(June 20, 2024) Lewistown, IL – Tyler Erb was on the verge of claiming his fifth DIRTcar Summer Nationals Feature win of 2024 when Jason Feger made a surprise move, altering the race’s outcome. With just four laps remaining at Spoon River Speedway, Erb’s dominant lead was disrupted, setting the stage for a dramatic finish.
The Unexpected Twist
By Lap 27, Erb had led every lap of the race, holding off close competition from Ryan Unzicker and Jason Feger. With only a few laps to go, Erb decided to switch to the bottom lane in Turn 1 to fend off Unzicker. This opened the door for Feger, who took the high side and found a gap between Erb and Unzicker. Feger executed a daring slide job in Turn 3, making contact with Erb and sending him spinning, which brought out a caution.
“I just had a hell of a run down the backstretch that was for the lead, and it looked like it was a good opportunity to take it,” Feger explained. “I don’t think [Erb] was expecting it. I thought I had him cleared. This place is pretty tricky coming off Turn 4.”
Seizing the Opportunity
With Erb relegated to the back of the field for the restart, Unzicker inherited the lead, with Feger right behind him. On the restart, Unzicker managed to get a strong jump and led the final four laps to claim his 14th career Hell Tour victory.
“I didn’t actually see the contact,” Unzicker said regarding the incident between Erb and Feger. “Jason came out of nowhere and had a good run off the top of Turn 2. I don’t know if I would’ve won without that, but at the end of the day, my name is on the check.”
Early Race Battles
Throughout the race, Unzicker had been battling fiercely with Erb and Feger for position. At one point, the three drivers were racing three-wide, with Feger on the bottom, Unzicker in the middle, and Erb on the top. As the race progressed, Unzicker managed to challenge Erb multiple times but could not make a pass stick until the final laps’ chaotic events unfolded.
A Long-Awaited Win
This victory marked Unzicker’s second win with the Summer Nationals at Spoon River, 14 years after his first win at the same track.
“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it,” Unzicker reflected. “Anytime you can win anymore it’s a good feat. I think what I’m mostly proud of is I still feel like that I’m that regional, local working man, and that makes me proud that I can still win against some guys that do it for a living.”
Up Next
The DIRTcar Summer Nationals move to Brownstown Bullring on Friday, June 21, racing alongside the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals. Tickets are available at the gate, and fans can watch live on DIRTVision.
Abbreviated Results
- Feature (30 Laps):
- 24-Ryan Unzicker[2]
- 25F-Jason Feger[3]
- 96-Tanner English[5]
- 33-Kye Blight[10]
- 10-Garrett Smith[6]
- 21-Billy Moyer Sr[11]
- 11T-Trevor Gundaker[8]
- 27M-Rodney Melvin[4]
- 58-Tyler Clem[21]
- 8-Dillon McCowan[12]
- 25W-Allen Weisser[16]
- 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh[15]
- 22R-Will Roland[17]
- 15-Clayton Stuckey[9]
- 1-Tyler Erb[1]
- 99-Dylan Thompson[18]
- 30-Mark Voigt[19]
- 26M-Bob Gardner[14]
- 75-Daniel Adam[7]
- 38-Thomas Hunziker[22]
- 17A-Austin Howes[13]
- 10K-Daryn Klein[20]
