Natural Bridge Speedway
Lathroum repeats at Fall Classic, earns $8,000
By Clifford Dove
DirtonDirt.com correspondent
Jamie Lathroum earned $8,000 for his second straight Fall Classic victory. (Clifford Dove)
NATURAL BRIDGE, Va. (Oct. 2) — Jamie Lathroum of Mechanicsville, Md., overtook polesitter Jeremy Miller of Gettysburg, Pa., just before the halfway point at Natural Bridge Speedway and raced to victory in his second consecutive Sunoco Fall Classic. Lathroum earned $8,000 in the fifth annual event at the 3/8-mile oval. | Slideshow
Miller settled for second in the 50-lap unsanctioned event for Super Late Models followed by Ronnie DeHaven Jr. of Winchester, Va., Steve Shaver of Vienna, W.Va., and Jason Covert of York Haven, Pa.
Making his Natural Bridge debut, Miller jumped into the lead at the outset over DeHaven and Shaver and pulled away after a lap-six caution. Lathroum took positions from Shaver and then DeHaven to get into second, and he began hounding the leader amid slower traffic.
Lathroum made his winning move on the high side before the halfway point and pulled to a huge lead during a long stretch of green-flag racing. Soon enough, though, Lathroum found himself with traffic issues, allowing Miller to close in on his rear deck with 10 laps remaining.
But a lap-44 caution reset the field and gave Lathroum clear racetrack as he cruised to his second consecutive autumn special at Natural Bridge.
Notes: Lathroum's MasterSbilt Race Car is sponsored by Three Mules Welding Supplies, Abell Auto Glass, Superior Tank and Double J Grafix. ... Besides Lathroum, previous Fall Classic winners are Bo Feathers (2006) and Booper Bare ('07-'08). ... Among drivers failing to make the feature lineup: Gerald Davis, Mark Pettyjohn, Bryan Tavenner, Bryan Bernheisel, Greg Roberson, Tony Crim, Jared Almarode, Chris Cromer, Gerald Wolfe and Dear Bowen. ... The event is the only Super Late Model event of the year at NBS, which runs steel-block Late Models weekly. Greg Roberson of Waynesboro, Va., won the track's steel block race, earning $1,500 for outrunning Gerald Davis, Matt Parks, Ricky Wells and Kristian Looney.
Sunoco Fall Classic: (1) Jamie Lathroum, (2) Jeremy Miller, (3) Ronnie DeHaven Jr., (4) Steve Shaver, (5) Jason Covert, (6) Jim Bernheisel, (7) Walker Arthur, (8) D.J. Myers, (9) C.S. Fitzgerald III, (10) Stephen Evans, (11) Tommy Armel, (12) Jeff Smith, (13) Kenny Pettyjohn, (14) Tyler Hershey, (15) Denny Bonebrake, (16) Kyle Lear, (17) Lewis Hudson, (18) Brad Omps, (19) Allen Brannon, (20) Booper Bare, (21) Darryl Hills, (22) Kyle Hardy, (23) Wesley Bonebrake, (24) Bo Feathers. Fast qualifier (among 34 cars): Bare, 14.92 seconds. Heat race winners: Lathroum, Myers, Bernheisel, Miller. Dash winner: Miller. Consolation winner: Lear.
