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Dennis Erb Jr. Victorious in Illinois Speedweek Opener at Spoon River

By Ben Shelton (Banner, IL) -- The 2023 Castrol® FloRacing Night in America visit to Spoon River Speedway on Wednesday night didn’t disappoint.

As race-long leader Bobby Pierce searched for the fastest way around the high-banked oval in the closing laps of Wednesday’s Illinois Speedweek opener, Dennis Erb Jr. didn’t have to think twice.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mike Ruefer

The quarter-mile oval that kicked off the four-race miniseries played right into Pierce’s high-flying ways for much of the 50-lap feature, but in the end, it was Erb’s steadiness around the bottom from the seventh-starting spot that led to the big check. Leveraging patience around the very bottom of the Banner, Ill., bullring, Erb upended the pole-starting Pierce in the final stages of the Castrol FloRacing Night in America main event for a thrilling $23,023 victory.

While Pierce led 44 of the first 45 laps, it was Erb Jr. that led the final five laps to reap his first career national touring victory at Spoon River. It’s Erb’s third career Spoon River victory, adding to triumphs with the Northern Allstars Late Model Series on Aug. 12, 2005 and DIRTcar Summer Nationals on June 23, 2016.

“I’ve always liked these longer races. Usually the longer it is, the better my car gets,” an often-succinct Erb Jr. said in victory lane. “A little bit of moisture down there on the bottom, we took advantage of that tonight.”

The turning point Wednesday came right inside 10 laps to go, as Pierce’s 1.5-second lead and momentum around the top of the quarter-mile vanished when navigating lapped traffic. Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., and Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., ran second for much of the main event before Erb quickly came onto the scene at the end.

After dispatching Shirley for second with 13 laps left, Erb caught the backpedaling Pierce five laps later, and pulled alongside the Oakwood, Ill., superstar at the line on lap 43. Erb narrowly led 44 by 0.091 of a second before Pierce countered around the top to barely lead lap 45.

“I knew he was going to go back up there,” Erb said of Pierce. “I was watching him, and he really couldn’t hook the bottom like I could. That was my shot there. Once I got out in front, I thought I could him off, use enough of the racetrack and momentum to keep things going.”

Erb finished Pierce off on lap 46, when the slower car of Ross Robinson stymied Pierce’s momentum. As Pierce let off the gas to avoid a collision, Erb rolled the bottom, and then to victory. Pierce ended up finishing 2.122 seconds behind.

“Yeah, I mean, (the lap 46 hiccup in traffic) definitely didn’t help me. But the lapped cars, you just have to work with them and try to pass them,” Pierce said. “I didn’t think he was going to move up that much. You want them to hold their lane, but it is what it is. Dennis was so quick on that bottom.

“Even if that didn’t happen (the lapped car holdup), I don’t know … Dennis was so quick down there. I’m glad we finished the race. Second is really good; it’s not really a heartbreak. It’s good for the points for this deal and everything. Got to keep plugging away at it. We have three more races. A lot of races coming up where we’re really good; tracks we’re really good at. Looking forward to it.”

Pierce added that his tire selection wasn’t conducive to success around the bottom of Spoon River on Wednesday. He also admitted he’s not all that comfortable tiptoeing the inside of the quarter-mile to begin with.

“I’m never really great on the bottom here. I don’t know what it is. A few guys like Erb and Unzicker … they just know how to run (the bottom here). … Spoon was a little more tacky tonight than what we’ve seen in the past. Every time it’s different. Once again, we’re happy with it.”

Davenport, meanwhile, rounded out the podium in third. The Blairsville, Ga., driver started second and ran no worse than fourth all night. While he was in striking in distance of Pierce most of the race, he could never generate enough long run speed to make a move at the lead.

Last year’s top-ranked Dirt Late Model driver got up to speed quickly following the race’s two restarts on laps four and 11 — going from third to second each time — but couldn’t conjure up anything special thereafter.

“I just never gave up. We couldn’t steer very good to the bottom there,” Davenport said. “I was a little harder on the right-front tire than these other two cars. That might’ve helped a little bit, I don’t know. We just couldn’t get through the holes very good in three and four on the bottom. I just had to stay committed to the top. Luckily it stayed there just long enough.

“Once everybody started to leave the top there and started moving back to the bottom, the top got crummy again,” Davenport added. “It actually helped. There was a lot of traction in the crumbs. We started running through them and got back to them. I was hoping to sneak back up on them there, but Bobby moved back up about the same time I got there. Dennis was just really good on the bottom like he always is.”

Castrol® FloRacing Night in America action shifts to Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway on Thursday, May 11 for another $23,023-to-win / $1,000-to-start event. DIRTcar Modifieds will join the program with a $2,000-to-win event. Advanced grandstand tickets (ages 12-and-over) are $35 or $40 the day of the show. Children’s tickets (ages 11-and-under) are $10. Pit passes (ages 12-and-over) are $45 with children (ages 11-and-under) $20.

The pit gates opens at 3 p.m. CT with the grandstand gate opening at 4 p.m., the driver’s meeting at 5:30 p.m., and hot laps at 6 p.m. with racing action to follow.

For more information on the facility, please visit http://www.LincolnSpeedwayIl.com .

After the two Castrol® FloRacing Night in America event on May 111, the second annual Illinois Speedweek continues as the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) sanctions a $25,000-to-win program on Friday, May 12 at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway before invading Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway on Saturday, May 13 for a $30,000-to-win event.

The Super Late Model tire rule for the May 11 will be as follows:
Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway – May 11, 2023
Front Tires: Hoosier NLMT2, LM20, NLMT3, LM30
Left Rear: Hoosier NLMT2, LM20, NLMT3, LM30
Right Rear: NLMT3, LM30, NLMT4, LM40
*No 29.0 / 92.0 tires allowed on Left Rear or Front Tires at any series event

Complete series rules can be found at http://www.FloSeries.com .

Castrol® FloRacing Night in America Purse
1)$23,023 2)$11,000 3)$5,000 4)$4,000 5)$3,000 6)$2,500 7)$2,250 8)$2,000 9)$1,800 10)$1,500 11)$1,200 12)$1,150 13)$1,100 14)$1,050 15-22)$1,000
TOTAL - $68,573

Entry Fee: $100
Non-Qualifier Money: $50

Drivers, who plan to compete in any of the 2023 season events, are encouraged to register via the site or directly at https://www.myracepass.com/series/1997/registrations/6834 .

Advance registration will make check-in on the day of the show easier.

For complete Castrol® FloRacing Night in America details, visit the series website at www.FloSeries.com. For other questions, contact Ben Shelton at msrmafia@gmail.com or 901-335-3037.

Castrol® FloRacing Night in America
Spoon River Speedway (Banner, Ill.)
May 10, 2023

A Feature 1 (50 Laps): 1. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[7]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 3. 49-Jonathan Davenport[2]; 4. 3S-Brian Shirley[5]; 5. 96V-Tanner English[12]; 6. 1-Hudson O'Neal[6]; 7. 19R-Ryan Gustin[15]; 8. B5-Brandon Sheppard[16]; 9. 11-Gordy Gundaker[14]; 10. 12-Ashton Winger[22]; 11. 5-Tim McCreadie[18]; 12. 157-Mike Marlar[3]; 13. 18J-Chase Junghans[17]; 14. 7-Ross Robinson[21]; 15. 10-Garrett Smith[19]; 16. 99M-Devin Moran[11]; 17. 33-Mike Harrison[8]; 18. 7T-Drake Troutman[9]; 19. 1T-Tyler Erb[13]; 20. 15-Kolby Vandenbergh[10]; 21. 18B-Shannon Babb[20]; 22. 58-Garrett Alberson[4]

DNS: Kyle Beard, Spencer Hughes, Bob Gardner, Billy Moyer, Brandon Eskew, Daniel Hilsabeck, Tim Lance, Ethan Dotson, Rich Dawson, J.C. Waller, Tucker Finch, Cole Swibold, Cody Maguire, Brandon Overton, Daulton Wilson, Ricky Thornton Jr., Max Blair, Stormy Scott, Jason Feger, Ryan Unzicker, Dustin Sorensen, Mike Spatola, Kyle Hammer, Rich Bell, Parker Price-Miller, Daniel Adam

Entries: 48
Sunoco Race Fuels Qualifying Group A: Bobby Pierce (13.002 seconds)
Sunoco Race Fuels Qualifying Group B (and overall): Jonathan Davenport (12.887 seconds)
Integra Racing Shocks Heat Race #1 Winner: Bobby Pierce
K1 Race Gear Heat Race #2 Winner: Mike Marlar
Buzze Racing Heat Race #3 Winner: Jonathan Davenport
Eibach Springs Heat Race #4 Winner: Garrett Alberson
Coltman Farms B-Main Winners: Chase Junghans, Tim McCreadie ``
Trailer Queen Electric Drive of the Night: Dennis Erb Jr.
Tezos Hard Charger: Ashton Winger (22nd to 10th)
Hoosier Tire Drawing Winners: Hudson O’Neal, Tyler Erb
$150 Cash Drawing Winners: Dustin Sorensen, Bobby Pierce

Castrol® FloRacing Night in America 2023 Points
(After May 10, 2023)
1)Mike Marlar – 219 points
2)Bobby Pierce – 207 points
3)Jonathan Davenport – 201 points
4)Tim McCreadie – 198 points
5)Hudson O’Neal – 195 points
6)Brandon Sheppard – 192 points
7)Tanner English – 189 points
8)Devin Moran – 171 points
9)Ricky Thornton Jr. – 161 points
10)Dennis Erb Jr. – 159 points
11)Kyle Larson – 126 points
12)Tyler Erb – 95 points

B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 18J-Chase Junghans[1]; 2. 10-Garrett Smith[5]; 3. 7-Ross Robinson[2]; 4. 11H-Spencer Hughes[4]; 5. 4G-Bob Gardner[6]; 6. 86-Kyle Beard[3]; 7. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[7]; 8. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[9]; 9. 11E-Brandon Eskew[8]; 10. 174-Ethan Dotson[11]; 11. 25F-Tucker Finch[14]; 12. 7W-JC Waller[13]; 13. 48-Tim Lance[10]; 14. 80-Rich Dawson[12]; 15. 98-Cole Swibold[15]; 16. (DNS) 32M-Cody Maguire

B Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 5-Tim McCreadie[2]; 2. 18B-Shannon Babb[1]; 3. 12-Ashton Winger[3]; 4. 76-Brandon Overton[4]; 5. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[6]; 6. 111-Max Blair[7]; 7. 24-Ryan Unzicker[10]; 8. 18D-Daulton Wilson[5]; 9. 28S-Dustin Sorensen[11]; 10. 25-Jason Feger[9]; 11. 89-Mike Spatola[12]; 12. 26H-Kyle Hammer[13]; 13. 75-Daniel Adam[16]; 14. 2S-Stormy Scott[8]; 15. 21B-Rich Bell[14]; 16. (DNS) 9P-Parker Price Miller

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 2. 3S-Brian Shirley[2]; 3. 7T-Drake Troutman[3]; 4. 1T-Tyler Erb[5]; 5. 18J-Chase Junghans[4]; 6. 86-Kyle Beard[9]; 7. 10-Garrett Smith[7]; 8. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[6]; 9. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[8]; 10. 174-Ethan Dotson[10]; 11. 7W-JC Waller[11]; 12. 98-Cole Swibold[12]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 157-Mike Marlar[2]; 2. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[1]; 3. 99M-Devin Moran[5]; 4. 19R-Ryan Gustin[3]; 5. 7-Ross Robinson[6]; 6. 11H-Spencer Hughes[7]; 7. 4G-Bob Gardner[8]; 8. 11E-Brandon Eskew[10]; 9. 48-Tim Lance[9]; 10. 80-Rich Dawson[4]; 11. 25F-Tucker Finch[11]; 12. 32M-Cody Maguire[12]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 1-Hudson O'Neal[2]; 3. 15-Kolby Vandenbergh[3]; 4. 11-Gordy Gundaker[4]; 5. 18B-Shannon Babb[7]; 6. 12-Ashton Winger[5]; 7. 18D-Daulton Wilson[6]; 8. 111-Max Blair[8]; 9. 25-Jason Feger[9]; 10. 28S-Dustin Sorensen[11]; 11. 26H-Kyle Hammer[12]; 12. 9P-Parker Price Miller[10]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 58-Garrett Alberson[1]; 2. 33-Mike Harrison[2]; 3. 96V-Tanner English[3]; 4. B5-Brandon Sheppard[4]; 5. 5-Tim McCreadie[7]; 6. 76-Brandon Overton[6]; 7. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[9]; 8. 2S-Stormy Scott[5]; 9. 24-Ryan Unzicker[8]; 10. 89-Mike Spatola[10]; 11. 21B-Rich Bell[11]; 12. 75-Daniel Adam[12]

Qualifying 1: 1. 32-Bobby Pierce, 00:13.002[15]; 2. 28-Dennis Erb Jr, 00:13.046[20]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley, 00:13.231[2]; 4. 157-Mike Marlar, 00:13.233[21]; 5. 7T-Drake Troutman, 00:13.250[9]; 6. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 00:13.262[1]; 7. 18J-Chase Junghans, 00:13.276[14]; 8. 80-Rich Dawson, 00:13.291[17]; 9. 1T-Tyler Erb, 00:13.305[13]; 10. 99M-Devin Moran, 00:13.313[5]; 11. 21-Billy Moyer Sr, 00:13.317[12]; 12. 7-Ross Robinson, 00:13.319[19]; 13. 10-Garrett Smith, 00:13.343[6]; 14. 11H-Spencer Hughes, 00:13.381[16]; 15. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck, 00:13.404[24]; 16. 4G-Bob Gardner, 00:13.410[18]; 17. 86-Kyle Beard, 00:13.485[23]; 18. 48-Tim Lance, 00:13.491[8]; 19. 174-Ethan Dotson, 00:13.703[7]; 20. 11E-Brandon Eskew, 00:13.713[3]; 21. 7W-JC Waller, 00:13.804[10]; 22. 25F-Tucker Finch, 00:13.911[11]; 23. 98-Cole Swibold, 00:14.090[22]; 24. 32M-Cody Maguire, 00:14.575[4]

Qualifying 2: 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport, 00:12.887[5]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson, 00:13.034[18]; 3. 1-Hudson O'Neal, 00:13.046[10]; 4. 33-Mike Harrison, 00:13.083[13]; 5. 15-Kolby Vandenbergh, 00:13.091[3]; 6. 96V-Tanner English, 00:13.130[4]; 7. 11-Gordy Gundaker, 00:13.138[12]; 8. B5-Brandon Sheppard, 00:13.147[23]; 9. 12-Ashton Winger, 00:13.208[2]; 10. 2S-Stormy Scott, 00:13.208[11]; 11. 18D-Daulton Wilson, 00:13.218[6]; 12. 76-Brandon Overton, 00:13.222[16]; 13. 18B-Shannon Babb, 00:13.224[20]; 14. 5-Tim McCreadie, 00:13.226[14]; 15. 111-Max Blair, 00:13.239[17]; 16. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 00:13.256[1]; 17. 25-Jason Feger, 00:13.266[8]; 18. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr, 00:13.274[9]; 19. 9P-Parker Price Miller, 00:13.317[15]; 20. 89-Mike Spatola, 00:13.378[24]; 21. 28S-Dustin Sorensen, 00:13.412[19]; 22. 21B-Rich Bell, 00:13.419[22]; 23. 26H-Kyle Hammer, 00:13.836[7]; 24. 75-Daniel Adam, 00:13.860[21]

=======================================================================================================================

DIRTCAR UMP MODIFIEDS

A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 96-Mike McKinney[1]; 2. K9-Will Krup[11]; 3. 18L-Michael Long[4]; 4. 10K-Kelly Kovski[8]; 5. 35S-David Stremme[6]; 6. 25W-Allen Weisser[19]; 7. 66-Cole Falloway[12]; 8. 37L-Michael Ledford[7]; 9. C40-Mike Chasteen Jr[10]; 10. 31-Mark Anderson[13]; 11. 35-Brandon Roberts[14]; 12. 94-Tom Pasek[20]; 13. 8A-Austin Holcombe[16]; 14. 24-Zeke McKenzie[9]; 15. 99-Justin Haley[17]; 16. 25-Tyler Nicely[3]; 17. 22-Austen Becerra[2]; 18. 292-Josh Allen[5]; 19. 777-Trevor Neville[15]; 20. 97-Charles Hess[18]

B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 99-Justin Haley[2]; 2. 25W-Allen Weisser[4]; 3. 1S-Brian Shaw[5]; 4. 05-Dave Wietholder[9]; 5. 77-Ray Bollinger[6]; 6. 60-Jim Manka[8]; 7. 24T-Trevor Ringle[3]; 8. 44-Jeff Parsons[1]; 9. (DNS) 37-Lance Evans; 10. (DNS) 1776-Derick Tassart

B Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 97-Charles Hess[6]; 2. 94-Tom Pasek[4]; 3. 5-Steven Brooks[1]; 4. 242-Logan Veloz[3]; 5. 43-Jared Thomas[5]; 6. 8C-Michael Claeys[7]; 7. 14K-Shane Kelley[8]; 8. 3-Mike Brooks[9]; 9. (DNS) 1-Kenny Johnson

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 96-Mike McKinney[1]; 2. 292-Josh Allen[2]; 3. 24-Zeke McKenzie[3]; 4. 31-Mark Anderson[5]; 5. 44-Jeff Parsons[8]; 6. 24T-Trevor Ringle[7]; 7. 1S-Brian Shaw[6]; 8. 1776-Derick Tassart[9]; 9. 05-Dave Wietholder[4]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 22-Austen Becerra[2]; 2. 35S-David Stremme[1]; 3. C40-Mike Chasteen Jr[4]; 4. 35-Brandon Roberts[3]; 5. 5-Steven Brooks[5]; 6. 242-Logan Veloz[7]; 7. 43-Jared Thomas[6]; 8. 8C-Michael Claeys[8]; 9. (DNF) 3-Mike Brooks[9]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 25-Tyler Nicely[1]; 2. 37L-Michael Ledford[3]; 3. K9-Will Krup[4]; 4. 777-Trevor Neville[5]; 5. 99-Justin Haley[2]; 6. 25W-Allen Weisser[9]; 7. 77-Ray Bollinger[6]; 8. 60-Jim Manka[8]; 9. 37-Lance Evans[7]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 18L-Michael Long[1]; 2. 10K-Kelly Kovski[3]; 3. 66-Cole Falloway[6]; 4. 8A-Austin Holcombe[5]; 5. 1-Kenny Johnson[2]; 6. 94-Tom Pasek[7]; 7. 97-Charles Hess[4]; 8. 14K-Shane Kelley[8]

Qualifying 1: 1. 96-Mike McKinney, 00:14.519[25]; 2. 35S-David Stremme, 00:14.555[32]; 3. 25-Tyler Nicely, 00:14.595[9]; 4. 18L-Michael Long, 00:14.614[33]; 5. 292-Josh Allen, 00:14.621[20]; 6. 22-Austen Becerra, 00:14.624[23]; 7. 99-Justin Haley, 00:14.653[10]; 8. 1-Kenny Johnson, 00:14.739[35]; 9. 24-Zeke McKenzie, 00:14.740[18]; 10. 35-Brandon Roberts, 00:14.770[14]; 11. 37L-Michael Ledford, 00:14.779[8]; 12. 10K-Kelly Kovski, 00:14.780[6]; 13. 05-Dave Wietholder, 00:14.801[15]; 14. C40-Mike Chasteen Jr, 00:14.801[29]; 15. K9-Will Krup, 00:14.829[24]; 16. 97-Charles Hess, 00:14.886[7]; 17. 31-Mark Anderson, 00:14.926[30]; 18. 5-Steven Brooks, 00:14.931[19]; 19. 777-Trevor Neville, 00:14.952[12]; 20. 8A-Austin Holcombe, 00:14.976[5]; 21. 1S-Brian Shaw, 00:14.999[21]; 22. 43-Jared Thomas, 00:15.033[17]; 23. 77-Ray Bollinger, 00:15.045[1]; 24. 66-Cole Falloway, 00:15.075[13]; 25. 24T-Trevor Ringle, 00:15.127[26]; 26. 242-Logan Veloz, 00:15.284[34]; 27. 37-Lance Evans, 00:15.321[31]; 28. 94-Tom Pasek, 00:15.335[16]; 29. 44-Jeff Parsons, 00:15.369[2]; 30. 8C-Michael Claeys, 00:15.372[11]; 31. 60-Jim Manka, 00:15.528[4]; 32. 14K-Shane Kelley, 00:15.838[22]; 33. 1776-Derick Tassart, 00:17.958[28]; 34. (DNS) 3-Mike Brooks, 00:17.958; 35. (DNS) 25W-Allen Weisser, 00:17.958

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