Five-time national touring champion Josh Richards, who rose to fame as a teen in his father's Rocket Chassis house car en route to more than 170 career Super Late Model victories but saw his career ebb in recent seasons, recently announced his effective retirement from full-time racing.

The 34-year-old Richards, whose 55 weeks atop DirtonDirt.com's power rankings is third among all racers, plans to pursue other opportunities after competing as a full-time national touring dirt racer all but two of the previous 18 seasons.

“It was not an easy decision to make, but I knew it was time for a change,” the Shinnston, W.Va., native and Houston, Ohio, resident said in a release on his website. “I’ve raced full time since I was a teenager and I’m ready to do something different with my life.”

Richards, a four-time World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series champion (2009-10, '13, '16) and 2017 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champ, has more combined victories on those long-running national tours (111) than every driver except Hall of Famer Scott Bloomquist.

“I’ve been blessed to accomplish all that I have in my career,” Richards said, adding that he'd consider occasional competition in the future. “I give all the glory to God. I want to thank my family, friends, teams, crew and sponsors for giving me an opportunity to race and be competitive. I also want to express my thanks to my family and my wife, Andrea for their love and encouragement. I want the fans to know how much I’ve appreciated their support. I have enjoyed getting to meet so many new people throughout the years and I will cherish their friendships forever.”

Richards won all his WoO titles and the lion's share of his races in the Rocket house car while capturing the Lucas Oil title in the first of two seasons with Ohio-based Best Performance Motorsports. He piloted a Clint Bowyer Racing car from 2018-21 on the Lucas Oil circuit with a best points finish of third in '19 and was winless during an ill-fated '22 season for the Briggs Transport team.

While he's second in all-time WoO victories (78) and seventh on the Lucas Oil list (33), and shares the single-season record for WoO victories at 18, Richards scored a mere eight victories overall during the last three seasons.

Richards, nicknamed "Kid Rocket" early in his career, spent most of two seasons away from Dirt Late Model previously, in 2012 while making a bid for a NASCAR career and in 2014 when nerve damage in his hands sidelined him until fall.