Dirt on Dirt - Tyler repels Dennis, wins battle of Erbs at Peoria

June 12

Peoria Speedway,

Peoria, IL

Sanction: DIRTcar Summer Nationals - $5,000

Information provided by: Todd Turner, series and track reports (last updated June 13, 2:33 am)

Tyler repels Dennis, wins battle of Erbs at Peoria

Tyler Erb
Dennis Erb Jr.
Dillon McCowan
Jason Feger
Kye Blight
Rodney Melvin
Brayton Wallace
Bobby Pierce
Allen Weisser
Tanner English
Max McLaughlin
Bob Gardner
Jake Little
Trey Mills
Tyler Clem
Thomas Hunziker
Andy Clark
Turk Letizia
Daniel Hilsabeck
David McCoy
Mark Voigt
Doug Tye

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Tyler Erb takes the checkers to win Wednesday's $5,000 opener at Peoria.

What won the race: Powering around the outside of polesitter Dennis Erb Jr. at the initial start, Tyler Erb of New Waverly, Texas, scored a flag-to-flag victory in Wednesday's $5,000 DIRTcar Summer Nationals season opener at Peoria Speedway. Erb led all 30 laps to capture his first Summer Nationals triumph since June 28, 2022, at Red Hill Raceway in Sumner, Ill.

Quotable: “It wasn’t easy. I knew I needed to get around Dennis (Erb Jr.) on the start and was able to do it twice, which is hard to do,” Tyler Erb said. “Racing with Dennis — I’m parked behind him (in the pits) — I think we pretty much have decided he’s gonna run down there (on the low line) and I’m gonna run up there (on the high line).”

Key notes: The pole-starting Erb Jr., of Carpentersville, Ill., trailed Tyler Erb the entire way, crossing the line 2.170 seconds back. ... Dillon McCowan improved three positions and completed the podium finishers. ... Bobby Pierce overcame a spin during a lap-three melee and rebounded to run as high as fifth on lap 20 before an overheating issue caused him to slow in the final laps. He was credited with eighth. ... Hometown racer Allen Weisser scratched from time trials with a bad battery and salvaged a ninth-place result after borrowing a replacement from a competitor. ... Wednesday's season opener was slowed by three separate incidents, the largest being a five-minute red flag for cleanup after Daniel Hilsabeck, David McCoy and Mark Voigt tangled on lap three. They were unable to continue. ... Turk Letizia was squeezed into the turn-three tractor tire just as Andy Clark spun in turn two, drawing the race's first stoppage on the opening lap. Letizia continued for four circuits before pulling off with heavy nose damage. Clark spun on lap six to bring out the race's third and final yellow flag. ... The 30-lapper lasted 22 minutes, with 14 competitors completing the distance. ... There was a brief delay during modified heats after the flagman, Billy Hall, was hit in the arm by debris and required medical attention at the same time that a crewman for Carson Brown was being treated for possible heat exhaustion. Brown's crew member was taken to the hospital while Hall returned for the features after being treated by a second ambulance team.

On the move: Allen Weisser of Peoria, Ill., started 18th and finished ninth.

Winner's sponsors: Erb’s winning Best Performance Motorsports Rocket Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and carries sponsorship from Langenfelder Mechanical Contractors, Bulk Material Lift, First Class Septic, Roberts Bee Company, Anthony’s Pizza, JRR Trucking, Base Racing Fuel, Base Oil, Sani-Weld, Inc., Keyser Manufacturing, Integra Racing Shocks, Go Lithium Batteries, Midwest Sheet Metal, Terbo Threads and KBC Graphix.

Points chase: After Peoria: 1. Tyler Erb (79); 2. Dennis Erb Jr. (74); 3. Dillon McCowan (69); 4. Jason Feger (64); 5. Kye Blight (59); 6. Rodney Melvin (54); 7. Brayton Wallace (52); 8. Bobby Pierce (50); 9. Allen Weisser (48); 10. Tanner English (46).

Current weather: Clear, 84°F

Car count: 29

Fast qualifier: Dennis Erb Jr.

Time: 12.315 seconds

Polesitter: Dennis Erb Jr.

Heat race winners: Jason Feger, Dennis Erb Jr., Tyler Erb

Consolation race winners: Bobby Pierce

Provisional starters: Thomas Hunziker, Doug Tye, Andy Clark, Tyler Clem

Next series race: June 13, Kankakee County Speedway (Kankakee, IL) $5,000

Editor's note: Results and race details are unofficial.

From staff reports

PEORIA, Ill. (June 12) — Updates from the first round of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals at Peoria Speedway, an event highlighted by a 30-lap, $5,000-to-win feature for Super Late Models (results unofficial):

Feature

Powering around the outside of polesitter Dennis Erb Jr. at the initial start, Tyler Erb of New Waverly, Texas, scored a flag-to-flag victory in Wednesday's $5,000 DIRTcar Summer Nationals season opener at Peoria Speedway. Erb led all 30 laps to capture his first Summer Nationals triumph since June 28, 2022, at Red Hill Raceway in Sumner, Ill. Erb Jr., of Carpentersville, Ill., trailed Tyler the entire way, crossing the line 2.170 seconds back.

Feature lineup

(30 laps)

Row 1: Dennis Erb Jr., Tyler Erb
Row 2: Jason Feger, Kye Blight
Row 3: Daniel Hilsabeck, Dillon McCowan
Row 4: David McCoy, Rodney Melvin
Row 5: Mark Voigt, Jake Little
Row 6: Bob Gardner, Brayton Wallace
Row 7: Turk Letizia, Max McLaughlin
Row 8: Trey Mills, Bobby Pierce
Row 9: Tanner English, Allen Weisser
Row 10: Thomas Hunziker
Row 11: Andy Clark, Tyler Clem

Consolation race results

B-main (three transfer): Bobby Pierce, Tanner English, Allen Weisser, Carson Brown, Jackson Hise, Joseph Joiner, Cody Overton, Daniel Adam, Doug Tye, Jeff Riddell, Roben Huffman, Andy Clark, Thomas Hunziker, Tyler Clem.

Heat race recap

Pole-starting Jason Feger led all eight laps to win the first heat race by 0.442 of a second over third-starting Kye Blight, who is piloting Steve Lampley’s No. 33 Rocket Chassis. David McCoy, Jake Little and ninth-starting Turk Letizia rounded out the top five, earning a spot in Wednesday’s $5,000-to-win Summer Nationals opener. … Dennis Erb Jr. dominated the second heat, leading the entire distance and crossing the checkers 4.196 seconds ahead of third-starting Daniel Hilsbaeck. Rodney Melvin, Bob Gardner and Max McLaughlin will join them in the 30-lap feature. … Tyler Erb scored a flag-to-flag victory in the third and final heat race, winning by 0.532 of a second over second-starting Dillon McCowan. Mark Voigt, Brayton Wallace and Trey Mills held serve to grab top five finishing spots, punching their ticket into Monday’s main event. The lone caution flew in preliminary action when Roben Huffman and Doug Tye tangled on the opening lap, spinning to cause a brief stoppage; both continued. Allen Weisser improved three positions and finished sixth after tagging the field when he missed time trials because of a bad battery. He borrowed one from a competitor for the rest of the night.

Heat race results

(Eight laps, top five transfer)

First heat: Jason Feger, Kye Blight, David McCoy, Jake Little, Turk Letizia, Daniel Adam, Joseph Joiner, Andy Clark, Carson Brown, Thomas Hunziker.

Second heat: Dennis Erb Jr., Daniel Hilsabeck, Rodney Melvin, Bob Gardner, Max McLaughlin, Bobby Pierce, Tanner English, Tyler Clem, Cody Overton, Jackson Hise.

Third heat: Tyler Erb, Dillon McCowan, Mark Voigt, Brayton Wallace, Trey Mills, Allen Weisser, Roben Huffman, Doug Tye, Jeff Riddell.

Time trials

Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., 12.419
2. Daniel Adam (75), Wade, N.C., 12.426
3. Kye Blight (33), Katanning, Western Australia, 12.508
4. Jake Little (38j), Springfield, Ill., 12.592
5. David McCoy (187), Franklin, N.C., 12.635
6. Joseph Joiner (10), Milton, Fla., 12.683
7. Andy Clark (17), Mackinaw, Ill., 12.828
8. Carson Brown (28B), New London, N.C., 12.853
9. Turk Letizia (D1), Milwaukee, Wis., 12.865
10. Thomas Hunziker (38), Bend, Ore., 13.563
Group B
1. Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 12.315
2. Rodney Melvin (27), Benton, Ill., 12.358
3. Daniel Hilsabeck (22), Earlham, Iowa, 12.382
4. Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., 12.388
5. Bob Gardner (4G), East Peoria, Ill., 12.396
6. Tanner English (96), Benton, Ky., 12.396
7. Cody Overton (97), Evans, Ga., 12.425
8. Max McLaughlin (22*), Mooresville, N.C., 12.663
9. Tyler Clem (58), St. Petersburg, Fla., 12.828
10. Jackson Hise (388), Ocala, Fla., 13.153
Group C
1. Tyler Erb (1), New Waverly, Texas, 12.386
2. Dillon McCowan (8), Urbana, Mo., 12.718
3. Trey Mills (14jr), St. Augustine, Fla., 12.855
4. Mark Voigt (30), Marine, Ill., 12.909
5. Brayton Wallace (T2), Peoria, Ill., 12.979
6. Roben Huffman (33H), Midland City, Ill., 13.129
7. Jeff Riddell (09), Steward, Ill., 13.260
8. Doug Tye (4D), Troy, Ill., 13.304
9. Allen Weisser (25w), Peoria, Ill., no time

Wednesday’s schedule

(All times local)
3:30 p.m. - Pits open
5:30 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
6 p.m. - On-track activity
- Late Model hot laps
- Modified group qualifying (3 laps)
- Late Model group qualifying (2 laps)
- B-Mod hot laps
Opening ceremonies
- Kids mod heats (5 laps)
- Late Model heats (8 laps)
- Modified heats (8 laps)
- B-Mod heats (8 laps)
- Late Model B-Main (8 laps)
- Kid mod main event (8 laps)
Intermission
- Late Model feature (30 laps)
- Modified feature (25 laps)
- B-Mod feature (15 laps)