RaceJunkie
06-12-2005, 03:48 AM
STATON HOLDS OFF LATHROUM TO TAKE RD 2 OF VICTORY LAP LATE MODEL $25,000 CHALLENGE
Saluda,VA (June 12, 2005) - 2002 Victory Lap Late Model Champion Brian Staton of Chesapeake, VA returned to his winning ways in Round 2 of the Victory Lap Late Model $25,000 Challenge presented by BB&T at Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway with a flag to flag victory to set himself up for a $15,000 bonus should he win the final two rounds of the Challenge series. It looked as if Staton, driving his #26 BRC Lazer III Chevrolet, would cruise to the win but with five laps to go Staton had to hold off a hard charging Jamie Lathroum of Mechanicsville, MD to secure the victory.
“The evening started off bad, we had a problem in hot laps with the car cutting off and then started to get better as we set fourth fast time in qualifying, then in the race the car was just flawless,” commented Staton. “My crew told me Jamie (Lathroum) was coming and that he was strong on the high side, I just had to run my line and hope for the best. What a racetrack and what a win, this is awesome,” added Staton.
Stevie Long of Mechanicsville, MD set fast time in “Hot Lap” qualifying and inverted the top six spots putting Matt Morgan and Roland Mann on the front row leading the filed to green. After to false starts by Morgan, Staton was moved up to the pole position.
On the restart Staton took command and pulled away by ten car lengths while Roland Mann and Lathroum battled for second with Pat Wood in close pursuit and in third. For the next 30 laps Mann and Lathroum went after each other with reckless abandon as Wood and Long joined in on the battle for second.
With the battle for second hot and heavy Staton kept his ten-car length advantage. On lap 30 Lathroum went high out of turn two. The tow battled side by side until Lathroum took the spot out of turn four. Once in second Lathroum set sail to catch Staton who still enjoyed a ten-car length advantage. With five laps to go Lathroum had cut the distance to 3 car lengths and was closing quickly. On lap 37 of the 40-lap feature Lathroum was on the outside of Staton poised to take the lead.
Staton kept his composure and held off Lathroum to take the victory and the chance at a $15,000 bonus. Rounding out the top five were Roland Mann, Pat Wood and current point leader Chuck Beech. Stevie Long picked up the Thurston Spring Service Dirt Series Championship Rookie of the Race Award with his sixth place finish. Brain Staton and Ray Love Jr. are the only drivers with a shot at a $15,000 bonus for winning three of the four challenge series events. Round three of the Victory Lap Late Model $25,000 Challenge presented by BB&T is scheduled for August 6th.
In the Budweiser Modified 25 lap feature Bret Hamilton of Powhatan, VA, who started 12th, used a pass on a restart with two to go to take home his first victory of 2005.
Eric Erwin Beaver Dam, VA set fast time and inverted the top eight cars with the pill draw putting Craig Ramich and Bill Roberts on the front row and leading the filed to green. Ramich won the drag race to turn one and led until Brent Bordeaux made a pass out of turn four to take the lead on lap three.
Bordeaux set the pace until lap eight when Page Harrison powered around his outside to take the lead out of turn two. Harrison set the pace as Bret Hamilton began to work his way from his 12th starting position. Hamilton began to pick them off one by one as Harrison worked to keep Bordeaux behind him.
On lap 21 Hamilton worked his way to the outside of Bordeaux for second with Harrison three car lengths ahead. On lap 23 a caution came out for a spin in turn two. On the restart Hamilton powered to the inside of Harrison to take the lead only to have the caution fall one more time for a spin in turn one. That put Harrison back on the point. On the restart Harrison spun his wheels coming out of turn four allowing Hamilton to get by for the lead. Hamilton would cruise to the win with Brent Bordeaux, Renee Weeks, Donnie Medlin and Mark Claar Sr. rounding out the top five. Ron Taylor picked up the Thurston Spring Service Dirt Series Championship Rookie of the Race Award with his seventh place finish.
In the Truckin thunder Sportsman 30 lap feature Roger Jamerson of Glen Allen, VA led flag to flag in very convincing manner to pick up his second victory of the 2005 season. Jamerson had to hold off the advances of fast qualifier Walker Arthur, Bobby Bustamante and Donnie Owens before taking home the hardware. Following Jamerson to the checkers were Bobby Bustamante, eleventh starting Vaughan Haywood, Donnie Owens and ninth starting Davis Lipscombe. Lipscombe also picked up the Thurston Spring Service Dirt Series Championship Rookie of the Race Award with his fifth place finish.
In the Al’s Auto Parts Charger 25 lap feature it looked as if mark Cunningham of Glen Allen, VA would cruise to his third win of the season but lapped traffic on lap 16 caused Cunningham to check up allowing Brian Maxey, Sean Otey and John Imler to pass him on the front stretch. Maxey, Otey and Imler had been involved in a fierce battle for second until lap 16 when it became the battle for the lead.
With two to go Otey looked inside of Maxey for the lead but Maxey blocked his forward momentum and held on for his first career Charger division victory followed by Sean Otey, current point leader John Imler, Keith Hubbard and tenth place starting Chris Tatum. Charles Scott picked up the Thurston Spring Service Dirt Series Championship Rookie of the Race Award with his twelfth place finish.
Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway will return to action Saturday June 18th and host Bill Hudgins Pontiac / GMC Night presented by The Valvoline Cup. All five of the Thurston Spring Service Dirt Series Championship divisions will be in action.
Competitor gates for Saturday, June 18th will open at 3pm with spectator gates opening at 4pm. On track activities will begin at 6:15pm with hot laps. Divisions scheduled to race on Saturday: Victory Lap Late Models (35 Laps); Truckin Thunder Sportsman (30 laps); Budweiser Modifieds (25 laps); Al’s Auto Parts Chargers (25 laps) and the Dixie Chopper All Americans (15 Laps). Chargers and All Americans will run heats and features; Late Model, Sportsman and Modified divisions will run Hot Lap Time Trials and Features. Adult, Senior and Military tickets just $10, Students 13 –17 yrs old $8, Children 7 – 12 yrs old $4 and Children 6 and under free. The speedway offers a Family pass for two adults and two children 12 and under for only $20. Also, check out our Website for discount coupons on adult, senior and military tickets.
Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway is a 1/2-mile, dirt oval. The track is located on U.S. Route 17, eight miles north of Saluda, VA and 25 miles south of Tappahannock, VA. The speedway is just a short drive from Richmond, Fredericksburg, Southern Maryland and the Hampton Roads area.
To learn more about Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway and its 2005 schedule of events, fans may call the Speedway office at (804) 758-1VMS or visit the track’s web site at www.vamotorspeedway.com.
MEDIA CONTACT: DAVE SEAY (804) 758-1867 OR (804) 357-7223
Saluda,VA (June 12, 2005) - 2002 Victory Lap Late Model Champion Brian Staton of Chesapeake, VA returned to his winning ways in Round 2 of the Victory Lap Late Model $25,000 Challenge presented by BB&T at Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway with a flag to flag victory to set himself up for a $15,000 bonus should he win the final two rounds of the Challenge series. It looked as if Staton, driving his #26 BRC Lazer III Chevrolet, would cruise to the win but with five laps to go Staton had to hold off a hard charging Jamie Lathroum of Mechanicsville, MD to secure the victory.
“The evening started off bad, we had a problem in hot laps with the car cutting off and then started to get better as we set fourth fast time in qualifying, then in the race the car was just flawless,” commented Staton. “My crew told me Jamie (Lathroum) was coming and that he was strong on the high side, I just had to run my line and hope for the best. What a racetrack and what a win, this is awesome,” added Staton.
Stevie Long of Mechanicsville, MD set fast time in “Hot Lap” qualifying and inverted the top six spots putting Matt Morgan and Roland Mann on the front row leading the filed to green. After to false starts by Morgan, Staton was moved up to the pole position.
On the restart Staton took command and pulled away by ten car lengths while Roland Mann and Lathroum battled for second with Pat Wood in close pursuit and in third. For the next 30 laps Mann and Lathroum went after each other with reckless abandon as Wood and Long joined in on the battle for second.
With the battle for second hot and heavy Staton kept his ten-car length advantage. On lap 30 Lathroum went high out of turn two. The tow battled side by side until Lathroum took the spot out of turn four. Once in second Lathroum set sail to catch Staton who still enjoyed a ten-car length advantage. With five laps to go Lathroum had cut the distance to 3 car lengths and was closing quickly. On lap 37 of the 40-lap feature Lathroum was on the outside of Staton poised to take the lead.
Staton kept his composure and held off Lathroum to take the victory and the chance at a $15,000 bonus. Rounding out the top five were Roland Mann, Pat Wood and current point leader Chuck Beech. Stevie Long picked up the Thurston Spring Service Dirt Series Championship Rookie of the Race Award with his sixth place finish. Brain Staton and Ray Love Jr. are the only drivers with a shot at a $15,000 bonus for winning three of the four challenge series events. Round three of the Victory Lap Late Model $25,000 Challenge presented by BB&T is scheduled for August 6th.
In the Budweiser Modified 25 lap feature Bret Hamilton of Powhatan, VA, who started 12th, used a pass on a restart with two to go to take home his first victory of 2005.
Eric Erwin Beaver Dam, VA set fast time and inverted the top eight cars with the pill draw putting Craig Ramich and Bill Roberts on the front row and leading the filed to green. Ramich won the drag race to turn one and led until Brent Bordeaux made a pass out of turn four to take the lead on lap three.
Bordeaux set the pace until lap eight when Page Harrison powered around his outside to take the lead out of turn two. Harrison set the pace as Bret Hamilton began to work his way from his 12th starting position. Hamilton began to pick them off one by one as Harrison worked to keep Bordeaux behind him.
On lap 21 Hamilton worked his way to the outside of Bordeaux for second with Harrison three car lengths ahead. On lap 23 a caution came out for a spin in turn two. On the restart Hamilton powered to the inside of Harrison to take the lead only to have the caution fall one more time for a spin in turn one. That put Harrison back on the point. On the restart Harrison spun his wheels coming out of turn four allowing Hamilton to get by for the lead. Hamilton would cruise to the win with Brent Bordeaux, Renee Weeks, Donnie Medlin and Mark Claar Sr. rounding out the top five. Ron Taylor picked up the Thurston Spring Service Dirt Series Championship Rookie of the Race Award with his seventh place finish.
In the Truckin thunder Sportsman 30 lap feature Roger Jamerson of Glen Allen, VA led flag to flag in very convincing manner to pick up his second victory of the 2005 season. Jamerson had to hold off the advances of fast qualifier Walker Arthur, Bobby Bustamante and Donnie Owens before taking home the hardware. Following Jamerson to the checkers were Bobby Bustamante, eleventh starting Vaughan Haywood, Donnie Owens and ninth starting Davis Lipscombe. Lipscombe also picked up the Thurston Spring Service Dirt Series Championship Rookie of the Race Award with his fifth place finish.
In the Al’s Auto Parts Charger 25 lap feature it looked as if mark Cunningham of Glen Allen, VA would cruise to his third win of the season but lapped traffic on lap 16 caused Cunningham to check up allowing Brian Maxey, Sean Otey and John Imler to pass him on the front stretch. Maxey, Otey and Imler had been involved in a fierce battle for second until lap 16 when it became the battle for the lead.
With two to go Otey looked inside of Maxey for the lead but Maxey blocked his forward momentum and held on for his first career Charger division victory followed by Sean Otey, current point leader John Imler, Keith Hubbard and tenth place starting Chris Tatum. Charles Scott picked up the Thurston Spring Service Dirt Series Championship Rookie of the Race Award with his twelfth place finish.
Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway will return to action Saturday June 18th and host Bill Hudgins Pontiac / GMC Night presented by The Valvoline Cup. All five of the Thurston Spring Service Dirt Series Championship divisions will be in action.
Competitor gates for Saturday, June 18th will open at 3pm with spectator gates opening at 4pm. On track activities will begin at 6:15pm with hot laps. Divisions scheduled to race on Saturday: Victory Lap Late Models (35 Laps); Truckin Thunder Sportsman (30 laps); Budweiser Modifieds (25 laps); Al’s Auto Parts Chargers (25 laps) and the Dixie Chopper All Americans (15 Laps). Chargers and All Americans will run heats and features; Late Model, Sportsman and Modified divisions will run Hot Lap Time Trials and Features. Adult, Senior and Military tickets just $10, Students 13 –17 yrs old $8, Children 7 – 12 yrs old $4 and Children 6 and under free. The speedway offers a Family pass for two adults and two children 12 and under for only $20. Also, check out our Website for discount coupons on adult, senior and military tickets.
Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway is a 1/2-mile, dirt oval. The track is located on U.S. Route 17, eight miles north of Saluda, VA and 25 miles south of Tappahannock, VA. The speedway is just a short drive from Richmond, Fredericksburg, Southern Maryland and the Hampton Roads area.
To learn more about Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway and its 2005 schedule of events, fans may call the Speedway office at (804) 758-1VMS or visit the track’s web site at www.vamotorspeedway.com.
MEDIA CONTACT: DAVE SEAY (804) 758-1867 OR (804) 357-7223