Dog Hollow Speedway
Covert edges Lathroum for Dog Hollow victory
Jason Covert emerges from his winning car. (Joe Nowak)
STRONGSTOWN, Pa. (July 11) — Rallying from his 10th starting spot, Jason Covert of York Haven, Pa., overtook race-long leader Jamie Lathroum of Mechanicsville, Md., with an outside pass to lead the final three laps at Dog Hollow Speedway. Covert’s first career victory on the UFO Race Championship Series paid $5,000 for 44 laps of work. | Slideshow
Lathroum, who started outside the front row, settled for a second-place finish while Jeremy Miller of Gettysburg, Pa., came from the sixth row to finish third. Series points leader Chad McClellan of Stoyston, Pa., and Jared Miley of South Park, Pa., who recovered from an early spin, rounded out the top five.
Covert was up to third after 17 laps, but he fell back to fourth at halfway as Lathroum was pulling away in the 44-lapper ahead of Clate Copeman, McClellan, Covert and Miller. McClelland regained second from Copeman on lap 26, but Covert muscled past McClelland into second on a lap-29 restart, and Miller dropped McClellan to fourth.
Keith Barbara of South Park slowed on lap 41 to set up a three-lap dash to the checkers, and John Mollick’s spin on the restart reset the field once again with Lathroum to the inside of a double-file restart with Covert.
Covert stayed with Lathroum down the frontstretch and came out ahead exiting turn two for a lead he’d never give up.
Notes: Covert's Barry Klinedinst-owned Rocket Chassis has Hershey power and sponsorship from Pre-Mach Inc. and Red Wing Shoes. ... Scott Rhodes of Somerset, Pa., made a 22nd-to-10th run for hard charger honors. ... Clate Copeman faded to finish ninth after running as high as second. ... Fourth-finishing Chad McClellan leads John Mollick by 16 points in the title chase. ... Among drivers failing to make the feature: Gary Lyle, Danny Mitchell, Matt Gaston and Denton Boyer. ... Next up for UFO competitors is a $3,000-to-win event July 17 at Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex in Markleysburg, Pa.
UFO @ Dog Hollow: (1) Jason Covert, (2) Jamie Lathroum, (3) Jeremy Miller, (4) Chad McClellan, (5) Jared Miley, (6) Matt Lux, (7) Frankie Plessinger, (8) Tommy Beck, (9) Clate Copeman, (10) Scott Rhodes, (11) John Britsky, (12) Doug Horton, (13) Dave Blazavich, (14) Dwayne Taneyhill, (15) John Mollick, (16) Rance Garlock, (17) Keith Barbara, (18) Jim Kutas, (19) Gregg Satterlee, (20) Sammy Stile, (21) Dane Laraway, (22) Tom Decker Jr., (23) D.J. Myers, (24) Bobby Stokes, (25) Ron Delano Jr., (26) Billy Eash. Heat race winners (among 42 cars): Blazavich, Miley, Lathroum, Covert, Kutas. Consolation winners: Beck, Stile.
