That changed in 2018, with Erb picking up a pair of World of Outlaws triumphs in his third season with the series. Those victories came in impressive fashion at Ohio’s Atomic Speedway on back-to-back nights, with Erb besting eventual series champion Mike Marlar on night one and Devin Moran the following evening.
Those two victories were part of a late-season surge for Erb, who won five times in September and October. Besides those two victories at Atomic Speedway, Erb scored a preliminary-night triumph during the Knoxville Late Model Nationals at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway, a preliminary win during the Gumbo Nationals at Greenville (Miss.) Speedway and a Southern Nationals Bonus Series victory at Georgia’s Senoia Raceway.
“I really wasn’t wanting the year to end,” Erb acknowledged.
As it turned out, the year ending didn’t stop his momentum. During the offseason, it was announced Erb would move from his family car to Eric Brock’s Best Performance Motorsports entry that was vacated by multi-time dirt late model champion Josh Richards.
Erb reports the move came about after multiple conversations with the team’s crew chief, Randall Edwards.
“Basically, I talked to Randall a bunch,” Erb said. “I’ve raced with him for the past three years or so. I just kind of put out there that I’d like to drive for somebody else and not have to be in my own stuff. I was able to meet up with them a few times and then finally kind of got it worked out, what I needed and what they needed. What we wanted to accomplish as a team and everything like that.
“It was a good move,” Erb added. “Eric Brock, he’s a good car owner. I don’t think I could ask for anything better. We’ve got everything we need. He’s been giving me all the opportunity in the world.”
The move to Best Performance wasn’t just a good move, it was a very good move. In the team’s first race together, Erb won the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series opener at Georgia’s Golden Isles Speedway. They backed it up with finishes of fourth, first, first, first, second, third, second and second to open the season.
That’s an impressive way to kick-start a new partnership between a driver and a team owner.
“Going to Florida and having a good Speedweeks like we did definitely helped set a good tone. It made them feel like they made a good decision and made me feel like I’m in a good spot,” Erb said. “It’s kind of like a relief. I know that I can do it and I think our team has everything we need to do it. Eric believes in me, Randall does, too, and I believe in them.
“To go down there and win the first race and the first three out of four, it made everybody say, ‘Man, this is where we should have been all along. This can definitely work.’ We beat the top cars in dirt late model racing. That’s really important.”
So was Erb nervous about replacing Richards, a man who has won championships with both the World of Outlaws and Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series?
“I wasn’t nervous to replace Josh,” Erb said. “I’ve raced him for three or four years and he is a great racer. I feel like if this was IROC racing and we all had the same cars, I think our racing deal would be a lot different because there are a lot of good guys that get in bad cars or go through slumps and they’re no good.
“When you have a good car, it shows who can really perform when everybody’s got a good car. We have one of the best cars out there. It gives me a chance to show how good I can really drive.”
At the end of April, Erb was third in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series standings, behind past series champions Jonathan Davenport and Earl Pearson Jr. He believes he has more than a fair shot at winning his first series championship in his rookie season with the tour.
“There are 65 races on the Lucas tour and 50 of them are points nights,” Erb said. “Everyone is going to have a bad night and things like that, and J.D. (Jonathan Davenport) is definitely on his game. We wouldn’t be here and we wouldn’t put all the time and effort into everything if I didn’t think I could do it and Eric didn’t think this team could do it. I think before the year is over, we’ll make it hard on them at least.
“I want to be the first rookie to win the rookie (title) and win the championship,” Erb added. “Right now, that’s definitely within our grasp and we’ve got to keep working toward that.”
Erb admits racing is his career plan. He dropped out of college after a year and a half to focus his time on racing a few years ago. Now that he has found a home with Best Performance Motorsports, Erb thinks the best is yet to come.
“As long as Eric and the guys at Best want to keep me here, as far as I’m concerned this is where I’m going to be for a good bit of time and I’m really excited about that,” Erb said. “They’ve got a great team and a great program. It’s awesome to be able to race for these guys. They give me everything I need to succeed. They really make me feel like I’m at home.”