East Bay Raceway Park

Pit stop for tire helps Erb win $10,000 at East Bay

February 17, 2012, 5:46 pm

By Joshua Joiner

DirtonDirt.com staff writer

Dennis Erb Jr. earned $10,000 for his second Winternationals victory. (neilericmiller.com)

GIBSONTON, Fla. (Feb. 17) — Dennis Erb Jr., used a power move to charge from third to first following a late restart in Friday night's Dart Winternationals feature at East Bay Raceway Park on his way to a $10,000 victory at the third-mile oval.

As impressive as the late charge was, it wasn't even his best move of the night. | Complete Speedweeks coverage

Running near the tail of the lead lap after being involved in an early incident, Erb decided to gamble and pit for a harder-compound right-rear tire during a lap-23 caution. The move paid off for the Carpentersville, Ill., driver, allowing him to charge forward while others faded late in the 50-lap Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series race.

Following a lap-47 caution caused by leader Steve Francis’ flat tire, the third-running Erb blasted around Tyler Reddick and Randy Korte, who were both nursing their own badly worn tires, and pulled away to the second Winternationals victory of his career.

“I figured there was gonna be some tire problems at the end. It was a good move when I decided to come in and change tires. That really held out a lot and was pretty much the key to winning,” said Erb, whose victory came in the fifth round of the six-race Florida Speedweeks miniseries. “I was near the tail of the lead lap. I knew there wasn’t too many cars behind me, so I decided to go ahead and put a harder tire on and come back out. It made all the difference.”

Korte of Highland, Ill., recorded the best Winternationals finish of his career with his runner-up finish while Reddick, the Corning, Calif., driver who became the youngest winner in Winternationals history with his upset victory at East Bay last season, was third.

Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., who led the first 33 laps of the 50-lap race, recovered from a flat tire on lap 41 to finish fourth while Donnie Moran of Dresden, Ohio, was fifth in the first points race of the season for the Lucas Oil Series.

An abrasive racing surface caused more than half of the race’s 18 finishers to suffer flat tires at some point during the race and made for a chaotic finish. Erb, who notched two top fives and two top 10s in the week’s first four Winternationals races, played the correct strategy and came away with his biggest win since his first Winternationals victory in 2009.

“We’ve been pretty good all week down here, and tonight we finally had things go our way,” said Erb, who struggled for much of last season after switching engines and chassis brands. “It’s definitely a big boost to pick up a win like this to start of the year and get things rolling. We had a lot of changes last year and struggled some, but we learned a lot and it’s starting to work out pretty good now.”

After getting the jump on polesitter Terry Casey of New London, Wis., on the initial start, Davenport controlled the first half of the race. Third-starting Don O’Neal, who won the opening two Winternationals features, ran down Davenport just after the halfway mark and looked under the leader exiting turn four on lap 30. But O’Neal’s bid win his third feature of the week fell short just one lap later when he slowed with mechanical problems.

Francis, who was looking to score his second consecutive victory after winning Thursday night’s feature, was the next to challenge Davenport after charging through the field from his 10th starting spot. After a brief battle, Francis cleared the badly fading Davenport and appeared to be headed for victory.

But his right-rear tire began to go away a few laps later, allowing the 12th-starting Korte to pull alongside for the lead just as Francis’ tire let go on lap 47.

Korte assumed the point after Francis’ demise, but he was no match for Erb, whose new rubber allowed him to fly by on the outside on lap 48 on his way to the victory.

The pole-starting Casey was among drivers to suffer tire woes and ended up 13th. After using a provisional to make the 26-car starting field, defending Lucas Oil Series champion Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., was up to seventh when he suffered a flat on lap 41. He recovered to finish eighth.

Two-time series champion Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., didn’t have to worry much about tire wear. He missed the first 31 laps of the race after ignition problems sent him to the pit area before race went green. He finished 23rd after tagging the tail of the field for the final 19 laps.

The Winternationals wraps up Saturday with another $10,000-to-win event for the Lucas Oil Series.

Notes: Erb's Bloomquist Race Car is powered by a Vic Hill Racing Engine with sponsorship from McBride Mach, Petersen Aluminum and Performance Rod and Custom. ... The program was delayed more than three hours due to afternoon rain showers. ... The race featured three lead changes and was slowed by 11 cautions. ... Erb's two Winternationals victories are the only two wins in Lucas Oil Series events.

Dart Winternationals: (1) Dennis Erb Jr., (2) Randy Korte, (3) Tyler Reddick, (4) Jonathan Davenport, (5) Donnie Moran, (6) Austin Hubbard, (7) Ray Cook, (8) Jimmy Owens, (9) Eric Wells, (10) John Blankenship, (11) Eric Jacobsen, (12) Earl Pearson Jr., (13) Terry Casey, (14) Chad Stapleton, (15) Steve Francis, (16) Jared Landers, (17) Shannon Babb, (18) Victor Lee, (19) Scott James, (20) Josh McGuire, (21) Don O'Neal, (22) Shelby Miles, (23) Scott Bloomquist, (24) Bobby Pierce, (25) Jason Riggs, (26) Mark Andersen. Fast qualifier (among 42 cars): Francis, 14.119 seconds. Heat race winners: Casey, Davenport, O’Neal, Miles. Consolation race winners: Wells, Jacobsen. Provisional starters: Owens, Pearson.

Second consolation race

After pulling to more than a straightaway advantage in the first nine laps of the 10-lap race, third-starting Eric Jacobsen held off Mark Andersen in a dash to the finish. Andersen settled for second with Victor Lee third. Chad Stapleton topped Kevin Cole in a fierce battle for the fourth and final transfer position and will make the first Winternationals main event of his career.

Finish: Eric Jacobsen, Mark Andersen, Victor Lee, Chad Stapleton, Kevin Cole, Jim O'Hara, Dillan White, Chad Hollenbeck.

First consolation race

Front-row starters Eric Wells and Josh McGuire battled early in the consy with Wells pulling away late to take the win. McGuire finished second with Jason Riggs and Bobby Pierce finishing third and fourth to also make the main event. Jimmy Owens will be forced to use a provisional to make the main event after finishing mid-pack.

Finish: Eric Wells, Josh McGuire, Jason Riggs, Bobby Pierce, Scott Creel, Jimmy Owens, Morgan Bagley, Dale Hammond, Chris Brown, Todd Frank, Earl Pearson Jr., Danny Mitchell.

Fourth heat

Continuing his solid week, Late Model rookie Shelby Miles outdueled Scott James to win the eight-lap prelim. James settled for second with polesitter Randy Korte third. John Blankenship moved by Chad Stapleton late in the race to finish in the fourth and final transfer position. The race was slowed by three cautions, including a lap-four spin by Duke Whiseant while running fourth. Whiseant and Leon Henderson got together on the ensuing restart to bring out another caution.

Finish: Shelby Miles, Scott James, Randy Korte, John Blankenship, Jim O'Hara, Chad Stapleton, Leon Henderson, Duke Whiseant, Travis Varnadore.

Third heat

Second-starting Jonathan Davenport survived an early side-by-side battle with polesitter Steve Francis in leading the entire distance for the victory. Francis pulled alongside Davenport a number of times during the opening laps, but he and Scott Bloomquist got together when Francis pushed exiting turn two midway through the race. Contact entering turn three sent Francis into the wall. He recovered and nursed his car to a third-place finish while Bloomquist was second. Dennis Erb Jr. was a distant fourth to also make the feature lineup.

Finish: Jonathan Davenport, Scott Bloomquist, Steve Francis, Dennis Erb Jr., Eric Jacobsen, Mark Andersen, Kevin Cole, Dillan White, Shane Cottle.

Second heat

Polesitter Don O'Neal took the lead on the start and turned back a mid-race challenge from second-starting Shannon Babb to grab the victory. Babb allowed Austin Hubbard to move by him when he pushed exiting turn two on the first lap, but battled back and challenged O'Neal with a strong move to the low side on lap four until a spin back in the pack by Earl Pearson Jr. brought out the caution and killed Babb's run. Babb settled for the runner-up finish with Hubbard third and Donnie Moran fourth to also make the main event. The race was slowed by three cautions, including two spins by Pearson.

Finish: Don O'Neal, Shannon Babb, Austin Hubbard, Donnie Moran, Eric Wells, Jason Riggs, Danny Mitchell, Morgan Bagley, Roger Hammond, Earl Pearson Jr.

First heat

Polesitter Terry Casey slid up in front of second-starting Jared Landers on the start and led the entire distance of the eight-lapper. Landers challenged Casey early, but faded through the middle laps and held off Tyler Reddick late in the closing laps. Reddick finished third with Ray Cook in the fourth and final transfer position. Defending Lucas Oil Series champion Jimmy Owens was never a factor and finished eighth. The race was slowed with by one caution when Doug Blashe slammed the turn-one wall with two laps complete.

Finish: Terry Casey, Jared Landers, Tyler Reddick, Ray Cook, Josh McGuire, Bobby Pierce, Scott Creel, Jimmy Owens, Chris Brown, Todd Frank, Doug Blashe.

Time trials

Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., topped 42 qualifiers Friday night during time trials for the fifth round of the 36th annual Dart Winternationals at East Bay Raceway Park. Francis, who used a final-lap pass to score his first Winternationals victory since 2006 Thursday night at East Bay, posted a lap of 14.119 seconds around the third-mile oval, coming close to Chris Wall’s track record of 14.022 seconds.

Francis will start from the pole of the third of four Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series heat races coming up. Other heat race polesitters: Terry Casey of New London, Wis.; Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind.; and Randy Korte of Highland, Ill.

The four eight-lap heats will each transfer four drivers to tonight’s 50-lap main event, while two 10-lap consolation races will each transfer four more drivers. Two Lucas Oil Series provisionals the remainder of the lineup for the $10,000-to-win event.

Friday night’s program was delayed more than three hours by rain showers that plagued the Tampa-area for most of the afternoon.

Pre-race notes

Hot laps for began at 8:45 p.m. with single-lap qualifying to follow. ... Friday’s race is the first points-paying event of the season for the Lucas Oil Series. ... Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., won back-to-back events Monday and Tuesday, while Ray Cook of Brasstown, N.C., won Wednesday and Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., won Thursday. All four events were Lucas Oil non-points races. ... O’Neal leads the Dart Winternationals points standings with 865 points. Francis is 25 points back with 840 points, followed by Dennis Erb Jr. (810) of Carpentersville, Ill., Cook (800) and John Blankenship of Willamson, W.Va. ... Dale Hammond of Nicoles, S.C., is the only driver entering his first event of the week. ... Friday is Austin Hubbard's 20th birthday. The Seaford, Del., driver was second Thursday night after getting passed by Francis on the final lap. ... The night's Strawberry Dash has been cancelled. There will also be no fast time provisional. ... Due to the delay, DirtonDirt.com will not have a Speedweeks Minute or Raceday from East Bay today.