Tyler Erb Wins the 25th Annual Topless 50

Story By: JAMES ESSEX / LUCAS OIL LATE MODEL DIRT SERIES – MIDDLEBOURNE, WV – For the first time since February, Tyler Erb returned to Lucas Oil Victory Lane on Friday night as he wired the field in the 25th annual Topless 50 at Tyler County Speedway.

Erb became the tenth different winner in as many visits by the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series at Tyler County Speedway. The victory didn’t come easy, as podium finishers Josh Richards and Devin Moran charged after Erb the entire 50-lap distance.

Moran and Erb led the field to green with Erb taking the lead on the initial lap. There was a tight battle the entire distance for second as three different drivers held that position during the race. Chris Ferguson, Moran, and Richards all had a turn in the runner-up position behind Erb.

Richards cleared Moran on lap 42, then setting his sights on Erb who was battling lapped traffic. Richards closed on Erb, but the 22-year-old made his move around a lapped car with two-to go, and that allowed him to open up enough distance to cross the finish line as the winner for his first ever victory at Tyler County.

Richards took second just ahead of Moran, with Chris Ferguson and Tim McCreadie rounding out the top five.

“I am super-pumped!” exclaimed Erb in Victory Lane. “We have a super-fast racecar right now. This is the best car I have ever driven. It feels like a year since we won a race. This is one of my favorite tracks. We haven’t been here a lot, because it’s a long way from Texas.”

“I wanted to move up higher in turns one and two; that’s what got me the lead on Devin. It’s hard to move up when you can see those guys below you. I was getting sideways into turn three and I could almost see the entire field behind me. This just shows how good of a team we have. We put in the work to win and it paid off tonight,” said Erb, who currently leads the LOLMDS Rookie-of-the-Year point standings over Moran.

Richards was looking to win in front of his home state fans but was happy with his second-place finish. “Man, I sure wanted to win here tonight. I love coming here. I am glad we get to come here twice a year now. I had a lot of family and friends here tonight. We went with a little different right rear tire and it took me a while to get rolling up top. I knew with Tyler up front it was going to be hard to catch him.”

Moran sat on the pole for the start of the main event and earned a podium finish. “I got close a few times. It feels good to get back on the podium. Tonight, we learned from our mistakes from last night. If we keep running up front, I feel like we can get a couple of wins here soon.”

The winner’s Eric and Kelly Brock-owned, Best Performance Motorsports Rocket Chassis is powered by a Durham Racing Engine and sponsored by: Industrial Resourcing Group, Roberts Bee Company, New Point Lighting and Design, Bazell Race Fuels, Sunoco Race Fuels, Franklin Enterprises, Valvoline, Keyser, and KBC Graphix.

Completing the top ten were Mike Marlar, Colton Burdette, Derek Doll, Jonathan Davenport, and Gregg Satterlee.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Friday, July 5, 2019
25th annual Topless 50
Tyler County Speedway – Middlebourne, W.Va.

Miller Welders Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Devin Moran / 12.557 seconds (overall)
Fast Time Group B: Michael Norris / 12.893 seconds

Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Devin Moran ®, Tim McCreadie, Mike Marlar, Colten Burdette, Billy Moyer, Jr., Jared Hawkins, Matt Cosner, Chuck Kimble

FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Josh Richards, Jonathan Davenport, Gregg Satterlee, Shanon Buckingham, Brian Baumberger, Steve Weigle, Shane Hitt, Logan Hitt

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Tyler Erb ®, Jimmy Owens, Derek Doll, Michael Norris, Jacob Hawkins, Hudson O’Neal, Travis Stickley, Travis Brown

Lucas Oil Products Penetrating Oil Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Chris Ferguson, Kyle Bronson, Mason Zeigler, Kyle Thomas, Zack Dohm, Earl Pearson, Jr., Stormy Scott

Lucas Oil Products Red “N” Tacky Spray Grease B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Shane Hitt, Billy Moyer, Jr., Matt Cosner, Jared Hawkins, Logan Hitt, Chuck Kimble, Brian Baumberger-DNS, Steve Weigle-DNS

FAST Shafts B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Jacob Hawkins, Travis Stickley, Zack Dohm, Stormy Scott, Earl Pearson, Jr., Hudson O’Neal-DNS, Travis Brown-DNS

Lucas Oil Feature Finish (50 Laps):

FINISH	START	CAR #	DRIVER NAME	HOMETOWN	EARNINGS
1	2	1T	Tyler Erb ®	New Waverly, TX	$12,800
2	3	14	Josh Richards	Shinnston, WV	$6,300
3	1	1M	Devin Moran ®	Dresden, OH	$4,200
4	4	22F	Chris Ferguson	Mount Holly, NC	$2,750
5	5	39	Tim McCreadie	Watertown, NY	$2,950
6	9	157	Mike Marlar	Winfield, TN	$1,800
7	13	44B	Colten Burdette	Parkersburg, WV	$1,500
8	10	87	Derek Doll	Greenwood, WV	$1,300
9	7	49	Jonathan Davenport	Blairsville, GA	$2,300
10	11	22	Gregg Satterlee	Indiana, PA	$1,100
11	6	20	Jimmy Owens	Newport, TN	$1,875
12	18	8	Jacob Hawkins	Fairmont, WV	$1,050
13	8	40B	Kyle Bronson	Brandon, FL	$1,725
14	12	25Z	Mason Zeigler	Chalk Hill, PA	$1,000
15	24	71	Hudson O’Neal	Martinsville, IN	$1,700
16	19	21	Billy Moyer, Jr.	Batesville, AR	$1,700
17	15	50	Shanon Buckingham	Morristown, TN	$1,700
18	25	2s	Stormy Scott	Las Cruses, NM	$800
19	20	32	Travis Stickley	Keyser, WV	$1,000
20	14	5	Michael Norris	Sarver, PA	$1,000
21	23	1	Earl Pearson, Jr.	Jacksonville, FL	$1,900
22	16	57	Kyle Thomas	Pennsboro, WV	$1,000
23	17	5*	Shane Hitt	Buckhannon, WV	$1,000
24	21	66c	Matt Cosner	Ridgeley, WV	$1,000
25	22	17d	Zack Dohm	Cross Lanes, WV	$1,000