Richards Likes His Momentum
That light that Kevin Richards sees at the end of the tunnel is no longer a freight train trying to run him down. It may be the glimmer of opportunity.
With a win in his last race a month ago at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, the Spokane Winston West driver feels he may have turned around his dismal second season in the Monaco Enterprises Chevy. By scoring his first career victory, Richards has a new lease on his racing life.
He returns to action Saturday night at Portland Speedway for the ninth of 14 races.
“We’re excited for Portland. We run real well there,” Richards said. The Monroe win was a culmination of things, a lot of it behind the scenes, Richards said.
“We’ve been running weekends at Salt Lake City in the Intermountain Late-Model Series,” Richards said. “We’ve won two races there.” Through eight Winston West starts this year, Richards, who had hoped to build on an impressive rookie campaign in ‘98, has three top-10 finishes, a 13th, a 17th, a 23rd and a pair of 26th-place finishes. He has slipped out of the top 10 in series points.
It’s a stark contrast to a year ago, when Richards had five top-10 finishes and was battling Austin Cameron and Kelly Tanner for rookie-of-the-year honors. Even though he sits 12th in points, “we’re really not out of the picture” as far as the championship is concerned, he said.
Points focus shifting
The battle for the Interstate Superstock points championship appears to be developing into a race for second.
Mike Saul’s three-race winning streak has pushed the Puyallup, Wash., driver into a 151-point lead over Spokane’s Todd Witham. Saturday night’s eighth series race at Stateline Speedway will more than likely begin to settle positions for the remainder of the top five.
L.T. Jones trails Witham by 52 points, and 58 points separate Jones from Mike Behar and Greg Ochs. Two more races remain on the schedule, Aug. 28 at Stateline and Sept. 18 in Tri Cities.
The Columbia River Sprint Cars, Formula Indys and Hobby Cars are also on the Saturday schedule that begins with time trials at 6 p.m.
Friday features the usual local program of Hobby Cars, Mini-Trucks and Street Stocks starting at 6:30.
The third of four demolition derbys is Sunday at 1 p.m.
Pit stops
Spokane Raceway Park gets a busy weekend going Saturday with the 18th annual Fox Hunt. SRP did not provide details on headliners for what has become the track’s best-attended event. A Street Stock Invitational also is scheduled for the oval track Saturday. Racing starts in both events at 7 p.m… . The Stateline Outboard Racing Association will sanction two days of outboard hydroplane racing at Harrison, Idaho, Saturday and Sunday. The races help celebrate Harrison’s Centennial… . Republic’s Eagle Track stages the third of four races in the N.E. Washington Dirt Cup Challenge Series with Northport Speedway this Saturday. Time trials are at noon… . The Spokane Kart Racing Association’s seventh points race is Sunday at noon at the Spokane Motorsports Complex… . Another race in the Motocross Day Series also runs Sunday at the complex starting with sign-up at 7 a.m… . Freddy Rantz’s effort to try to revive racing at Ephrata has apparently failed. The track reportedly has closed.
Streaks, stats
Joe Ruddach puts his four-race N.W Mini-Super winning streak to the test Saturday at Mission Valley Speedway in Ronan, Mont… . With a win last Wednesday night, Scott Perry pushed his Fever Four Hobby Car streak to four… . Sunday in Kelowna, B.C., at the Molson Thunderfest, Chip Hanauer will again try for his 62nd career win, a number that would tie him with the late Bill Muncey for all-time wins by an unlimited hydroplane driver.