ARCA: Josh Williams Hitting His Stride

Josh Williams has hit his stride in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, scoring five top-five finishes so far this season and knocking on the door of victory.

Williams’ most recent top-five came during Sunday’s Allen Crowe 100 at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield. He found himself running second in the late stages of the race with a chance to score the victory but he was forced to restart on the outside line on the final restart and was relegated to a fourth place finish.

“We got hung up on the top,” Williams said. “We had a really fast racecar. We could have won the race for sure. Thigns didn’t fall our way but we were able to gain a bunch of points on Grant [Enfinger].”

Williams is currently 150 points behind ARCA point leader Grant Enfinger. Enfinger started the season on a hot streak, scoring wins in the first three races of the season and another win earlier this month at Berlin Raceway. However, what makes Williams’ season so impressive is that he’s not racing with the type of resources many of the drivers in the ARCA Racing Series have.

“We don’t spend as much as we need to but spend as much as we have to, if that makes sense,” Williams explained. “We own one Ilmor motor. We’ve run our legacy motor at short tracks and stuff. Some of the tracks, we didn’t buy as many sets of tires as we needed but we’d buy a set of scuffs or use older tires that we had before. We still ended up with some good finishes.

“We’ve had good success this year, I’ve got a good team, good guys at the shop. It’s just full-time guys and me. Small little team. We get one or two more guys to come to the racetrack. We just try to focus on wins and stuff.”

The Port Charlotte, Florida driver, now 22, started his racing career racing Go-Karts, Quarter Midgets and Legends cars all throughout the Sunshine State and even in other regions. He even traveled to Charlotte and Las Vegas in his early years of racing. He credits the frequent traveling in the early years of his racing career for his success now, saying he learned to adapt quickly.

Williams made the move to ARCA in 2010, racing in the one-off ARCA Racing Series event at Palm Beach International Raceway in Florida, which was the first event in series history to be raced in the rain with wet tires. He went on to race a few more events that year and in the years following before becoming a series regular.

“When I was old enough to run ARCA, we ran the short track races and stuff,” Williams commented. “I still run Legends every now and then. Any thing I can get in, Super Late Model or dirt car, anytime you can be behind the wheel is good.”

Now, Williams finds himself knocking on the door of his first career win in the ARCA Racing Series. If he’s able to kick open that door and score the victory, it will not just be popular but will also be well deserved for one of racing’s most underrated up-and-comers.

“It would be really huge,” Williams remarked. “For me and my team to finish in the top-five and come out of here and possibly win the championship – a win to us is like wining the championship. We’re under-resourced but we don’t use that as an excuse. We think we should run just as good as everyone else. A win would be huge. We’re close. Late race cautions have been the problem for us. We’ve either been the fast car, catching the leader or in the lead and something happens. We’re knocking on it for sure. I think we’ll get one before the year’s out.”

His next race might be the race where he scores that first career win. His fourth place finish at Springfield, a race he felt he should have won, has him riding a wave of confidence heading into the ‘Magic Mile’ at the DuQuoin State Fair where the ARCA Racing Series will compete in a 100 lap race on Labor Day (September 7^th). DuQuoin is a flat, one mile dirt track much like the Springfield Mile at the Illinois State Fair which is traditionally run the day after NASCAR’s Night Race at Bristol. Both events have been staples on the ARCA Racing Series calendar since 1985.

Following the race in DuQuoin, Illinois, the ARCA Racing Series will head to Williams’ favorite track, Salem Speedway in Salem, Indiana.

“It’s a driver’s track,” Williams remarked. “I don’t like that they repaved 3 and 4. It took some character out of it. It’s a fun track, you have to race the track and the competition. You’re up on the wheel. Fast paced. It’s an adrenaline rush. Winchester and Salem are very close. I like Winchester as well. Something about Salem, it’s something different.”

Williams is ultimately hoping to make the move to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series or NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2016.

“Our goal for 2016 is hopefully run some XFINITY stuff or Truck races, just sponsor depending,” Williams stated. “This sport’s surrounded by funding so that’s what we’re looking for. If sponsorship works out, we’ll dip into XFINITY and Camping World stuff next year.”

While the economy is tough on the racing industry right now, Williams does feel that sponsors have taken notice to his presence and that he might be able to pursue options in NASCAR next season.

“I feel like some of them have,” Williams answered if asked if sponsors have3 taken noticed. “It’s difficult for anyone at any time to get sponsorship. It’s a very difficult time for the economy. I feel like it’s picking back up and our performance on and off the track has helped us out a bunch with getting sponsors. Success has played a big part in it.”

To date, Josh Williams has 35 career top-10 finishes in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards. His next race will be at the DuQuoin State Fair on Monday, September 7^th. The ARCA Radio Network will have live streaming audio coverage of the race at ARCARacing.com.