Aug 3rd 2007

Aug 2nd 2007

Nelms Scores Top 5 in Rockford 100

July 28th - It was almost over before it started. On lap one of the Rockford 100 there was a massive multiple car pile up that involved Josh with heavy cosmetic damage. Josh was able to continue and fought hard for a 4th place finish. This was his best finish in ASA competition. The day started out early as the KJ Motorsports crew and volunteers arrived early at the speedway. With the experience of running Rockford from the prior season Josh was confident about having a strong finish. "I feel we can qualify in the top 10 and have a good top 10 run," Butch stated early in the day. The car had to go through a safety tech inspection prior to going on the racetrack and passed. Josh was ready to take the car around and practice. Right away the team knew they had a strong car as Josh among the top 7 in practice speeds less then a tenth of a second off the fastest posted speed. After second round of practice Josh fell to 10th, but only did 3 laps prepping the car to qualify. Qualifying was important die to the fact that, the team did not have a provisional to fall back on. Josh drew 20 out of 33 to qualify and ran a lap off 13.557 good for 6th quick and being one of 7 cars to break the previous track record. After the invert dice roll josh was starting 3rd row inside. Prior to the race an autograph session was held for all the drivers. Josh proved to be a popular stop. Many fans came up saying how glad they were to see him back at Rockford. Many asked about his chances, in which Josh responded, "it's Rockford, we have a starting spot up front and hopefully we can stay up there." While other local events were being held the cars were staged as the drivers waited to tame the .297 mile high banked speedway. The time had come and drivers began to buckle in as the team came up one by one to give Josh a fist pump. The cars staged and a driver introduction was done after that it was gentlemen start your engines. After a few pace laps, it was one to go till green. As the green was dropped, Josh was slammed in the side from the car on the outside and a red flag flew. Josh had heavy damage to the passenger side door but opted to stay out for track position. Many cars were involved in this wreck. On the restart, lap one was completed, and Josh moved to the outside to take over 7th, which is the preferred groove, another red flag for an accident had come out. "Some the guys are being impatient, heck it's only lap 1," Josh came over the radio. On this restart the drivers settled down and finally starting logging some laps. On lap 5 Josh began to pressure for 6th from the fast qualifier and soon took over the 6th place. After the field started to spread out soon Josh was up to 5th by lap 40. At this point the cars handling started going away. Josh was unaware the door that was hit had started flapping in the wind causing the car to become tight. He kept plugging away and by lap 80 was in 4th. Josh looked to make a move to the outside for 3rd and was denied. "Why wreck both of us, we had a good run going and didn't want to ruin that," Josh stated after the race. Josh stayed close with the leaders and brought the car home in 4th position. Many thanks to all the crew that helped out that day. "That was fun, I figured we would run top 10 I didn't figure top 5," Carl exclaimed.   for complete results (click here)

2006 Rockford Speedway Rookie of the Year in the tracks weekly Late Models division, Josh Nelms makes his way through Qualifying Tech. The Lockport, Illinois driver was making his first appearance of the 2007 season in the ASA Late Model Series.	josh qualifying for the asa Rockford 100. he puts the kj motorsports Chevy Monte Carlo inside 3rd row for the feature.
Josh Nelms (Left) describes his line around the Rockford (IL) Speedway during ARP Bodies/Aluminum Racing Products Qualifying while Dave Gentile Jr. (Right) listens in. Both drivers Qualified in.	Josh Nelms, a former regular at the 0.292 Mile High-Banked Paved Oval was a popular stop during the Autograph Session at his home track in Loves Park, Illinois.
ARP Bodies/Aluminum Racing Products Fast Qualifier, Michael Bilderback (2) battles with 2006 Rookie of the Year in Rockford’s weekly Late Models division, Josh Nelms (0) five laps into the Rockford 100.	Josh Nelms (0) looks to the inside of Dave Gentile Jr. (6) during the 77-lap Green Flag run after two cautions were thrown within the first lap of the 100-lap Feature.