Josh Williams And Co. Hoping For Change Of Luck In Indianapolis

Josh Williams And Co. Hoping For Change Of Luck In Indianapolis

Topics: Josh Williams, Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 200

Josh Williams And Co. Hoping For Change Of Luck In Indianapolis

Chris Knight
Knight Motorsports Management
Josh Williams Motorsports
July 25, 2012

CLERMONT, Indiana (July 25, 2012) - - In the past two ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards races at Iowa Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway respectively, Josh Williams and his Josh Williams Motorsports (JWM) team have showcased competitive cars but unfortunately have been plagued with misfortune. With the ARCA tour in the midst of their summer stretch, the family owned team heads to Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis looking for a change of luck in Friday night’s Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 200 by Federated Car Care.

Last year, the team earned one of their three top-10 finishes of the season at the .686-mile oval driving the icon No. 02 Southwest Florida Cable Construction / Fields Auto Parts Ford Fusion. Patience, yet aggression earned the Port Charlotte, Florida native his then third career top-10 finish in his early ARCA career.

Fast forward nearly a year, Williams enters the 13th race of the season already with three more top-10 runs and is eager to accelerate past last year’s overall statistic at a track he feels very comfortable with. To aid towards his excitement about Friday night’s thunder, the Concord, North Carolina-based team is reuniting with Fields Auto Parts, who will serve as a co-primary sponsor on the team’s entry in their 12th race of the season.

“After our run at Lucas Oil Raceway last year, this has been one of the short track races, I couldn’t wait to get back to,” said Williams. “But, first we have to thank Bobby Fields and the entire staff at Fields Auto Parts for coming back on-board for a second year with us, It really means a lot and their support is making this race a reality for us. Bottom line, I love short track racing. You don’t always have to have the best car, you just have to be smart, stay alert but drive the wheels off of it. I’m not afraid to get aggressive and drive hard if it means getting us a good finish; we need it, especially after the last couple of weeks.”

While most teams made the trek back to their respective race shops to prepare for Friday night’s showdown, the JWM team elected to stay on the road and has spent the early part of the week putting the final touches on their blue oval. Initially, the team brought another piece for battle, but after several conversations, the team has now decided to use the car nicknamed “Bertha” as its wheels of choice instead.

“I love this car, it’s one of the best in our fleet,” offered the 18-year old. “I really feel like we had a top-15 in the bag at Chicagoland last weekend if not for the oil temperature issue, the car was just that solid. We’ve made some tweaks as far as the setup goes, so we’ll be fine and in-line with the other teams when we unload on Friday morning.”

Staying on the road between races can definitely offers its disadvantages, but the team has made the best out of the situation and even used the down-time as a bonding experience. “Whether we’re back in Concord or on the road, we’re a close-knit family,” Williams explained. “When you’re running on a strict budget like we are, we just figured it was in our best interest to stay on the road. Some friends of ours let us use their shop to get the car switched over. We’ve also done some fishing and some go-kart racing. It’s been fun, but we’re racers, so we’re ready for Friday to get here, because we want to go racing!”

Williams will continue to sport his new helmet signifying his involvement with RAD (Racing Against Drugs). A slick Simpson helmet decked out in a stimulating and gasping design by Shell Shock, Williams will wear the piece through the upcoming race at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway before auctioning it off in August with the proceeds being directly donated to the RAD program.

“The helmet’s gained a lot of attention because it looks so cool,” Williams explained. “RAD is such a great program and their techniques really do help make you think before choosing a path you may not want to follow. I enjoy my affiliation with them and we hope to gain them some additional attention with our team mission.”

The Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 200 by Federated Car Care (200 laps / 137 miles) is the 13th of 20 events on the 2012 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The ninth ARCA race at LOR is a one-day show. Practice begins Friday, July 27 with a forty-five practice session planned from 1:35 p.m. - 2:20 p.m. A final practice is scheduled from 3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Menards pole qualifying presented by Ansell is set for later in the day slated to begin at 5:30 p.m. The event will take the green flag under the lights shortly after 9:00 p.m. The race will be televised live on SPEED with additional coverage including timing and scoring will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com. All times are local (Eastern).

After 12 races, JWM has competed in 11 of them and occupies a respectable 14th in the championship standings, just 100 markers from 11th. This season, the team has amounted three top-10 finishes including a season best of ninth at Salem (Ind.) Speedway. An 11th place qualifying run at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in June is the team’s best time trials effort to date thus far.

For more information on Josh Williams, his Josh Williams Motorsports team and sponsorship opportunities for the 2012 and 2013 seasons please connect to the team’s official website at Joshwracing.com.

Williams has joined the Twitter crave. Follow and connect with him @Josh02Williams.

PHOTO CAPTION: Josh Williams, driver of the No. 02 Southwest Florida Cable Construction / Fields Auto Parts Ford Fusion in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards for Josh Williams Motorsports (JWM).

TEAM COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT:

NAME: Chris Knight, Knight Motorsports Management
PHONE: 239.834.9797
EMAIL: chris@chrisknightpr.com