JAMAICA, VA (September 15, 2012) – Jamie Lathroum of Mechanicsville, MD a former track champion at Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway captured the biggest victory of his racing career on Saturday Night. He took home the $20,000 first place in the 33rd Annual USA 100. Lathroum took over the lead on lap 18 and held off Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN for the win in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned event.

Steve Francis of Ashland, KY led the first 15 laps of the race until Lathroum forged under him coming off of turn four. Francis then jumped the cushion and was forced to stop on the track before contact with the inside guardrail. On the restart, Lathroum picked up the lead, but a big wreck in turn four involving four cars changed the complexion of the top five.

Lathroum maintained the top spot with Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, FL and John Blankenship of Williamson, WV running in third. Lathroum built his lead over Pearson and Blankenship as the drivers approached the halfway mark of the race.

Blankenship squeezed by Pearson for second as he began to run down the leader, Lathroum. Blankenship closed the gap in a hurry as he closed to within a car length of Lathroum, who was having difficulty negotiating lapped car. Blankenship tried to pass Lathroum several times, but could never get a good enough run.

Lathroum meanwhile stretched his lead out to a comfortable margin over Blankenship, who was now receiving pressure from the duo of Pearson and Bloomquist. Bloomquist moved into the third spot on lap 43 as he tracked down Blankenship and overhauled him on lap 46.

Bloomquist then tried to diamond-off the corners in an effort to catch the high-flying Lathroum, but it was to no avail as Lathroum hit his marks lap after lap as he took his car to Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the first time in his career. He becomes the 15th different winner this year in series competition.

“This is just awesome,” said Lathroum, who emerged from his MasterSbilt by Huey with tears in his eyes. “This is the biggest win of my career and to outrun Bloomquist, O’Neal, and the rest of these guys is just unbelievable! I have to thank my crew, everybody here at Virginia Motor Speedway, my family and the fans,” said the 33-year-old, whose biggest win before tonight was a $10,000 victory in 2009.

Lathroum, who captured the late model track title at VMS back in 2005, said keeping his car away from the bumps and cushion was critical to his success. “I tried to stay away from all of that, there were guys jumping the cushion, it would bite you if you let it. I just tried to be smooth lap after lap and we got it done,” said the driver of the Three Mules Welding, Claar Logging, Superior Tank, The Bowles Boys, Lathroum’s Seafood, Integra, Abell Auto Glass and Eugene Copsey’s Plumbing. His car is powered by an Eatmon Racing Engine.

Bloomquist came home in second, followed by Blankenship, Don O’Neal of Martinsville, IN;and Pearson rounded out the top five.

Completing the top ten were: Tyler Reddick of Corning, CA; Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN; Jared Landers of Batesville, AR; Dan Stone of Thompson, PA; and Walker Arthur of Forest, VA.

In preliminary action, Jimmy Owens set the Red Buck Fast Time amongst the 25 entrants, with a lap of 17.456 seconds. David Williams set the fastest time in Group B with a time of 17.673 seconds. Steve Shaver and Steve Francis won their respective Heat Races. David Williams won the B-Main.

Next weekend, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series returns to Brownstown Speedway in Brownstown, IN for the Jackson 100. The event will be a two-day show with Red Buck Time Trials on Friday and Heats, B-Mains, and the 100-Lap $20,000-to-win feature on Saturday. For more information, log onto www.brownstownspeedway.com.

For the latest breaking news on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, log onto www.lucasdirt.com and be sure to follow the series at www.facebook.com/lucasdirt and www.twitter.com/#!/lucasdirt.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Saturday Night, September 15th, 2012
“USA 100”
Virginia Motor Speedway – Jamaica, VA

Red Buck Fast Time Group A: Jimmy Owens / 17.456 seconds
Red Buck Fast Time Group B: David Williams / 17.673 seconds

Wiles Driveshafts First Heat (25 Laps – Top 8 Transfer): Steve Shaver, Jared Landers, Chris Madden, Dale McDowell, Earl Pearson, Jr., Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Owens, Kenny Moreland, Dean Bowen, Ricky Elliott , Eric Wells, Walker Arthur, Tyler Reddick

U. S. Steel Second Heat (25 Laps – Top 8 Transfer): Steve Francis, Jamie Lathroum, Jonathan Davenport, John Blankenship, Don O’Neal, Austin Hubbard, Jerry Bard, Jeremy Miller, David Williams, Matt Quade, David Watts, Daniel Stone

JRi Shocks B-Main (15 Laps – Top 6 Transfer): David Williams, Dean Bowen, Eric Wells, Ricky Elliott , Tyler Reddick, Daniel Stone, David Watts, Billy Tucker, Matt Quade-DNS, Walker Arthur-DNS

Feature Finish – 50 Laps
FINISH START CAR # DRIVER NAME HOMETOWN
1 4 6L Jamie Lathroum Mechanicsville, MD
2 11 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN
3 8 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV
4 10 71 Don O’Neal Martinsville, IN
5 9 44 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL
6 21 11T Tyler Reddick Corning, CA
7 13 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN
8 3 5 Jared Landers Batesville, AR
9 22 21d Daniel Stone Thompson, PA
10 23 87 Walker Arthur Forest, VA
11 12 11h Austin Hubbard Seaford, DE
12 24 04 David Watts Buchanan, VA
13 15 24m Kenny Moreland Waldorf, MD
14 2 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY
15 25 Bad 1 Billy Tucker King George, VA
16 6 15d Jonathan Davenport Blairsville, GA
17 1 6s Steve Shaver Vienna, WV
18 20 88 Ricky Elliott Seaford, DE
19 19 18e Eric Wells Hazard, KY
20 14 26 Jerry Bard Shippensburg, PA
21 5 44m Chris Madden Gaffney, SC
22 7 2 Dale McDowell Chickamauga, GA
23 16 1m Jeremy Miller Littlestown, PA
24 18 5n Dean Bowen Whiteville, NC

Race Statistics
Entrants: 26
Lap Leaders: Steve Francis (Laps 1 – 17); Jamie Lathroum (Laps 18 – 50)
Caution Flags: Eric Wells (Lap 4); Don O’Neal (Lap 7); Kenny Moreland (Lap 7); Dean Bowen (Lap 10); Chris Madden, David Watts (Lap 11); Steve Francis (Lap 17); Steve Francis (Lap 42)
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: none
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Emergency Provisional: none
Red Buck Fast Time Provisional: Walker Arthur, David Watts
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Tyler Reddick (Started 21st; Finished 6th; Advanced 15 positions)
Allstar Performer of the Race: Don O’Neal
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Earl Pearson Jr.
ASi Racewear Challenge Finisher: Scott Bloomquist
Quarter Master Rookie of the Race: Austin Hubbard
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Roush-Yates Racing Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: MasterSbilt Race Cars
Sweet Mfg Crew Chief of the Race: Huey Wilcoxon (Jamie Lathroum)
Time of Race: 48 minutes 47 seconds

Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:
POS CAR # DRIVER NAME HOMETOWN POINTS
1 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN 6975
2 71 Don O’Neal Martinsville, IN 6670
3 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN 6600
4 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY 6385
5 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV 6075
6 44 Earl Pearson, Jr. Jacksonville, FL 5980
7 15d Jonathan Davenport Blairsville, GA 5745
8 11T Tyler Reddick Corning, CA 5640
9 5 Jared Landers Batesville, AR 5530
10 18e Eric Wells Hazard, KY 5445

*Points are unofficial until Close of Business on the Tuesday following Race Day*

Related Links

2012 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Tour Schedule

2012 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series TV Schedule

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Lucas Oil Products

MAVTV

ProtectTheHarvest.com

2012 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Sponsors

ASI Racewear – “The Official Merchandise Vendor” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Canidae Pet Foods – “The Official Pet Foods” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

DART Machinery – “The Official Engine Components” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

E3 Spark Plugs – “The Official Spark Plug” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Geico – “The Official Insurance” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

General Tire – “The Official Tire” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Hoosier Tire – “The Official Race Tire” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Lucas Oil Products – “The Official Oil” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
MAVTV – “The Official TV Network” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Optima Batteries – “The Official Battery” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
ProtectTheHarvest.com- “The Official Protect the Harvest Campaign of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Speedco – “The Official Truck Lube and Tire Center” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

Sunoco Race Fuels – “The Official Fuel” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

U. S. Steel – “The Official Steel Manufacturer” of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

2012 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Supporters Include:

Allstar Performance, American Racer, Banshee Graphics, Barry Wright Race Cars, Bloomquist Race Cars, COMP Cams, Chizmark Larson Insurance, Cornett Racing Engines,Crawford Supply, CV Products, DirtonDirt.com, Dunn-Benson Ford, Dyers Top Rods, Edlebrock, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, FK Rod Ends, Gaerte Engines, Hawk Performance, Jay Dickens Racing Engines, JE Pistons, JRi Shocks, Keyser MFG, Longhorn Chassis, MasterSbilt Chassis, Öhlins, Outerwears, PBM/Erson Cams, PAC Racing Springs, Performance Bodies, Pierce Racecars, PRC, Pro Power Racing, Quarter Master, Race Engine Design, Red Buck Cigars, Rick Schwallie Photography, Ringers Gloves, Rocket Chassis, Roush Yates Engines, Roush Yates Performance Parts, Simpson Performance Products, Sweet Mfg, Traeger Grills, Vic Hill Race Engines, Weld Racing Wheels, Wiles Drive Shafts, Wiley X Sunglasses, Wrisco, 5150 Race Trailers.

James Essex, Public Relations Coordinator, jessex@lucasdirt.com