FAIRBURY, Ill. — Tyler Erb isn’t just dominating the 39th annual DIRTcar Summer Nationals, he’s making history.
With his win Saturday night at Fairbury Speedway, Erb becomes the first driver to win the first three races of the Hell Tour since Billy Moyer Sr. did it in 2010.
“It’s cool, Billy is one of the top two best I would say,” Erb said. “I’ve never had the opportunity to actually run this deal since I felt like I’ve had a good grasp on racing.”
Unlike the first two races he won this week, Erb had to fight off a few competitors once he took the lead and even lost it at one point in the race. At the drop of the green, Erb went for the high side around the track from fourth on the starting grid as Cody Overton led the first 10 laps of the race.
When the first caution flag came out on lap 10, Erb had moved up to second with a pass on the outside of Dennis Erb Jr. and a slide job on Max McLaughlin in turn four. On the restart, Erb took the lead on the high side, going three-wide with Overton and Erb Jr. out of Turns 3 and 4. Erb fended-off Overton at the start/finish line, but the battle for the top spot had only begun.
After a Lap 14 caution, Erb and Erb Jr. raced side-by-side – Erb on the outside and Erb Jr. on the inside. It stayed that way for the next seven laps until Erb Jr. took the lead on the bottom on lap 26. But as they reached lapped traffic, Erb Jr. was held-up by the slower cars on the bottom, allowing Erb to close the gap and slip back by for the lead on the top on lap 28.
Despite having to fight for position, Erb felt like the competition made him better.
“I think I got better when I was next to Dennis because I didn’t have a choice but to run up [the high side],” Erb said. “It was easier to focus on running just the cushion and was able to get a little room.”
Two more caution flags flew before the end of the race and both times Erb had to fend off former Hell Tour champions Shannon Babb and Jason Feger. On both restarts, he got the jump he needed to make it to Victory Lane and cash his second straight $10,000 check.
Before he entered victory lane, Erb began his celebration early with a few donuts on the track. He said that was from relief of finally getting a win at Fairbury.
“I’ve came here for like 12 years, I’ve flipped twice here and I’ve had a lot of really bad luck and self-induced races here,” Erb said. “I was excited because we finally won here, it’s a tough thing to do and sometimes it’s good to let a little emotion out.”
Feature Finish (50 Laps)
1. 1-Tyler Erb[4]; 2. 18-Shannon Babb[8]; 3. 25-Jason Feger[6]; 4. 24-Ryan Unzicker[10]; 5. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[3]; 6. 3S-Brian Shirley[13]; 7. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[15]; 8. 97-Cody Overton[1]; 9. 99-Mckay Wenger[5]; 10. 1W-Donny Walden[7]; 11. 96-Tanner English[22]; 12. 32S-Chris Simpson[11]; 13. 22*-Max McLaughlin[2]; 14. 25W-Allen Weisser[19]; 15. 33-Kye Blight[23]; 16. 14JR-Trey Mills[26]; 17. 4G-Bob Gardner[24]; 18. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[9]; 19. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[18]; 20. 84-Myles Moos[20]; 21. 8-Dillon McCowan[14]; 22. 10-Joseph Joiner[21]; 23. 38J-Jake Little[25]; 24. 27M-Rodney Melvin[17]; 25. 27-Colby Sheppard[16]; 26. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[12]