Tri-State Speedway
Erb's last-lap pass turns back Korte at Tri-State
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com chief writer
Dennis Erb Jr. earned $6,000. (erikgrigsbyphotos.com)
HAUBSTADT, Ind. (June 15) — Another UMP DIRTcar Summernationals race at Tri-State Speedway, another thrilling last-lap pass for a victory.
Ninth-starting Dennis Erb Jr., who led laps 33-34 but fell back behind race-long leader Randy Korte on lap 35, squeezed back under Korte exiting turn two on the 40th lap for a $6,000 victory in the third leg of the UMP DIRTcar Summernationals. Korte, looking to repeat a Summernationals victory at a track where he won last year, appeared to get stronger in the high groove over the final laps, but traffic proved to be his undoing. He lost momentum at the white flag when he considered diving under Patrick Sheltra into turn one. Instead, he stayed high, but Sheltra drifted up into the high groove exiting turn two, slowing Korte and allowing Erb to go past unimpeded. | Pre-race notebook | Slideshow
Korte, who briefly got into the wall at the end of the backstretch on the final lap, settled for second after leading all but three laps. The Highland, Ill., driver was making just his third start since a five-month layoff because of a serious back injury suffered in Florida Speedweeks wreck.
B-Main winner Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., who started 13th and followed Erb's low groove toward the front, finished third with polesitter and Summernationals points leader Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., fourth. Don O'Neal of Martinsville, Ind., rounded out the top five.
Erb, the reigning series champion from Carpentersville, Ill., notched his eighth career series victory and became the third driver in Summernationals history to win on the last lap at the quarter-mile oval in southwestern Indiana. Donnie Moran topped Kevin Weaver with a last-lap slide job in 1997, and Ed Dixon overtook a faltering Kevin Claycomb on the last circuit in 2000.
Korte started outside the front row and led a high-side group through the first half of the race made up of Moyer, O'Neal and Jeep Van Wormer. Erb, though, was up to fifth by the halfway point and just a straightaway behind the leader and gaining ground.
Korte maintained command while Erb slipped past O'Neal on lap 26, then Moyer on lap 30. When Korte had to dodge the slower car of Dewayne Kiefer on lap 32, he lost momentum and Erb went into the lead on lap 33. Korte got rolling again in the high groove and, despite slapping the turn-four wall on lap 35, swept back around Erb with clear racetrack.
Korte recovered from being slowed by the lapped car of Derek Fisher, but when he came upon Sheltra's rear deck as he took the white flag, Korte lost momentum when he briefly ducked low then returned to the high line. Erb stuck with his usual hub-hugging line through turns one and two, but Korte's run exiting turn two was hampered by Sheltra, allowing Erb to lead the last half-lap of the race. A disappointed Korte veered toward Sheltra's car in turn two on the cool-down lap.
The race was slowed by a single caution on the second lap when a cone got knocked out on the track, drawing a brief caution.
Feature notes
The series takes a day off before moving to Highland (Ill.) Speedway for a $6,000-to-win feature on Tuesday, June 17. ... After blowing a head gasket in the engine in his own No. B12, Kevin Weaver drove Kerry Mathew's car in the feature. ... A few light sprinkles between the C-Main and B-Main delayed the action a half hour or so and the track barely dodged another area of dark clouds earlier in the evening.
UMP @ Tri-State: (1) Dennis Erb Jr., (2) Randy Korte, (3) Brian Shirley, (4) Billy Moyer, (5) Don O'Neal, (6) Jeep Van Wormer, (7) Wes Steidinger, (8) Kevin Claycomb, (9) Rodney Melvin, (10) Michael Kloos, (11) Will Vaught, (12) Jason Feger, (13) Kevin Weaver, (14) Patrick Sheltra, (15) Derek Fisher, (16) Dewayne Kiefer, (17) Jordan Bland, (18) Billy Faust, (19) Chad Zobrist, (20) Kevin Cole, (21) Steve Sheppard Jr. Fast qualifier (among 39 cars): Van Wormer, 12.842 seconds. Heat race winners: Moyer, Korte, O'Neal, Kloos. C-Main winner: Vaught. B-Main winner: Shirley. Provisional starters: Weaver, Cole, Zobrist.
B-Main
Polesitter Brian Shirley fought off challenges from third-starting Jason Feger to win the caution-free 12-lapper. Derek Fisher, who started outside the front row, finished third, just ahead of Rodney Melvin. Wes Steidinger was fifth and Will Vaught, threading the needle on the final lap, picked up three positions over the final three laps for the sixth and final transfer spot. Dan Jacober ran sixth most of the way before losing the spot on the last lap. B.J. McCammon pulled into the infield on the third lap.
Finish: Brian Shirley, Jason Feger, Derek Fisher, Rodney Melvin, Wes Steidinger, Will Vaught, Dan Jacober, Chad Zobrist, Ryan Unzicker, Terry English, Brandon Sheppard, Kerry Mathew, Tim Lance, Steve Karnes, Brant Fehrer, B.J. McCammon.
C-Main
Will Vaught won a race-long battle with fellow front-row starter Terry English to grab a victory in the 12-lap C-Main. English finished just a few lengths back in second while B.J. McCammon was a comfortable third. Tim Lance, originally scheduled to start 12th but catching a break when some drivers skipped the race, rallied up to fourth and edged Jarryd Holshouser at the finish for the fourth and final transfer spot.
Finish: Will Vaught, Terry English, B.J. McCammon, Tim Lance, Jarryd Holshouser, Kevin Cole, Jason McBride, Steven Ashby, Jim Moon, Mike Hammerle, Rocky Hodges. Scratched: Matt Weidner, Brian Dively, Caleb Ashby, Kevin Weaver.
Fourth heat
Polesitter Billy Moyer faced challenges from Chad Zobrist on the first start (scrubbed because of a wreck), but he dominated the race after the second start, beating former track champion Kevin Claycomb by nearly a full straightaway. Fifth-starting Patrick Sheltra got the third and final transfer spot without a challenge while Zobrist ended up fourth. The red flag appeared on the second lap when third-starting Matt Weidner got crossed up on the frontstretch and flipped at the entrance of turn one. He wasn't injured. Tim Lance's car also suffered damage in the skirmish and he was towed off the track.
Finish: Billy Moyer, Kevin Claycomb, Patrick Sheltra, Chad Zobrist, Ryan Unzicker, Brant Fehrer, Rocky Hodges, Matt Weidner, Tim Lance.
Third heat
Polesitter Randy Korte, last year's Summernationals winner at Tri-State, got the jump at the outset and fought off challenges from Steve Sheppard Jr. for a 10-lap victory. It was a two-car race most of the way as front-row starter Jordan Bland got the third and final transfer spot, but never quite got into the mix up front. Jason Feger was fourth but never contended for a transfer spot. Kevin Weaver pulled to the infield on the seventh lap.
Finish: Randy Korte, Steve Sheppard Jr., Jordan Bland, Jason Feger, Brandon Sheppard, Steve Karnes, B.J. McCammon, Mike Hammerle, Jim Moon.
Second heat
Don O'Neal's high groove carried him to victory as he got the jump on polesitter Jeep Van Wormer and went on to win by nearly a straightaway. Van Wormer was also far ahead of third-finishing Dewayne Kiefer, who himself pulled away from the rest of the pack. Derek Fisher finished fourth in the caution-free race. Wes Steidinger, last night's Summernationals winner in Boswell, Ind., started fifth and finished a lackluster sixth.
Finish: Don O'Neal, Jeep Van Wormer, Dewayne Kiefer, Derek Fisher, Dan Jacober, Wes Steidinger, Will Vaught, Jason McBride, Steven Ashby, Caleb Ashby.
First heat
Polesitter Michael Kloos got rolling late and overtook fellow front-row starter Billy Faust on the eighth of 10 laps for a victory in the first heat. Faust settled for second, just ahead of Dennis Erb Jr. Brian Shirley, who got out of shape and made an infield excursion early in the race, missed transferring with his fourth-place finish. The race's lone caution appeared on the seventh lap when Brian Dively, Terry English and Kevin Cole got out of shape and stopped in turn three while running mid-pack. English and Cole are both driving Scott Riggs-owned cars.
Finish: Michael Kloos, Billy Faust, Dennis Erb Jr., Brian Shirley, Rodney Melvin, Kerry Mathew, Terry English, Jarryd Holshouser, Kevin Cole, Brian Dively.
Qualifying
Jeep Van Wormer of Pinconning, Mich., was the fastest overall qualifier among 39 entrants at Tri-State Speedway in the third leg of the UMP DIRTcar Summernationals. Van Wormer posted a time of 12.842 seconds on the quarter-mile oval in southwestern Indiana. Van Wormer will start on the pole of a heat race by virtue of his fast time. Other heat race polesitters: Michael Kloos of Trenton, Ill., series points leader Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., and Randy Korte of Highland, Ill., last year's winner at Tri-State who's just back from a five-month layoff from a back injury. The top three finishers in each heat race will transfer to the feature, while finishers 4-6 will go to the B-Main. Everyone else will go to the C-Main.
Pre-race notes
Caleb Ashby did a 360-degree spin in turn four during his qualifying lap ... B.J. McCammon, whose father Doug is a former track champion at Tri-State, got into the turn-three wall when he was getting up to speed for his qualifying lap.
Jim Moon (1), Zionsville, Ind., 14.591
B.J. McCammon (92), Danville, Ill., no time
