Commentary: Richards Is More Than Deserving Champion

Josh Richards.com

Sometimes you just have to give credit, where credit is due. It wasn't about blown tires (more on that particular ironic moment later).  And it wasn't about how he lucked out on the last race of the season either. There are a couple of complete truths in the 2017 championship story for Josh Richards and they are the same universal truths that apply to almost every championship season in any form of Motorsports.

Firstly, championships are won before a driver takes the track for the final night to a certain extent. That sounds may sound ridiculous, especially if you're a diehard Tim McCreadie or Scott Bloomquist fan right about, but it's true nonetheless. Champions put themselves in position to win, to take advantage of the opportunities they created and then to race for the win all the way to the final checkered flag of the season. Richards did just that during the final night of the Dirt Track World Championships at Portsmouth Raceway Park (OH). He and his team did what they needed to do which was not ride along up front hoping good things would happen and the car would last. He steadily moved through the field like a man on a mission while others did not at the time that they needed to most.  Some folks call Richards a great points racer, which he is actually, but when the money was on the line and he had to have his best performance, he came through. And he could not have done that, if he hadn't put himself in position to make that performance count.

Paul Arch Photo

Secondly, it matters not what resources are available to drivers or the quality of those resources either. Almost every racer at the top level of Dirt Late Model racing that was in a championship mix for a series title has great stuff to work with no matter what chassis/engine combination they choose.  If they didn't, there would be no way for them to compete for a title in this day and age. There are some things that the best of everything cannot and will not ever give a driver. Things such as god given anticipation and ability, the reaction time necessary to be better than others, the instincts that guide decisions in lapped traffic, and the ability to maintain tires whether a driver is chasing a leader or keeping a pack behind him. Richards has often had to deal with naysayers that believe that his background and the fact that he is the son of the prominent figure Mark Richards gives him a wide advantage over almost everyone. Believe me when I tell you, he is most likely deaf to that kind of talk at this point.  He learned a long time ago that to pay attention to folks who say that is a focus killer and you cannot win both a World of Outlaw and Lucas points title without focus.

None of this is to say that McCreadie or Bloomquist didn't work hard to win the 2017 Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series title. They both did a lot of great things this year. McCreadie turned heads with his performance and may now be considered 100% of the driver he was before his Chili Bowl incident. The inconsistent streaks were gone all of the sudden in 2017 and his high paying 100-lap racing game made some great strides.  Bloomquist did typical Bloomquist things, winning lots of races and striking at Eldora once again for a six figure paycheck. They both deserved to be in the mix. But take nothing away from Richards this year, he seized what the others did not when it mattered most. And what's more, he put himself in the conversation of who might the greatest Dirt Late Model drivers of all time, when one considers the fact that he still has so many years left should he remain healthy. How many drivers do you know that won two different national touring championships both with deep, talent rich fields? It's the shortest list in the sport and the most exclusive club to get into.

I remember wondering after a cold November night in 2011 after Richards lost a championship via a blown tire on the next to last lap of the season, if he would be affected any way in the future. Would it make him hungrier or be a hard pill to swallow psychologically. It took a long to find out after his health issues, but the answer is hungrier and he drove like it in 2017, and of course on the final lap of the season. Take your place among the greatest names in the sport Mr. Richards, you have earned it!