Tyler Erb Triumphs Thursday In Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Event At Knoxville Raceway

Story By: JAMES ESSEX / LUCAS OIL LATE MODEL DIRT SERIES – KNOXVILLE, IA – Tyler Erb scored his first career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win on Thursday night at Knoxville Raceway.

The 21-year-old Texan took the lead from Mason Zeigler with eight laps to go to become the eighteenth different winner on the series tour in 2018. Earl Pearson Jr. passed Chad Simpson on the final lap to finish in second. Jimmy Owens finished in fourth followed by Frank Heckenast Jr.

Zeigler, who leads the Lucas Oil Rookie of the Year chase, led the first sixteen laps of the race until he jumped the cushion in turn four, leaving the door open for Erb to take the top spot. Erb then pulled away to take the victory in night number one of the 15th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Store.

An emotional Erb in Lucas Oil Victory Lane thanked a multitude of people for sticking with him this year. “Thanks to everyone who helps me. It’s been a long year and a lot of stuff has happened. Thanks to Wayne Childress and Steven Roberts. It feels like I have been racing forever and it has not been that long. This is the sweetest feeling I have ever had in my life.”

“I was pretty good there. I had a good run going on him [Zeigler] and I hit that burm in two. Once he [Zeigler] jumped the cushion I figured I had better go, it might have been my only shot. Words cannot even describe how I feel right now.”

Pearson slid in front of Chad Simpson off the final turn to finish runner-up to Erb. “That’s all my fault, Chad and I are real good friends. I miscalculated there on the slide job. I hit the black and just slid up in front of him. My apologizes to him and I am just glad it didn’t take out both of us. I don’t drive that way and like I said it was just a miscalculation on my part. I was riding around the top. We were not very good on the bottom. That last caution definitely helped us starting on the outside.”

Simpson, the current Lucas Oil MLRA points leader finished third. “We had a really good race car. I think early in the race when I was trying to take the lead I used up my right rear tire too much. There late in the race I was just kind of wheel spinning with it. I am sure it is all shredded up really good. It was a good night for us and a good finish. It should be a good point night for us.”

Erb’s Rocket Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by: First Class Septic Systems, New Point Lighting and Design, Day Motorsports, KBC Graphics.com, Franklin Enterprises, Keyser Manufacturing, Toste Construction and Roberts Bee Company.

Completing the top ten were Scott Bloomquist, Brandon Sheppard, Chase Junghans, Chris Simpson and Mason Zeigler.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Thursday, September 13, 2018
15th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals – presented by Casey’s General Stores
Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, IA

Miller Welders Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Brandon Sheppard / 17.739 seconds
Fast Time Group B: Scott Bloomquist / 17.231 seconds (overall)

Eibach Springs Heat Race #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Jesse Stovall, Jeremiah Hurst, Mason Zeigler, Tim McCreadie, Brandon Sheppard, Josh Richards, Tyler Bruening, Spencer Diercks, Brent Larson, Jonathan Brauns

FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Chase Junghans, Chris Simpson, Jimmy Mars, Mike Mataragas, Don O’Neal, Jake Neal, Dennis Erb, Jr., Justin Zeitner, Billy Moyer, Junior Coover

Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Dave Eckrich, Frank Heckenast, Jr., Earl Pearson, Jr., Matt Furman, Darrell Lanigan, Chris Spieker, Jason Feger, Austin Rettig, Joel Callahan

QA1 Heat Race #4 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Bobby Pierce, Scott Bloomquist, Tyler Erb, Brandon Overton, Rob Toland, Joey Moriarty, Mike Fryer, JC Wyman, Zach McMillan, Al Humphrey

Lucas Oil Heat Race #5 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Brian Birkhofer, Shane Clanton, , Jimmy Owens, Gregg Satterlee, Kyle Bronson, Brian Shirley, Scott James, Jay Johnson, Justin Duty

Casey’s General Store Heat Race #6 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Jared Landers, Jonathan Davenport, Chad Simpson, Shannon Babb, Nick Marolf, Morgan Bagley, Ricky Thornton Jr., Scott Ward, Lyle Zanker

FAST Shafts C-Main Finish (12 Laps, Top 4 Transfer to B-Main): Tyler Bruening, Ricky Thornton Jr., Scott James , Dennis Erb, Jr., Jason Feger, Scott Ward, Spencer Diercks, Justin Duty, Justin Zeitner, Zach McMillan, Austin Rettig, Jay Johnson, Brent Larson, Jonathan Brauns, Joel Callahan, Lyle Zanker, Al Humphrey, Mike Fryer, Junior Coover, JC Wyman, Billy Moyer

Penske Racing Shocks B-Main Finish (15 Laps, Top 6 Transfer to A-Main): Brandon Sheppard, Kyle Bronson, Shannon Babb, Brandon Overton, Josh Richards, Don O’Neal, Darrell Lanigan, Brian Shirley, Joey Moriarty, Tim McCreadie, Jake Neal, Gregg Satterlee, Ricky Thornton Jr., Matt Furman, Chris Spieker, Rob Toland, Mike Mataragas, Nick Marolf, Scott James , Morgan Bagley, Dennis Erb, Jr., Tyler Bruening

Lucas Oil Feature Finish (25 Laps):

FINISH
START
CAR #
DRIVER NAME
HOMETOWN
EARNINGS
1
2
91
Tyler Erb
New Waverly, TX
$7,000
2
7
1
Earl Pearson, Jr.
Jacksonville, FL
$4,000
3
4
25s
Chad Simpson
Mt. Vernon, IA
$3,000
4
10
20
Jimmy Owens
Newport, TN
$2,000
5
3
99JR
Frank Heckenast, Jr.
Frankfort, IL
$1,500
6
8
0
Scott Bloomquist
Mooresburg, TN
$1,000
7
19
1S
Brandon Sheppard
New Berlin, IL
$900
8
11
18J
Chase Junghans
Manhattan, KS
$800
9
5
32S
Chris Simpson
Oxford, IA
$700
10
1
25Z
Mason Zeigler ®
Chalk Hill, PA
$600
11
14
30
Brian Birkhofer
Muscatine, IA
$580
12
22
76
Brandon Overton
Evans, GA
$560
13
16
49
Jonathan Davenport
Blairsville, GA
$540
14
15
28m
Jimmy Mars
Menomonie, WI
$520
15
24
5
Don O’Neal
Martinsville, IN
$500
16
6
25C
Shane Clanton
Zebulon, GA
$490
17
23
1R
Josh Richards
Shinnston, WV
$480
18
21
18
Shannon Babb
Mowequa, IL
$470
19
17
58
Dave Eckrich
Oxford, IA
$460
20
18
1777
Jared Landers
Batesville, AR
$450
21
12
32
Bobby Pierce
Oakwood, IL
$440
22
9
00s
Jesse Stovall
Billings, MO
$430
23
20
40B
Kyle Bronson ®
Brandon, FL
$410
24
13
58H
Jeremiah Hurst
Dubuque, IA
$400

Race Statistics
Entrants
: 57
Lap Leaders: Mason Zeigler (Laps 1 – 16); Tyler Erb (17 – 25)
Wrisco Feature Winner: Tyler Erb
Margin of Victory: 2.244 seconds
Cautions: Jeremiah Hurst (Lap 3), Kyle Bronson (Lap 8), Bobby Pierce (Lap 18)
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Brandon Sheppard (Advanced 12 Positions)
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Jonathan Davenport
Allstar Performance Power Move of the Race: Brandon Overton
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Earl Pearson Jr.
Hot Rod Processing Rookie of the Race: Mason Zeigler
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket Chassis
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Garrett Alberson (Earl Pearson Jr.
Fastest Lap of the Race: Shane Clanton (Lap #15 – 18.823 seconds)
STEEL-IT Most Laps Led: Mason Zeigler (16 Laps)
Dirty Girl Racewear Farthest Traveler: Kyle Bronson
PFC Brakes Pole Award: Mason Zeigler
Time of Race: 18 minutes 14 seconds

Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals Nightly Point Standings:
Car #
Name
Hometown, ST
Night #1
1
Earl Pearson, Jr.
Jacksonville, FL
488
0
Scott Bloomquist
Mooresburg, TN
487
91
Tyler Erb
New Waverly, TX
482
25s
Chad Simpson
Mt. Vernon, IA
480
1S
Brandon Sheppard
New Berlin, IL
476
20
Jimmy Owens
Newport, TN
474
99JR
Frank Heckenast, Jr.
Frankfort, IL
473
32S
Chris Simpson
Oxford, IA
467
76
Brandon Overton
Evans, GA
463
25C
Shane Clanton
Zebulon, GA
459
5
Don O’Neal
Martinsville, IN
458
18
Shannon Babb
Mowequa, IL
453
25Z
Mason Zeigler
Chalk Hill, PA
452
18J
Chase Junghans
Manhattan, KS
448
30
Brian Birkhofer
Muscatine, IA
448
1R
Josh Richards
Shinnston, WV
447
32
Bobby Pierce
Oakwood, IL
442
40B
Kyle Bronson
Brandon, FL
442
49
Jonathan Davenport
Blairsville, GA
439
28m
Jimmy Mars
Menomonie, WI
424
1777
Jared Landers
Batesville, AR
422
00s
Jesse Stovall
Billings, MO
422
58
Dave Eckrich
Oxford, IA
418
14
Darrell Lanigan
Union, KY
416
58H
Jeremiah Hurst
Dubuque, IA
409
14J
Jake Neal
Omaha, NE
407
39
Tim McCreadie
Watertown, NY
405
3s
Brian Shirley
Chatham, IL
395
51M
Joey Moriarty
Phoenix, AZ
395
20RT
Ricky Thornton Jr.
Sedgwick, KS
392
51
Matt Furman
Portland, OR
387
16T
Tyler Bruening
Decorah, IA
378
33
Nick Marolf
Moscow, IA
376
83
Scott James
Lawrenceburg, IN
376
22
Gregg Satterlee
Indiana, PA
375
56S
Chris Spieker
Massena, IA
373
39T
Rob Toland
Davenport, IA
366
28
Dennis Erb, Jr.
Carpentersville, IL
366
1m
Mike Mataragas
DeKalb, IL
359
25F
Jason Feger
Bloomington, IL
352
14m
Morgan Bagley
Gladewater, TX
351
37
Scott Ward
Hayti, SD
347
29d
Spencer Diercks
Davenport, IA
337
1GRT
Justin Zeitner
Malvern, IA
331
14z
Zach McMillan
Gladewater, TX
328
94
Austin Rettig
Sikeston, MO
319
93
Jay Johnson
W. Burlington, IA
319
21
Billy Moyer
Batesville, AR
316
15d
Justin Duty
Portland, OR
312
54
Mike Fryer
Freeport, IL
312
B1
Brent Larson
Lake Elmo, MN
304
40
Joel Callahan
Dubuque, iA
296
9
Lyle Zanker
Rockford, IL
294
22B
Jonathan Brauns
Muscatine, IA
293
4W
JC Wyman
Griswold, IA
293
6H
Al Humphrey
Giltner, NE
287
10C
Junior Coover
Norfolk, NE
281