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Erb Takes Herald & Review 100 at Macon Speedway
By Brett Zerfowski 

MACON, IL (July 8) - The DIRTcar Summer Nationals made their yearly visit to Macon Speedway Thursday with much anticipation with the points chance very close.  Dennis Erb, Jr. of Carpentersville has won three-straight Summer Nationals points championships and was leading the chase into the 30^th Annual Herald & Review 100.   

Former Macon Speedway track champion Brian Shirley was the fast car very early being the fastest of the 34 drivers in the Late Model division.  He was a heat winner and started at the pole position for the 100-lap event.  Through the first 54 laps, Shirley was nearly untouchable.  He weaved his way in and out of the lapped traffic and opened up on second place driver, and two-time Herald & Review 100 champion, Shannon Babb. 

Heading into the 55^th lap, which by that time had only experienced two cautions, Babb caught a groove and got fast.  He passed Shirley as he banged his way off the walls along the 1/5^th-mile dirt track. 

Babb’s lead would hold until Jason Feger, of Bloomington, IL., took over on lap 62 as the race’s third leader.  Feger raced on the high groove to start stretching his lead from second-place Babb, who continued to run along the bottom.  A yellow came out on lap 80 to force Feger and Babb to a bumper-bumper scenario and on the restart, Babb got an incredible burst of speed from the bottom to bump and pass Feger and regain the lead with only 19 remaining. 

Babb was trying for his second-straight Herald & Review championship but after a caution on lap 94 and the restart, Erb, Jr., who had closed the gap running tightly across the bottom of the racetrack, took advantage of a mistake by Babb.  On the 96^th lap coming out of the second turn, Babb got loose and sent him barreling towards the backstretch wall.  That opened up the door for Erb and he jumped past Babb for the race’s final laps to claim his first Herald & Review 100 championship. Babb’s recovery would allow him a third place finish behind Feger and in front of Greenbriar, AR, driver Jack Sullivan.  Macon Speedway regular Kyle Logue posted a sixth-place finish. 

The race lasted 41 minutes and went through six caution flags.  Shirley led the most laps with 54 and exited on lap 59.  Babb totaled 21 leading laps, Feger had the lead for 18 and Erb finished the race with 3 laps to win. 

The UMP Modifieds were also apart of the show and Dave Crawley, Jr. won his fifth feature to extend his two-point lead in the division over Aaron Burcham, who finished fifth in the 20-lapper.  Mark Tullis was the second-place finisher and Bloomington, IN., native John DeMoss made his first trip to Macon Speedway a decent showing taking third. 

Another exciting night of racing is due on Saturday with the sponsor of the Sportsman class, Touchstone Energy, coming to Macon Speedway for Touchstone Energy Night.  It will also be a special night for the firefighters with the Fireman’s Ball as all firefighters and their families will be admitted into Macon Speedway for half-price showing proper identification.  The POWRi Micros will be apart of the show which will feature a Sportsman’s Qualifier for the Springfield Mile race in August.