FARMER CITY, Ill. — While Dennis Erb Jr. has accomplished many feats throughout his World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model career, a series win in the Illinois driver’s home state has eluded him.
The defending champion, from Carpentersville, Ill., hopes to change that when he returns to Farmer City Raceway for the Illini 100, March 30-April 1.
He’s found success at the track before with four touring wins overall, including a DIRTcar Summer Nationals win in 2015. However, even with his experience on the quarter-mile track, he said he knows how challenging it is to win there against the World of Outlaws.
“It’s a challenge there,” Erb said. “Farmer City has been known for years to have good cars, good local cars who race there every weekend. With our group that’s there, along with the local cars that show up to that race, it’s definitely a tough place to pick up a win there. We’ve had a lot of wins there and ran good there. So, we’re looking to be in contention for that one. If we could win that one, it would definitely mean a lot.”
Flanked by two-time and reigning World of Outlaws Crew Chief of the Year Heather Lyne, Erb enters the epic Illinois event with momentum after scoring a win at Clarksville Speedway earlier this month.
He said his win was essential, showing his team can contend for wins no matter where they unload.
“When you come out of Florida and pick up a win as early as you can, it definitely helps get things rolling,” Erb said. “It shows our stuff is good, the cars are good, and things just have to work out.”
Despite the win at Clarksville, Erb has an uphill climb on his way to a second consecutive title. He currently sits ninth in points after DIRTcar Nationals, 48 points behind Chris Madden. However, Erb and Lyne have one focus on the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models schedule — the next race.
“We just go ahead and look forward to the next race,” Erb said. “It’s just one of those things [in Florida]. We’re down there for so long that things can work out, and things can’t. We didn’t have as good of a run as we wanted to, but now it’s just focus on the rest of the season.”
Keyword: Full Steam Ahead For Erb Jr.