint Car.
Glenn Styres took the lead early and seemed to be en route to an easy victory until turn three of the final lap, when point leader Tom Huppunen blitzed into the picture and stole the victory away on the bottom through the final corner. For Huppunen, it was his third feature win of the season, and helped him expand his point lead.
While the finish was exciting, the drive by J.R. Fitzpatrick was tremendous in his first career start in a Sprint Car. He was hampered by a fuel problem in practice, which cut his hot laps short. In his heat race, Fitzpatrick was able to race to a strong second-place finish, and in the feature continued to get used to the twitchiness of the car, while popping a few wheelies. For his first time in a Sprinter, it was a solid drive for the Ayr, ON driver.
How many Sprints were there and where did JR finish in the feature
27 Sprints I bealive...but not 100% sure.
JR was running top-10 untill he spun, not sure where he ended up finishing.
