Richards revved up by NAPA Late Model Series

Kevin Richards finds himself really enjoying life in the fast lane a lot more lately.

Part of that is because he’s been on a roll on area racetracks at the wheel of his new ride in the McClintock and Turk Late Model.

Richards shoots for six straight wins Saturday night when the NAPA Late Model Series returns to Stateline Speedway for a combined event with the Late Model Challenge.

Some 30 late models are expected to vie for around 20 starting spots in Saturday’s race that begins with time trials at 6 p.m. Early Stocks, Hobby Cars and Street Stocks are also part of the program.

Richards made a name for himself over the past six or so years at the wheel of the Monaco Enterprises NASCAR Grand National car. He was incredibly competitive, won some races and nearly a title or two. But when Monaco scaled back operations, Richards decided it was time to move on.

He’s currently running a car he helped build for Brandon Ash while he was with Monaco. The car was subsequently sold to Don Williams, owner of McClintock and Turk, a Spokane mechanical contracting firm. In his new position, Richards runs the company warehouse, “and then tinkers with race cars.”

“It’s a new challenge, and I’m having a lot more fun,” said Richards. While the NASCAR ride was a great experience there was a lot of pressure to win. “If you’re young and ready to rock that’s great,” Richards said. “but at 42, I want to have fun.”

Richards will take the wins anyway he can because “sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.” He said he “won with a third-place car,” in the last NAPA Series race in May when leaders Rick Schultz of Spokane and Ephrata’s Christian Roeder collided with five laps to go and were knocked out of contention.

Richards not only owns five straight wins – four in the NW Late Models at Spokane Raceway – but also holds the track record at Stateline. The new asphalt laid last October has been a huge improvement according to Richards who’s raced at some of the premier tracks in the West while with Monaco. “There’s nothing that compares to the racetrack out there at Stateline, other than Wenatchee.”

“The NAPA Series is great,” Richards said. “They made everyone go through changes. I was scared they were going to change too much too fast, but that hasn’t happened.” The series has good officials and good tech people, Richards said. “The officiating is a lot better.”

A handful of guys stepped up and bought good equipment so now every race is at a competitive level like the Montana and Idaho 200 races that draw elite fields.

Hydro season opens amid controversy

The 2004 unlimited hydroplane season opens this weekend at Evansville, Ind. Or does it?

According to the Hydro-Prop sanctioning body, the Evansville race is classified as an outlaw event and their season will instead begin on the Fourth of July weekend at Madison, Ind.

Veteran hydroplane broadcaster and historian Mike Fitzsimmons of Spokane said the Evansville promoters balked at the $180,000 sanctioning fee Hydro-Prop required. The Evansville group wanted assurance that Hydro-Prop would guarantee at least eight boats for the race, but so such assurance was given.

And when Hydro-Prop told the hometown Coopers Express hydro that it would not be able to race, the Evansville race organizers figured they could take the sanctioning fee and better use it to entice more race teams by offering guaranteed appearance money.

While it’s still uncertain whether enough unlimiteds will show up to make a race – “six to seven and maybe eight teams,” appear headed to Evansville,” according to Fitzsimmons. “Evansville has an ace up it’s sleeve,” he said. As many as 17 unlimited light hydros are preparing to run at Freedom Fest.

Evansville’s defection may be just the beginning of an unraveling of the 2004 Hydro-Prop season, significant in that it’s the 100th anniversary of the Gold Cup set for Detroit on July 18.

With the 2004 season being the swan-song for the Miss Budweiser after over 40 years of involvement in the sport and a race schedule that has remained static with a half-dozen events for the past several years, Fitzsimmons sees unlimited racing ripe for a change.

The future of the sport may well rest with the unlimited lights, a boat that is 25 feet long and one that runs on automotive power. Rule changes for 2005 will likely see the length of the boat increased to 28 feet and use of a multi-speed gear box that, in Fitzsimmon’s estimation, could make the lights as fast as a turbo-charged Allison.

Pit stops

High school drag racing returns to Spokane Raceway Park on Friday (gates open 5 p.m.) with Bracket drags on the drag strip Saturday. The Northwest Modifieds headline the oval track schedule and team with local classes. Gates open at 3 p.m. with racing at 7 on both tracks… Flat-track motorcycles return to Sunset Speedway at the Spokane Motorsports Complex in Airway Heights on Saturday.

Streaks and stats

Rathdrum’s Doyle Braton seems to find memorable times to win races in the Northwest Modified Series. Last Saturday, the day before Father’s Day, Braton and son Jeff finished one-two in the feature race at Stateline. Last year at Tri Cities, Braton won his first career series race on his birthday. … Robert Ballard won his fourth straight Hobby Stock main event last Saturday at Stateline Speedway, while Aaron Nevers collected his fourth main event of the season and second in a row in Street Stocks.