(June 12, 2024) Peoria, IL – Tyler Erb made an impressive statement in his first appearance of the 2024 DIRTcar Summer Nationals on Wednesday night, dominating the race at Peoria Speedway.
Unstoppable Performance
The 27-year-old from New Waverly, TX, secured his fifth career Summer Nationals Feature win by leading all 30 laps. Starting from the outside pole alongside Dennis Erb Jr., Tyler Erb quickly took command, navigating the high side of the 1/4-mile track to take the lead on Lap 1. He maintained his lead throughout, achieving his first Hell Tour victory in nearly two years.
“It feels good; this is how it’s supposed to be,” Erb said. “When everything goes right, you need to appreciate it because it doesn’t always happen that way.”
A New Approach for 2024
In the past two seasons, Erb only made two appearances on the Hell Tour due to his national tour obligations. This year, he and the Best Performance Motorsports team decided to adopt a flexible schedule, allowing them to participate in select races. They kicked off their new plan by adding the first week of the Summer Nationals to their agenda and heading to Illinois.
“I enjoy the Hell Tour and the tracks we race on,” Erb explained.
Mastering the Track
Erb took the lead at the start and managed several clean restarts despite two cautions in the first seven laps. With experienced competitors like Dennis Erb Jr. and Jason Feger close behind, Tyler Erb needed strong restarts to maintain his advantage.
“Experience counts a lot in racing, and restarts are a crucial part of it,” Erb said. “You have to make smart decisions to stay in the lead.”
After the final caution on Lap 7, Erb began to extend his lead. Though Dennis Erb Jr. stayed close initially, Tyler Erb found his rhythm, using various track lanes to build a significant gap. By the second half of the race, he had a lead of over two seconds.
“After the first few laps, I knew where I needed to be in [Turns] 1 and 2,” Erb said. “For [Turns] 3 and 4, I decided to go as low as possible to protect my line.”
Even as he encountered lapped traffic on Lap 18, Erb skillfully maneuvered through slower cars, maintaining his lead and clinching the $5,000 prize.
Notable Mentions
In addition to Erb’s dominant performance, five-time Hell Tour champion Bobby Pierce made a notable comeback. Starting from 16th position after winning the Consolation Race, Pierce worked his way up to finish in eighth place.
Upcoming Events
The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models will head to Kankakee County Speedway on Thursday, June 13, for another exciting $5,000-to-win event, alongside the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals. Tickets are available at the gate, and every lap can be streamed live on DIRTVision.
Results
- Feature (30 Laps):
- 1-Tyler Erb[2]
- 28-Dennis Erb Jr[1]
- 8-Dillon McCowan[6]
- 25-Jason Feger[3]
- 33-Kye Blight[4]
- 27-Rodney Melvin[8]
- T2-Brayton Wallace[12]
- 32-Bobby Pierce[16]
- 25W-Allen Weisser[18]
- 96-Tanner English[17]
- 22*-Max McLaughlin[14]
- 4G-Bob Gardner[11]
- 38J-Jake Little[10]
- 14JR-Trey Mills[15]
- 58-Tyler Clem[22]
- 38-Thomas Hunziker[19]
- 17-Andy Clark[21]
- D1-Turk Letizia[13]
- 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[5]
- 187-David McCoy[7]
- 30-Mark Voigt[9]
- 4D-Doug Tye[20]
