SARVER, Pa. (June 24) — Using a late-race restart to his advantage, 10th-starting Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., shot past race leader Brandon Overton of Appling, Ga., on lap 22 of 30, leading the remaining distance for a $6,000 World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series victory at Lernerville Speedway.

Outside polesitter and Lernerville regular Russ King of Bristolville, Ohio charged to the lead at the drop of the green flag, falling to the fifth-starting Overton on lap six. After a close battle with Overton and King, Richards shot to the front of the field on lap 13, using the bottom of the racetrack to take the point.

But the race was far from over. Dodging a slowing Austin Smith of Cedartown, Ga., Richards opened the door for Overton, who charged back to the lead late in the race. After a caution slowed the field on lap 21, Richards retook the lead on the ensuing restart and the remaining circuits for his eighth World of Outlaws victory of the season.

“It definitely was not easy,” Richards said after the race. “The track was tricky. There were traction spots and and slick places and spots, and that’s just Lernerville for you. It was a lot of fun racing with those guys. We were running with Russ (King) there for a while, and Overton, we got a run back on him.

"I think it was Austin Smith … I got a run on the outside and I was going to try to go around him on the outside and he decided to stop and go in the pits and I had to slam on the breaks and got into the back of him. Luckily it didn’t hurt either one of our cars. Brandon (Overton) got back by us. It was a lot of fun out there."

Charging from the 16th starting position, Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., finished runner-up, with Overton crossing the checkers in third. Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., finished fourth, with King holding on to run fifth.

“Our car was really good there,” Davenport said. “We made a lot of changes right before the feature. We hot-lapped and qualified decent and then our heat race, we were just off a little bit, so we changed some stuff around. The first 10 or 15 laps there was just so hectic. There was so much grit and rocks and stuff blowing across the racetrack. It was really hard to find a line to run.

“On one of those cautions, I felt there was some grip around the top. There was a couple of other people running around the top and I finally got by them. It was just so hard to see. It was such a fine line up there. I didn’t want to do what Austin (Hubbard) did. We was a little harder on tires, so the longer we went, the better we got.”

While he came up just shy of his first career World of Outlaws victory, Overton was still pleased with his podium finish in the Firecracker preliminary.

“To run second to those two guys, they’re pretty good,” Overton said. "We had a pretty good car. We just found out we had a fender brace come off and it kept getting in the right-front tire, so I was having such a time getting through one and two. But all in all, it was a good car and we’ve got something to build on. Maybe we’ll be alright tomorrow."

Notes: A yellow flag flew on the opening lap for a multi-car pileup in turns three and four; Mike Benedum suffered a flat tire. The race was brought to a complete restart. … Steve Casebolt drew a caution on the second lap when he slipped off the backstretch berm. … A yellow flag waved on lap 18 when Morgan Bagley slowed in turns one and two. … Benedum spun in turn two to draw a caution on lap 21. … A yellow flag flew on lap 23 when Scott Bloomquist slid over the banking in turn two. … Austin Hubbard rolled his No. 11 machine — a brand-new Rocket XR1 he debuted at Lernerville — during one of the night’s consolations. He was able to climb from the car, but did sustain an ankle injury, suffering a deep cut.

Preliminary results:

First consolation (top two transfer): Jared Miley, Steve Casebolt, Morgan Bagley, Mike Norries, Joey Coulter, Allen Murray, Charles Powell Jr., Dan Angelicchio, Dan Swartzlander, Ross Robinson, Boom Briggs

Second consolation (top two transfer): Tyler Erb, Kenny Pettyjohn, Earl Pearson Jr., Matt Lux, Shane Clanton, Chase Junghans, Alex Ferree, Gary Lyle, Jim Rasey, Todd Bachman, Austin Hubbard

Third consolation (top two transfer): Darrell Lanigan, Dave Hess Jr., Bump Hedman, Dan Stone, Devin Lewis, Ken Schaltenbrand, Rick Eckert, Michael Lake, Joe Martin, Kerry King

Consolation lineups

(10 laps; top two transfer)
First consolation
Row 1: Jared Miley, Morgan Bagley
Row 2: Steve Casebolt, Boom Briggs
Row 3: Mike Norris, Dan Angelicchio
Row 4: Allen Murray, Charles Powell Jr.
Row 5: Joey Coulter, Ross Robinson
Row 6: Dan Swartzlander
Second consolation
Row 1: Alex Ferree, Tyler Erb
Row 2: Gary Lyle, Earl Pearson Jr.
Row 3: Austin Hubbard, Kenny Pettyjohn
Row 4: Matt Lux, Chase Junghans
Row 5: Shane Clanton, Jim Rasey
Third consolation
Row 1: Darrell Lanigan, Bump Hedman
Row 2: Michael Lake, Dan Stone
Row 3: Dave Hess Jr., Devin Lewis
Row 4: Ken Schaltenbrand, Joe Martin
Row 5: Kerry King Jr., Rick Eckert

Heat race results

First heat finish (top three transfer): Billy Moyer Jr., Chub Frank, Dale McDowell, Jared Miley, Steve Casebolt, Mike Norris, Allen Murray, Joey Coulter, Dan Swartzlande

Second heat finish (top three transfer): Frank Heckenast Jr., Mike Benedum, Jason Covert, Morgan Bagley, Boom Briggs, Dan Angelicchio, Charles Powell Jr., Ross Robinson

Third heat finish (top three transfer): Brandon Overton, Tim McCreadie, Gregg Satterlee, Alex Ferree, Gary Lyle, Austin Hubbard, Matt Lux, Shane Clanton

Fourth heat finish (top three transfer): Scott Bloomquist, Josh Richards, Jonathan Davenport, Tyler Erb, Earl Pearson Jr., Kenny Pettyjohn, Chase Junghans, Todd Bachman, Jim Rasey

Fifth heat finish (top three transfer): Russ King, Mason Zeigler, Eric Wells, Darrell Lanigan, Michael Lake, Dave Hess Jr., Ken Schaltenbrand, Kerry King Jr.

Sixth heat finish (top three transfer): Brian Shirley, Mike Pegher Jr., Austin Smith, Bump Hedman, Dan Stone, Devin Lewis, Joe Martin, Rick Eckert

Heat race lineups

(10 laps; top three transfer)
First heat
Row 1: Dale McDowell, Billy Moyer Jr.
Row 2: Jared Miley, Chub Frank
Row 3: Mike Norris, Steve Casebolt
Row 4: Allen Murray, Dan Swartzlander
Row 5: Joey Coulter
Second heat
Row 1: Mike Benedum, Frank Heckenast Jr.
Row 2: Morgan Bagley, Jason Covert
Row 3: Charles Powell Jr., Boom Briggs
Row 4: Ross Robinson, Dan Angelicchio
Third heat
Row 1: Austin Hubbard, Shane Clanton
Row 2: Gregg Satterlee, Tim McCreadie
Row 3: Brandon Overton, Matt Lux
Row 4: Alex Ferree, Gary Lyle
Fourth heat
Row 1: Scott Bloomquist, Jonathan Davenport
Row 2: Josh Richards, Earl Pearson
Row 3: Tyler Erb, Chase Junghans
Row 4: Kenny Pettyjohn, Jim Rasey
Row 5: Todd Bachman
Fifth heat
Row 1: Russ King, Eric Wells
Row 2: Mason Zeigler, Darrell Lanigan
Row 3: Michael Lake, Dave Hess Jr.
Row 4: Kerry King, Ken Schaltenbrand
Sixth heat
Row 1: Brian Shirley, Mike Pegher Jr.
Row 2: Joe Martin, Austin Smith
Row 3: Bump Hedman, Dan Stone
Row 4: Rick Eckert, Devin Lewis

Pre-race setup

With Thursday’s preliminary program rained out and rescheduled for Saturday afternoon, Friday’s World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series event will kick off the 10th annual Firecracker 100 weekend at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa. The 30-lap event will pay $6,000 to the winner.

Defending World of Outlaws champion Shane Clanton of Zebulon, Ga., and Chase Junghans of Manhattan, Kan., were the winners of last year’s Firecracker 100 preliminary events, with Rick Eckert of York, Pa., capturing the $30,000-to-win 100-lapper. Former Firecracker 100 winner Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., enters the weekend atop the series points standings.

Friday’s event will include time trials, heat races, consolations and the 30-lap feature. Saturday’s action will include two sessions, with Thursday’s makeup program slated for noon. The evening show will follow afternoon activities including the driver autograph session and cornhole tournament.

Time trial results

Driver (car no.), hometown, time
Group A
Dale McDowell (17m), Chickamauga, Ga., 15.251
Mike Benedum (1B), Clarksburg, W.Va., 15.292
Austin Hubbard (11), Seaford, Del., 15.355
Billy Moyer Jr. (21JR), Batesville, Ark., 15.358
Frank Heckenast Jr. (99JR), Frankfort, Ill., 15.403
Shane Clanton (25), Zebulon, Ga., 15.428
Jared Miley (H1), South Park, Pa., 15.443
Morgan Bagley (14m), Longview, Texas, 15.451
Gregg Satterlee (22), Indiana, Pa., 15.455
Chub Frank (1*), Bear Lake, Pa., 15.478
Jason Covert (72c), York Haven, Pa., 15.487
Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y., 15.523
Mike Norris (72), Sarver, Pa., 15.578
Charles Powell Jr. (94), Brookville, Pa., 15.584
Brandon Overton (76), Appling, Ga., 15.602
Steve Casebolt (C9), Richmond, Ind., 15.606
Boom Briggs (99B), Bear Lake, Pa., 15.681
Max Lux (111), Franklin, Pa., 15.752
Allen Murray (2m), San Antonio, Texas, 15.753
Ross Robinson (7R), Georgetown, Del., 15.802
Alex Ferree (10), Saxonburg, Pa., 15.817
Dan Swartzlander (3), Freeport, Pa., 16.272
Dan Angelicchio (14),Greensburg, Pa., 16.395
Gary Lyle (10L), Hyde Park, Pa.. 16.477
Joey Coulter (2c), Miami Springs, Fla., no time
Group B
Scott Bloomquist (0), Mooresburg, Tenn., 15.335
Russ King (56), Bristolville, Ohio, 15.393
Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 15.413
Jonathan Davenport (116), Blairsville, Ga., 15.430
Eric Wells (18), Hazard, Ky., 15.440
Mike Pegher Jr. (1c), Wexford, Pa., 15.486
Josh Richards (1), Shinnston, W.Va., 15.555
Mason Zeigler (25Z), Chalk Hill, Pa., 15.561
Joe Martin (61), Mayport, Pa., 15.562
Earl Pearson Jr. (1P), Jacksonville, Fla. , 15.611
Darrell Lanigan (15L), Union, Ky., 15.618
Austin Smith (11s), Cedartown, Ga., 15.632
Michael Lake (27), Uniontown, Pa., 15.680
Bump Hedman (B22), Sugar Grove, Pa., 15.716
Chase Junghans (18c), Manhattan, Kan., 15.752
Dave Hess Jr. (44s), Waterford, Pa., 15.760
Dan Stone (2), Thompson, Pa., 15.797
Kenny Pettyjohn (38), Millsboro, Del., 15.814
Kerry King (KB), Delmar, Del., 15.894
Rick Eckert (7), York, Pa., 15.971
Jim Rasey (32),Warren, Ohio, 16.139
Kenny Schaltenbrand (29), Sarver, Pa., 16.223
Devin Lewis (73), St. Mary’s, Pa., 16.249
Todd Bachman (66), Natrona Heights, Pa., 16.341
Tyler Erb (91), New Waverly, Texas, 16.672