KOKOMO, Ind. (Sept. 20) — Taking the lead from a faltering Hudson O’Neal when O’Neal jumped the turn-four cushion on lap 47, Tyler Erb of New Waverly, Texas, led the final four laps Friday at Kokomo Speedway for his sixth Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory of the season. Erb held off a hard-charging runner-up Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., who rallied from his 14th-place starting position to finish 0.462 of a second behind.
Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., who started 13th, slipped by his teenaged son on the final lap to finish third, while Martinsville’s Hudson O’Neal settled for fourth after leading 39 of the 50 laps. Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., finished where he started in fifth. Erb collected $12,000 for the win in a wild back-and-forth battle at the 3/8-mile oval better known for sprint cars than their full-fendered counterpart.
“It’s so flat getting off of (turns) three and four that I’ve watched enough of those races that they have here, the non-winged (sprint cars) and stuff and some of them guys can get up and bend on that cushion and drive off low,” Erb said. “Man, I was so much better than little Billy (Moyer Jr.) and Huddy (Hudson O’Neal) when I was in second there I just couldn’t get clear and couldn’t get clear. And two times when I took the lead the caution come out and I was kinda losing my patience there.”
Looking to turn around a lackluster season, Billy Moyer Jr. of Batesville, Ark., started from the pole position after setting the quick time in Group A before winning the first heat. Moyer bolted into the lead with Erb in tow at the start and paced the first seven laps until Kyle Bronson of Brandon, Fla., slowed with a broken axle, drawing the first of the race’s four cautions. Unable to hold back Hudson O’Neal, Moyer gave up the lead and eventually slipped to seventh.
O’Neal pulled ahead, but couldn’t shake Erb, who dogged him repeatedly as they ran through turns one and two. Erb pulled ahead as the raced down the backstretch on lap 27, but O’Neal used momentum off the cushion to power back ahead at the line, all while ninth-starting Josh Richards trailed just a car length back in third. Richards took second from Erb on lap 33 when Erb went high to avoid a lapped car in turn four. But on lap 35, a half lap after pulling to the inside of the leader in turns one and two, Richards shredded a right rear tire, handing second back to Erb.
O’Neal still led when a tangle involving Jonathan Davenport, Earl Pearson Jr, Johnny Scott and Richards slowed the action on lap 39 for the fourth and final time. It was a stoppage Owens wanted to avoid.
“We was rolling,” Owens said. “I didn’t want to see those last two cautions. We fired off that one time and (Don) O’Neal got under me. I didn’t keep my tires heated up good. We had that red flag and I was like, ‘Oh man it’s gonna take us forever to get rolling again. We buzzed our tires real hard under caution and fired off pretty good and was right there.”
Owens nearly stole the show. When Hudson O’Neal pushed up the track opening the door for Erb, Owens was close enough to make a move for the lead himself. He slid under both O’Neal and Erb in turn one, but as he rotated around the hub on the bottom, he couldn’t match Erb’s drive off the topside. Erb shot back ahead down the backstretch and dove to the bottom of the track entering turn three to reclaim the lead.
“I made a banzai move when he dropped to the bottom on that last lap and tried to diamond off (in turns three and four) and I couldn’t,” Owens said. “I kinda tagged the wall there (to) give the boys a little something to do tomorrow.”
After battling more than half the race with O’Neal, Erb was determined to turn back Owens as well.
“A guy like Jimmy, he’s smooth, calm as cool as can be … he got up on the wheel and got underneath me there,” Erb said. “Them last four or five laps I was kinda messing up getting in it was so slick. I told myself I’m gonna give until about five (laps) to go and I might crash both of us, but I needed to win a race man. Once (O’Neal) started smoking, I figured he was blowing up. I could smell him so I kinda just started turning off the cushion being patient. He finally jumped (the cushion) there and I was able to get by him pretty clean. And as small as this place was we all raced with a lot of respect, so thanks to all of them and Jimmy and things like that.”
Don O’Neal wasn’t in contention to win, but when he beat his son to the finish on the final lap, he recorded his best finish since returning to the seat of the Clint Bowyer Racing No. 5 in late August following his June knee surgery.
“I thought I buried myself there after qualifying,” the elder O'Neal said. “Shoot, you could run all over (the track) all night long. Hat’s off to everybody that worked on the racetrack. It looked like (Hudson) started smoking. I think he had the power steering (go) out and it’s a handful here without power steering I’d say.”
Notes: Twelve of the 23 starters completed all 50 laps. … Runner-up Jimmy Owens said as long as he continues to net results, he wouldn’t complain about his deep-in-the-pack starting spots. “I seem to have a lot better finishes when we start back there, so we’ll just takes it as it comes. But man it was a heck of a night … a lot of carnage out there, but we survived it all,” said Owens. … Billy Moyer Jr.’s fast time broke the previous track record of 13.160 seconds. … Both Frank Heckenast Jr. of Frankfort, Ill., and Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., ran up front early, but Heckenast completed only 15 laps and finished 18th, while Madden made just 18 laps and finished 17th. … Eighth-starting Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., was never a factor, completing only 12 laps and finishing 12th. … There have been 17 winners in 49 series races this season. Erb’s six victories is second behind Jonathan Davenport’s 12. Five drivers have at least four wins. … Only five series races remain following Saturday’s stop at Brownstown.
