GIBSONTON, Fla. — Dennis Erb Jr. ended a seven-year winless streak with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series on Monday night by winning the 30-lap Wrisco Industries Winternationals presented by Lucas Oil main event at East Bay Raceway Park.
Erb’s last Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and East Bay win both came in February of 2015 when he drove a C.J. Rayburn Race Cars entry.
Erb recovered from a slow start in the feature as he faded to fifth after starting on the outside front row by taking the lead from Brandon Overton on lap 19.
Hudson O’Neal finished in second followed by Tim McCreadie, Shane Clanton and Stormy Scott.
Overton took the lead at the start of the race with O’Neal and Devin Moran trailing. Moran vaulted by O’Neal taking second on lap four as he set his sights on Overton. Overton and Moran are the only two drivers to win more than once this year on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series tour.
Suddenly Erb started to gain momentum after dropping to fifth; he stormed back to second on lap 11 and battled with Overton for the race lead. Erb grabbed the point on lap 19, a lead which he held to the finish but not without some tense moments.
Overton, who fell from the lead started to make moves using the top line of the track. Overton passed O’Neal to regain the second position on lap 25, but just as Overton had Erb in his sights he smacked the turn-two wall, ending his night.
Dennis Erb Jr. (Paul Arch photo)
For the 49-year-old second-generation racer from Illinois, it was his ninth career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory and his seventh career win at East Bay.
“It feels really good to get back to victory lane here,” Erb said. “We have struggled here in the past for a while. We run pretty good here tonight. I fell back a little bit but then our car started working real good and I was battling for the lead. I can’t thank everybody enough for their support. I want to thank Mark Richards and Steve Baker for their help.”
O’Neal was able to close on Erb towards the end of the race but cautions toward the end of the race kept O’Neal behind Erb at the finish.
“We will take a second from how our night started,” O’Neal said. “We were able to get up there to Dennis a couple of times and then a caution would come out or lapped traffic was up there. So, we will give it another shot tomorrow. Congratulations to him (Erb), Heather and Dennis do a heck of a job, I am happy they got this one.”
McCreadie, the defending series champion, rounded out the podium after starting in 11th.
“The restarts were tough; my car didn’t have instant grip,” McCreadie said. “So, the last little but of the race I just tried not to mess up. I messed up one lap and Devin (Moran) got by me, and he showed me where I should be doing the whole time as far as getting through one and two.”
The finish:
Dennis Erb Jr., Hudson O’Neal, Tim McCreadie, Shane Clanton, Stormy Scott, Ricky Thornton Jr., Devin Moran, Tyler Erb, Brandon Sheppard, Jimmy Owens, Spencer Hughes, Tyler Bruening, Earl Pearson Jr., Daulton Wilson, Ashton Winger, Chase Junghans, Blake Spencer, Kyle Hardy, Max Blair, Ross Robinson, Matt Cosner, Tanner English, Ryan King, Drake Troutman, Brandon Overton, Colton Flinner, Garrett Alberson, Kyle Bronson.
Keyword: Dennis Erb Jr. Storms To East Bay Glory