Duck River Raceway Park
Notes: Late yellow halts Erb's rally at Duck River
By Robert Holman
DirtonDirt.com correspondent
Dennis Erb Jr. started 11th and finished second. (photobyconnie.com)
WHEEL, Tenn. (Nov. 16) — In a race that offered plenty of drama between race leaders Skylar Marlar and eventual winner Josh Putnam in the first 70 laps, it was Dennis Erb Jr., of Carpentersville, Ill., who was poised to create the late-race excitement that has become synonymous with big-money races at Duck River Raceway Park. | Putnam wins $10,000
The quarter-mile bullring has produced some terrific finishes over the years, from three-wide battles between stars like Ronnie Johnson, Rex Richey and Dale McDowell, the last-lap wall-climbing victory by Dane Dacus a few years back and the Billy Ogle Jr.-Chris Madden turn-four fracas that opened the door for Eric Jacobsen earlier this season.
Saturday’s second annual Deep Fried 75 was shaping up to provide one of those thrilling finishes as well until a caution with five laps remaining gave Putnam a clear path to the checkered flag. While Putnam was fending off challenges from Marlar, Erb, who started 11th, was methodically making his way to the front.
By lap 10, he was up to seventh. He finally cracked the top five midway through the race and slipped by third-running Ray Cook with about 12 to go. When the flagman unfurled the yellow with five to go, Erb, who was riding around the hub, was just starting to take a peak under the leaders. With lapped traffic ahead and a golden opportunity awaiting, Erb was the last driver who wanted a caution.
“It was a big killer. I didn’t want to see that,” said the quiet-spoken Erb as he loaded up his seemingly spotless Bloomquist Race Car. “I don’t think those guys knew what was about to happen.”
Erb’s car was one of few that survived the 75-lapper without much damage. That was in large part because of his choice of racing lines. While others opted for the high side and the traction-providing cushion, Erb was content to run the bottom, where he marched steadily — and quietly — forward.
“I knew those guys would be up there and I knew I had to pick a line to get around them,” he said. “I just had to have patience. You just have to take your time and keep plugging away. We were set up for the bottom to the middle and we were rollin’ there pretty good.”
Putnam admitted that he had no idea where Erb was, but thanks to the big scoreboard in turns one and two, he was able to track his progress.
“I knew when I saw his (car) number come on the board that he started way back and I knew that he had to be making a charge,” said Putnam. “He passed me (for fourth) with about five laps to go last year and I knew he’d be a factor at the end this year, too.”
Erb’s strategy almost worked.
But instead of claiming his eighth victory of the season, he had to settle for his third runner-up finish of the year to go along with his second-place Summernationals finish at Clayhill Motorsports Park in June and his second at Farmer City back in April.
Something borrowed
For Josh Putnam, comparing his career-best victory to his two Southern Regional Racing Series titles is kind of difficult. Standing inside his modest trailer following his $10,000 win in the second annual Deep Fried 75 Saturday night, Putnam was still trying to put the two into perspective.
While he was eager to talk about his high-side run, the way he loves to use the cushion and how he felt like he may have had an advantage late in the race because of the hundreds of laps he’s logged at Duck River, Putnam was also quick to point out just how good his equipment was and how much of a factor that likely played.
“Randy Todd put me in this race car three weeks ago when we killed ours,” said Putnam, who wrapped up his second SRRS championship earlier this month. “We have some sponsors and stuff with this deal and we have good friends, but it was Randy Todd who let us borrow this car after we wrecked ours.
“This year we’ve run some motors that have been six or seven years old in their technology. This is better equipment than what I usually run day in, day out. It has a fresh Clements motor and you can tell a difference. Now I can see what I’m capable of when we have good equipment, and it lets me know what we may need to work on for next year.”
Faster and faster
Most of the time after three straight nights of racing on a track, there will be significant fall off in the speeds. But thanks to a cool, damp weekend in Middle Tennessee, that wasn’t the case at Duck River.
“It was pretty wet and cool last night and there was no sun out today to dry it out,” said runner-up Dennis Erb Jr.
That allowed drivers to motor around the racy oval using multiple grooves at speeds faster than they actually qualified. Skylar Marlar’s quick lap of 12.54 seconds during qualifying, was actually slower than Putnam’s quickest lap of 12.46 seconds during the 75-lapper.
The track surprised Ray Cook, who stayed in the top five all night and rolled to a third-place finish.
“We tightened the car up thinking the track might slow down a little bit, but it never did,” said Cook, who was making the start in his own equipment just hours after announcing that he’d be moving to the MasterSbilt house car for the 2014 season. “The track stayed the same speed all weekend. That had to be entertaining for the fans.”
