Tyler Erb, Mike McKinney Victorious In DIRTcar Summer Nationals Opener At Brownstown

Story By: JORDAN DELUCIA / DIRTCAR – BROWNSTOWN, IN – Just over three years ago, Tyler Erb scored his first career DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory in the Hoosier State. In Wednesday night’s season opener at Indiana’s Brownstown Speedway, Terbo did it again.

Erb wheeled his Best Performance Rocket Chassis #1 around the low side of Turns 1-2 with just four laps remaining after chasing then-leader Bobby Pierce around for most of the 40-lap Feature. With Pierce on the ragged edge up top, Erb found the bite down low and slid in front of Pierce as they raced out of Turn 2.

Pierce tried to cross back underneath Erb heading into Turn 3 but was unsuccessful. Erb had the low-side momentum rolling, stayed with it out of Turn 4 and held off Pierce through the final three circuits to claim his second career Hell Tour victory.

“Bobby was really committed up there. We had on a little different tire than everyone else here,” Erb said of his pass for the lead.

Pierce was out to a commanding lead in the opening stages but saw it erased when defending Summer Nationals champion Brian Shirley slowed to bring out the caution on lap 23. Shirley was pushed back to the pits with apparent mechanical issues.

On the ensuing restart, third-running Kyle Bronson got a terrific jump and snuck by Erb to take second. But as the field restarted for the final time on Lap 31, Erb returned the favor and stole it back with a terrific move to Bronson’s inside heading into Turn 3.

“I hated to see that caution at about Lap 20, Kyle got by me. It’s just a product of getting passed. I had to try something… I got a good restart off the bottom, started entering really low and trying to park it in the middle. It was a really good track,” Erb said.

Pierce held up through the final three laps to finish second after Erb got by for the lead in the closing stages. The 2019 Summer Nationals winner at Brownstown, Mike Marlar, drove a terrific race inside the top-five throughout to claim the final podium spot, while Allen Weisser and Bronson rounded out the top-five.

The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Model action continues Thursday night, July 9, at Peoria Speedway in Peoria, IL.

Feature (40 Laps) 1. 1T-Tyler Erb [1]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce [2]; 3. 57-Mike Marlar [6]; 4. 25W-Allen Weisser [9]; 5. 40B-Kyle Bronson [4]; 6. 99JR-Frank Heckenast, [8]; 7. 28-Tyler Carpenter [3]; 8. 17J-Greg Johnson [14]; 9. 16-Jason Jameson [11]; 10. 25-Jason Feger [18]; 11. 76-Shelby Miles [7]; 12. 14B-Britan Godsey [13]; 13. 22-Austin Burns [10]; 14. 4G-Bob Gardner [15]; 15. 48-Tim Lance [19]; 16. 32S-Chad Stapleton [22]; 17. 3S-Brian Shirley [5]; 18. 19R-Ryan Gustin [17]; 19. 1G-Devin Gilpin [12]; 20. 13-Brayton Laster [16]; 21. 24-Jared Bailey [20]; 22. 48L-Tim Lance, [21]

DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modifieds

In chasing a championship, it’s crucial to win early and often. That’s exactly what Mike McKinney started in Wednesday night’s DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals opener at Brownstown Speedway with a Feature win in convincing fashion over Nick Hoffman and Ryan Thomas.

Starting on the pole in the 25-lap Feature, McKinney gave up the lead to Will Krup right away and quickly fell back to third behind two-time and defending Summit Modifieds champion Nick Hoffman.

But a quick yellow after just four laps re-stacked the field and allowed McKinney the opportunity he needed to get the lead back, which he did immediately, digging under Krup on the low side on the restart and taking the lead back for good one lap later.

From there on out, it was all The Magic Man. He led the field around Brownstown virtually unchallenged for the remaining 20 laps to collect his 10th career Summit Modifieds victory.

“They drove by me on the [original] start, but then on that restart, I don’t know, it was just the light switch, I guess,” McKinney said. “Whoever was in second gave me a shot and [the track] might’ve took some rubber there, so I moved up and was able to hold them off.”

His competition was tough, but McKinney’s #96 Elite Chassis held strong and even showed his haters a thing or two before the race was out.

“Starting with Nick and Will, I knew it was going to be tough. They’re the best-of-the-best when it gets slick like this. Everyone always gives me crap and says I can only run the cushion at Fairbury, so I hope I proved everybody wrong,” McKinney said.

Hoffman held strong inside the podium throughout the race to claim the runner-up spot, while Ryan Thomas was able to slide his #T9 by Krup with 10 laps remaining to collect third. Jacoby Hines rounded out the top-five.

The DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals action continues Thursday night, July 9, at Peoria Speedway in Peoria, IL.

Feature (25 Laps) 1. 96M-Mike McKinney [1][$10,000]; 2. 7-Nick Hoffman [3][$5,000]; 3. T9-Ryan Thomas [4][$3,000]; 4. K19-Will Krup [2][$2,500]; 5. 115-Jacoby Hines [6][$2,000]; 6. 25W-Allen Weisser [16][$1,700]; 7. 34J-Jordan Wever [8][$1,400]; 8. 99-Hunt Gossum [11][$1,300]; 9. 66-Cole Falloway [7][$1,200]; 10. 9H-John DeMoss [18][$1,100]; 11. 93W-Brayden Watson [13][$1,050]; 12. 7D-Brad DeYoung [20][$1,000]; 13. 23-Ryan Cripe [9][$950]; 14. 7L-Mark Lamont [14][$900]; 15. 16C-John Clippinger [10][$850]; 16. 11J-Jarod Fleetwood [15][$800]; 17. 36-Kenny Wallace [12][$770]; 18. 35-David Stremme [5][$750]; 19. 46-Derek Groomer [17][$730]; 20. 21A-Nick Allen [21][$700]; 21. 24-Zeke McKenzie [19][$700] Hard Charger: 25W-Allen Weisser[+10]

Randolph Co. Raceway to Replace Date at Quincy, Modified Event Confirmed at Cedar Ridge

The DIRTcar Summer Nationals and DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals event scheduled for Sunday, July 19, at Quincy Raceways is shifting to Randolph County Raceway because of local restrictions connected to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The local Adams County Health Department in Quincy, IL, remains committed to the Phase 4 guidelines of reopening, which limits Quincy Raceways to 20% operating capacity. Thus, track management decided to relocate the Summer Nationals/Summit Modifieds event to Randolph County Raceway in Moberly, MO. The winner’s shares remain at $5,000 for Late Models and $1,500 for Modifieds.

DIRTcar officials have also confirmed the status of the annual Hope for Harley event at Cedar Ridge Speedway, which will now conclude the season for the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals on August 28-29.

The Friday night portion at Cedar Ridge will pay $1,500 to the winner while $3,000 sits on the line for the Saturday night finale.