By Bill W
August 3, 2010 – A good measuring stick for any racer is when the best come to town. Josh Fisher proved that he belonged among them last weekend when the Lucas Oil ASCS National Series came to town. Youthful exuberance may have cost him a bit on Friday night at LA Raceway, but he came back on Saturday night to finish a strong second to “The Crawdad” Tim Crawley at Lake Ozark Speedway.
The Smithton, Missouri driver drew well on Friday in La Monte, but when he looked at the heat lineup, he had to look twice. He drew the pole, with Brian Brown outside him. Behind him were Jason Johnson, Crawley, Jack Dover, Tony Bruce Jr. and Justyn Cox. Not phased, he got the jump on Brown and went on to lead every lap for the popular win. “That was a loaded heat,” he says. “It felt good to win that one even though we started up front.”
Another good draw saw him on the pole for the feature. A move sliding from the bottom to the top of turns one and two had done him well in the heat, and he would try it again. This time, Dustin Morgan had different plans, and the hopes for a win were dashed. “I thought I had him cleared, and then I saw him on the outside and I knew I didn’t,” says Josh. “I crossed it up getting out of the gas and spun out. It made me look like an idiot, that’s for sure.”
Luckily, everyone missed the spinning driver and he restarted at the tail. He would pull out after losing use of his nose wing. “We actually got up to around 14th or 15th,” he says. “After Brown flipped (lap 10), I went in the corner and the front nose wing broke. I just couldn’t keep the front end down, so I pulled it off.”
Saturday, it would be on to LOS near Eldon, Missouri for a regular night of racing. Crawley would show up and provide plenty of competition for Josh, who has won three times there this season. In the heat, he was able to drive from fifth to win with a last lap pass. “We made our way up through there,” he says. “I’ve been more patient after I wrecked with a lapped car a few weeks ago. I almost took to long in the heat, and it took me until the last lap to pass Mark Finnell.”
Starting outside row one of the dash, Josh would beat Crawley to the checkers. “It would have been better to finish second in the dash (starting outside row one for the feature), but I just have problems with that,” he says. “I hate getting beat.”
Another move from the pole was called for in turns one and two, but again it came up short. “I almost had Crawley cleared, but I didn’t and I lost momentum,” says Josh. “I actually fell back to fourth or fifth at one time.”
Josh would recover well. “I got back up to second, and I gained a lot on him on the last lap,” he says of his pursuit of Crawley. “Down in one and two I was on his bumper. I decided in three and four, I was going to try to get by him.”
However, momentum was lost in turn two. “The cushion was a little gnarly coming out of two, and it picked the front end up,” says Josh. “I decided after that, I would just ride and take second. With a couple more laps, I may have had something for him, but he’s obviously a good driver too.”
Josh and the Ozark Barge & Dock Services #86 will take this week off to prepare for the rest of the season.
Follow Josh on his Website and on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter!
Follow Josh at his website located at www.JoshFisherRacing.com! Also keep up with him on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter (which also can be accessed at the website) at the following links…
MySpace link = http://www.myspace.com/joshfisherracing
Facebook link = http://www.facebook.com/pages/Josh-Fisher-Racing-86/103797769651510?ref=ts
Twitter link = http://twitter.com/JEFRacing
Josh would like to thank the following sponsors for all their help: Ozark Barge & Dock Services Inc., ASAP Properties, Impact Wraps, Impact Sign & Lighting, Fischer’s Concrete, Champion Brands, Bill Ferguson Livestock Trucking, K&N Filters, Butler Built Seats, Maxim Racing Chassis, Winters Performance, Bell Helmets, Hoosier Tires, Ramey Dirtworks, TCI Tire Centers and Brian’s Gym.