Lawrenceburg Speedway
Erb takes points lead with Lawrenceburg win
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com chief writer
Dennis Erb Jr. collected $10,000. (erikgrigsbyphotos.com)
LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. (June 27) — Regaining the points lead on the 26-race tour, Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersvile, Ill., led all 40 laps at newly recongifured Lawrenceburg Speedway to win the 12th leg of the UMP DIRTcar Summernationals. | Summernationals coverage | Lawrenceburg notebook | Lawrenceburg slideshow
Randy Korte of Highland, Ill., worked his way from the eighth starting spot and took second from Steve Sheppard Jr., with 10 laps remaining, but he couldn't quite get within striking distance of Erb in the closing laps. Sheppard, of New Berlin, Ill., finished a distant third for his best series performance of 2008 while series interlopers Wayne Chinn of Bradford, Ohio, and Steve Casebolt of Richmond, Ind., were further back in fourth and fifth. Darren Miller of Milledgeville, Ill., pressured Erb most of the first half of the race, but he pulled to the pits during a lap-21 caution.
"We just kept holding our line," said Erb, who started outside the front row. "The car was too tight tonight, but we were able to get through it."
Erb, who entered the race 11 points behind Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., after back-to-back runner-up finishes in Eldon, Mo., and Paducah, Ky., picked up $10,000 for his second series victory of 2008. His previous victory came June 14 at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind.
Shirley survived a tough night to finish seventh in the feature. He shredded a right rear tire in his heat race, requiring major repair work before he took a provisional for the feature, where he was caught up in a mid-race accident and had to go to the tail.
Unofficially, Erb, the reigning series champion, leads the tour with 927 points followed by Shirley (909), Wes Steidinger (772), Jeep Van Wormer (769) and Will Vaught (761). Only Erb finished in the top five at Lawrenceburg, where the feature was slowed by four cautions, the worst on a lap-21 restart when Scott James spun in turn two, collecting Shirley who collected Matt Miller; Miller was towed off the track with James and Shirley restarting on the tail.
A frontstretch scramble on the initial start that involved Jeep Van Wormer and Will Vaught caused a complete restart. Justin Rattliff slowed on the frontstretch to bring out a lap-eight caution. Debris caused a lap-21 caution.
Feature notes
Erb's Rayburn Race Car is powered by a Rhyne Competition Engine and sponsored by Petroff Towing, J&J Steel and Thomason Express. ... Erb dedicated the victory to his grandfather, who turned 91 on Friday. ... Polesitter Wes Steidinger steadily dropped back and ended up 10th. ... Duke Whiseant suffered apparent damage in the first-lap scramble and pulled out before the second start. ... Don O'Neal was awarded a provisional starting spot but didn't appear on the starting grid. ... The next series race is Saturday, June 28, at StormPay.com Speedway in Clarksville, Tenn.
UMP @ Lawrenceburg: (1) Dennis Erb Jr., (2) Randy Korte, (3) Steve Sheppard Jr., (4) Wayne Chinn, (5) Steve Casebolt, (6) Jeep Van Wormer, (7) Brian Shirley, (8) Scott James, (9) Brad Neat, (10) Wes Steidinger, (11) Ryan Dauber, (12) Will Vaught, (13) Jordan Bland, (14) Jesse Lay, (15) Jason McBride, (16) Tim Lance, (17) Darren Miller, (18) Matt Miller, (19) Josh Williams, (20) Justin Rattliff, (21) Duke Whiseant. Fast qualifier (among 35 cars): D. Miller, 13.65 seconds. Heat race winners: Steidinger, Erb, Sheppard, D. Miller. C-Main winner: Shawn Negangard. B-Main winner: Williams. Provisional starters: Shirley, O'Neal, Bland, Lay. Scratched: O'Neal.
B-Main
Starting outside the front row, Josh Williams got the jump on polesitter Scott James, built a comfortable lead, the fought off a late high-side charge from James. For the first time in the night, drivers who ran the high groove could keep up with the low-running cars as Matt Miller was among the first drivers up there in advancing from seventh to fourth. The six transferring drivers: Williams, James, Tim Lance, Miller, Ryan Dauber and Justin Rattliff. Jordan Bland, who started fifth, was the first driving missing a transfer spot in the caution-free event.
Finish: Josh Williams, Scott James, Tim Lance, Matt Miller, Ryan Dauber, Justin Rattliff, Jordan Bland, Jesse Lay, Robby Hensley, Shawn Negangard, Don O'Neal, Greg Johnson, David Spille, Derek Fisher, Rick Corbin, Bill Sheets.
C-Main
Polesitter Shawn Negangard cruised to an easy victory while Rick Corbin, David Spille and Derek Fisher got the other transfer spots. Ryan Unzicker, making his first appearance on the track after his team swapped engines, was a close fifth. Series points leader Brian Shirley, his crew repairing his dismantled car in the pits after he shredded a right rear tire in his heat race, skipped the race but is in line for a series provisional.
Finish: Shawn Negangard, Rick Corbin, David Spille, Derek Fisher, Ryan Unzicker, Jeff Alsip. Scratched: Brian Shirley, Troy Cruse, Bob Lanter, Brian Gray, Jerry Rice, Sean Thomas.
Fourth heat
Polesitter Wes Steidinger raced away from fellow front-row starter Randy Korte for a victory in the final heat. Korte tried the high side a few times against Steidinger, but kept losing ground when he drifted high in the middle of the turns. Korte finished second with Steve Casebolt getting the third and final transfer spot.
Finish: Wes Steidinger, Randy Korte, Steve Casebolt, Ryan Dauber, Robby Hensley, Bill Sheets, Troy Cruse, Brian Gray. Scratched: Sean Thomas.
Third heat
Outside front-row starter Steve Sheppard Jr., fought off challenges from polesitter Matt Miller through eight laps but cruised the rest of the way after Miller was among three cars departing with flat tires in a race where just four cars finished. Will Vaught finished second and Jason McBride was third for his first transfer through a heat race in 12 series appearances. Tim Lance finished fourth. Miller was running second when he and Don O'Neal headed pitside with flat tires after Brian Shirley shredded a tire. Ryan Unzicker, who broke a motor last night at Paducah and didn't expect to be running at Lawrenceburg, took delivery of a replacement engine about 90 minutes before hot laps but hasn't had his No. 24 on the track.
Finish: Steve Sheppard Jr., Will Vaught, Jason McBride, Tim Lance, Matt Miller, Don O'Neal, Brian Shirley, Bob Lanter. Scratched: Ryan Unzicker.
Second heat
Polesitter Dennis Erb Jr. cruised to an easy victory, leading a three-car breakaway. Front-row starter Wayne Chinn and third-starting Duke Whiseant got the second and third transfer spots in the race slowed by a single caution when Derek Fisher spun into the turn one infield grass on the sixth lap.
Finish: Dennis Erb Jr., Wayne Chinn, Duke Whiseant, Josh Williams, Justin Rattliff, Jesse Lay, Rick Corbin, Jeff Alsip, Derek Fisher.
First heat
Polesitter Darren Miller powered into the newly configured and high-banked corners at Lawrenceburg and pulled away for an easy victory in the first heat. Fellow front-row starter Jeep Van Wormer was a straightaway behind in second while Brad Neat inherited the third and final transfer spot when Jerry Rice lost power on the backstretch on the eighth of 10 laps. Scott James missed a transfer spot in finishing fourth. Jordan Bland, who started on the tail after missing time trials because he was stuck in highway traffic, was fifth.
Finish: Darren Miller, Jeep Van Wormer, Brad Neat, Scott James, Jordan Bland, Greg Johnson, Shawn Negangard, David Spille, Jerry Rice.
Qualifying
Darren Miller of Milledgeville, Ill., the only two-time winner on the 2008 UMP DIRTcar Summernationals, was fastest among 36 qualifiers during the 12th leg of the tour at the newly renovated Lawrenceburg Speedway. Miller turned a lap of 13.65 seconds on the 3/8-mile oval Miller will start on the pole of a heat race, as will three other drivers after group qualifying: Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., Matt Miller of Whitehouse, Ohio and Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill.
The event is the first Late Model race at Lawrenceburg since a major overhaul and reconfiguration of the track, formerly a wall-less quarter-mile fairgrounds oval and now a high-banked 3/8-mile track circled by concrete walls. The track has had $3.5 million in improvements in recent years.
Pre-race notes
Brian Shirley enters the event with an 11-point lead over Dennis Erb Jr. ... Among series newcomers at Lawrenceburg: Steve Casebolt of Richmond, Ind., Greg Johnson of Bedford, Ind. (in a new Randy Robbins-owned No. 30 MasterSbilt), hometown driver Scott James, Jerry Rice of Verona, Ky., Wayne Chinn of Bradford, Ohio, Matt Miller of Whitehouse, Ohio, and Jesse Lay of Walton, Ky. ... Returning to the Summernationals for the first time since winning the series opener at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway in Calvert City, Ky. ... Will Vaught of Crane, Mo., said he was quite sore when waking up this morning after his flipping accident Thursday at Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway. Vaught suffered a broken thumb, safety-belt burns on his shoulders and his ribs were extremely sore, he said. "I guess I was lucky I wasn't hurt worse," Vaught said at Lawrenceburg. With one of his cars hurt, Vaught's father is picking up a new backup car, a No. 66 of eight-time Summernationals race winner Bill Frye, Vaught's mentor. ... The fastest winged sprint car times at the reconfigured oval were under 12 seconds. ... Drivers were asked at the drivers' meeting to stay out of the newly-laid sod in the infield, but fifth qualifier Shawn Negangard rolled through the grass inside turn four, leaving a few tire tracks as he pulled back onto the track. ... Time trials were kept by stopwatch. ... Jordan Bland was late to the track and missed time trials. ... The Dearborn County 4-H Fair is going on alongside the track at the fairgrounds.
