Dirt on Dirt - Terbo muscles to $5,000 Hell Tour win at Benton

July 1

Benton Speedway,

Benton, MO

Sanction: DIRTcar Summer Nationals - $5,000

Information provided by: Series and track reports (last updated July 2, 1:16 pm)

Terbo muscles to $5,000 Hell Tour win at Benton

Tyler Erb
Mark Whitener
Jason Feger
Haiden Cowan
Clay Stuckey
Christian Hanger
Jadon Frame
Dillon McCowan
Trey Mills
Tyler Millwood
Kyle Bronson
Brenden Smith
Eli Johnson
Billy Moyer Jr.
Carson Brown
Brody Smith
Blaze Burwell
Morgan Bagley
Jackson Hise
Kyle Hammer
Jason Riggs
Rusty Griffaw

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Tyler Carr

Tyler Erb (1) goes around Jason Feger (25) to take command.

What won the race: Muscling his way by Jason Feger to regain the lead with a turn-three slide job on the 25th lap, sixth-starting Tyler Erb of New Waverly, Texas, paced the final six circuits to win Tuesday's 30-lap DIRTcar Summer Nationals stop at Benton Speedway. Erb, who made the high groove work with most frontrunners down low in the early laps, beat Mark Whitener to the line by 1.735 seconds for his fourth tour victory and 19th of his career.

Quotable: "(I) kind of was like ‘Damn, maybe I lost the race right there.' " Erb said of losing the lead to Jason Feger on lap 22. "But just kind of hunkered down and thought, well, I'll just run the cushion a little bit harder and if I wreck, I wreck. But it was a really good race car."

Key notes: The race saw four lead changes, as Erb twice got tangled with lapped cars, opening the door for Jason Feger. ... Lap-10 contact from Brody Smith hampered Erb's pursuit of Feger, who led laps 12-13 before Erb took control with a turn-one slide job on the 14th lap. ... Erb then tangled with Kyle Hammer in trying to lap him on the 22nd circuit, putting Feger back out front before Erb recovered a few laps later. ... Hammer retired in 20th aboard Steve Sheppard's No. 5s (he's expected to pilot that machine all week). ... Erb led twice for 14 laps (14-21, 25-30), while Feger led twice for five (12-13, 22-24). ... Billy Moyer Jr., making his first Late Model start since Oct. 21, 2023, aboard the Keith Lawson No. 21 Longhorn usually driven by his Hall of Fame father, led the opening 11 laps from the pole before fading to 14th. ... Mark Whitener followed Erb by Feger on lap 25, relegating Feger to third. ... Haiden Cowan, the night's fast qualifier and first heat winner, settled for fourth. ... The race was slowed by two cautions before a lap was completed, the first for Moyer's jumped start, the second for a multicar incident exiting turn four. ... The 30-lapper lasted 12 minutes, with 12 starters completing the distance and 17 running at the finish.

On the move: Surviving a first-lap pileup, Clay Stuckey of Shreveport, La., started 12th and finished fifth.

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: Week 4 after Benton: 1. Tyler Erb (80); 2. Mark Whitener (75); 3. Jason Feger (70); 4. Haiden Cowan (65); 5. Clay Stuckey (60). Overall after Benton: 1. Jason Feger (1,005); 2. Tyler Erb (957); 3. Dillon McCowan (794); 4. Kyle Bronson (769); 5. Mark Whitener (731).

Current weather: Clear, 82°F

Car count: 33

Fast qualifier: Haiden Cowan

Time: 15.417 seconds

Polesitter: Billy Moyer Jr.

Heat race winners: Haiden Cowan, Billy Moyer Jr., Jadon Frame, Mark Whitener

Consolation race winners: Kyle Hammer

Provisional starters: Trey Mills, Blaze Burwell, Rusty Griffaw, Carson Brown

Next series race: July 2, Spoon River Speedway (Banner, IL) $5,000

Editor's note: Corrects Tuesday's schedule, adds street stocks and kid mods as undercard divisions.

From staff reports

BENTON, Mo. — Updates and results from Tuesday’s 17th round of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals at Benton Speedway, an event highlighted by a 30-lap, $5,000-to-win feature for DIRTcar Super Late Models (results unofficial):

Feature

Muscling his way by Jason Feger to regain the lead with a turn-three slide job on the 25th lap, sixth-starting Tyler Erb of New Waverly, Texas, paced the final six circuits to win Tuesday's 30-lap DIRTcar Summer Nationals stop at Benton Speedway. Erb, who made the high groove work with most frontrunners down low in the early laps, beat Mark Whitener to the line by 1.735 seconds for his fourth tour victory and 19th of his career.

Feature lineup

(30 laps)

Row 1: Billy Moyer Jr., Haiden Cowan
Row 2: Mark Whitener, Jadon Frame
Row 3: Jason Feger, Tyler Erb
Row 4: Christian Hanger, Tyler Millwood
Row 5: Eli Johnson, Kyle Bronson
Row 6: Morgan Bagley, Clay Stuckey
Row 7: Jackson Hise, Brenden Smith
Row 8: Dillon McCowan, Brody Smith
Row 9: Kyle Hammer, Jason Riggs
Row 10: Trey Mills, Blaze Burwell
Row 11: Rusty Griffaw, Carson Brown

Consolation race results

(10 laps; top two transfer)

B-main: Kyle Hammer, Jason Riggs, Carson Brown, Blaze Burwell, J.C. Waller, Rusty Griffaw, Brian Woodard, Kyle McMahon, Shane Stephens, Thomas Hunziker, Robby Moore, Trey Mills, Rodney Melvin, Dylan Thornton. Scratched: Henry Gustavus, Matt Cooper, Chris Jones.

Heat race recap

Haiden Cowan led all eight laps from the pole, cruising to win the first heat race by 1.326 seconds over second-starting Jason Feger. Floridians Eli Johnson and Jackson Hise rounded out the top-four finishers, punching their ticket into Tuesday’s 30-lap main event. … Billy Moyer Jr. fended off an early challenge from Christian Hanger and held on to win the second heat by 1.339 seconds. Moyer Jr. is making his first Late Model appearance since being crowned Comp Cams Super Dirt Series champ on Oct. 21, 2023, at Super Bee Speedway in Chatham, La. Moyer Jr. is aboard the same Keith Lawson-owned No. 21 Longhorn entry that his father has recently driven, with Billy Moyer Sr. serving as his crew chief. Fifth-starting Morgan Bagley finished third, with sixth-starting Dillon McCowan grabbing the final two transfer spots into Tuesday’s $5,000-to-win feature. … Jadon Frame overcame a mid-race restart to earn a flag-to-flag victory in the third heat, taking the checkers 1.006 seconds ahead of second-starting Tyler Erb. The race’s lone yellow flag flew on the start of the fourth lap when Blaze Burwell spun from third following contact with Kyle Bronson. Bronson continued to finish third, with sixth-starting Brenden Smith finishing fourth; Burwell could only rebound to fifth. … Second-starting Mark Whitener took command on the fourth lap and paced the final five circuits to win the fourth and final heat race by 3.268 seconds over early leader Tyler Millwood. Clay Stuckey improved one spot to finish third, while Brody Smith held on for the fourth and final transfer position.

Heat race results

(Eight laps; top four transfer)

First heat: Haiden Cowan, Jason Feger, Eli Johnson, Jackson Hise, Kyle Hammer, Carson Brown, Thomas Hunziker, Dylan Thornton. Scratched: Chris Jones.

Second heat: Billy Moyer Jr., Christian Hanger, Morgan Bagley, Dillon McCowan, Jason Riggs, Trey Mills, Rodney Melvin, Henry Gustavus.

Third heat: Jadon Frame, Tyler Erb, Kyle Bronson, Brenden Smith, Blaze Burwell, J.C. Waller, Shane Stephens, Robby Moore.

Fourth heat: Mark Whitener, Tyler Millwood, Clay Stuckey, Brody Smith, Rusty Griffaw, Kyle McMahon, Brian Woodard. Scratched: Matt Cooper.

Time trials

Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Haiden Cowan (14), Rincon, Ga., 15.417
2. Billy Moyer Jr. (21), Batesville, Ark., 15.632
3. Jason Feger (25F), Bloomington, Ill., 15.782
4. Christian Hanger (29), Winchester, Tenn., 15.789
5. Eli Johnson (55), Clewiston, Fla., 15.812
6. Rodney Melvin (27m), Benton, Ill., 15.932
7. Carson Brown (28B), New London, N.C., 15.968
8. Trey Mills (14jr), St. Augustine, Fla., 15.994
9. Dylan Thornton (13), Orcutt, Calif., 16.099
10. Morgan Bagley (14m), Longview, Texas, 16.113
11. Jackson Hise (388), Ocala, Fla., 16.115
12. Dillon McCowan (75), Urbana, Mo., 16.117
13. Kyle Hammer (5s), Clinton, Ill., 16.272
14. Jason Riggs (81), College Grove, Tenn., 16.449
15. Thomas Hunziker (38), Bend, Ore., 16.523
16. Henry Gustavus (78), Jonesboro, Ark., 16.922
17. Chris Jones (91), Neelyville, Mo., 17.277
Group B
1. Jadon Frame (81F), Winchester, Tenn., 15.549
2. Tyler Millwood (31m), Kingston, Ga., 15.764
3. Tyler Erb (1), New Waverly, Texas, 15.964
4. Mark Whitener (5), Middleburg, Fla., 15.991
5. Kyle Bronson (40B), Brandon, Fla., 16.022
6. Brody Smith (17sr), Dade City, Fla., 16.225
7. J.C. Waller (7w), Atoka, Tenn., 16.231
8. Clay Stuckey (15), Shreveport, La., 16.406
9. Blaze Burwell (44), Mount Vernon, Ill., 16.534
10. Rusty Griffaw (16), Festus, Mo., 16.691
11. Brenden Smith (17ss), Dade City, Fla., 16.706
12. Kyle McMahon (45), Mount Vernon, Ill., 16.757
13. Shane Stephens (15s), Arlington, Tenn., 16.824
14. Brian Woodard (15w), Ripley, Tenn., 16.928
15. Robby Moore (11m), Poplar Bluff, Mo., 17.103
16. Matt Cooper (10c), McKenzie, Tenn., no time

Tuesday’s schedule

(All times local)
2 p.m. - Pits open
5 p.m. - Grandstands open
6:30 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
7 p.m. - On-track activity
- Late Model hot laps
- Modified group qualifying
- Late Model time trials (2 laps)
- Street stock hot laps
- Kid mods hot laps
Opening ceremonies
- Late Model heats (8 laps)
- Modified heats (8 laps)
- Street stock heats (8 laps)
- Kid mods heats (8 laps)
- Late Model B-main (10 laps)
Intermission/track prep
- Late Model feature (30 laps)
- Modified feature (25 laps)
- Street stock feature (15 laps)
- Kid mods feature (12 laps)