Tyler Erb Notches First Ever Lucas Oil Win on Late Model Nationals Night One!
PHOTO BY MIKE RUEFER
Earl Pearson Jr. and Scott Bloomquist Notch Most Points
by Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (September 13, 2018) – New Waverly, Texas driver Tyler Erb notched his biggest win to date, as he notched his first career win at both the historic Knoxville Raceway and the Lucas Oil Late Model Series on Thursday’s Ideal Ready Mix Night #1 of the 15th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores. The 21-year-old driver earned $7,000 for his victory. The top five in points after Thursday’s event were Earl Pearson Jr. (488), Scott Bloomquist (487), Erb (482), Chad Simpson (480) and Brandon Sheppard (476). The best of two nights of point racing will be used for Saturday’s finale.
Pole-sitter Mason Zeigler paced the field early over Chad Simpson and Erb. Shane Clanton moved into fourth by lap two. When Jeremiah Hurst came to a stop with three laps down, Zeigler led Chad Simpson, Erb, Clanton and Jimmy Owens.
Owens moved into fourth on the restart, while Erb found his way by Simpson for second on lap five. Kyle Bronson went up in smoke eight laps in, bringing another caution. That negated a move from fifth to third by Clanton.
Zeigler led until the Pennsylvanian jumped the cushion in turn four on lap 17. Erb cruised by to take the lead. Simpson followed him a lap later into the runner-up spot. A final yellow flag flew for Bobby Pierce with seven laps to go. Erb led Simpson, Zeigler, Clanton and Owens at the time.
Pearson would surge from sixth to third when the green flag flew. As Erb pulled away in the late stages, Pearson sized up Simpson for second. In the last corner, he performed a slide job that fell a bit short. Despite making heavy contact, Pearson and Simpson would follow Erb to the finish line in second and third. Owens, Frank Heckenast Jr., Scott Bloomquist, Brandon Sheppard, Chase Junghans, Chris Simpson and Zeigler would round out the top ten.
“I’ve dreamed about this for I don’t even know how long,” said an emotional Erb in Victory Lane. “It’s been a long year and a lot of stuff has happened. Everyone who has helped me mean a lot. This is the sweetest feeling I’ve felt in my life! I was pretty good there. I could keep up with (Zeigler) on the bottom there. Once he jumped (the cushion), I figured it was my only shot. Words can’t even describe what I’m feeling right now.”
“That was all my fault there,” said Pearson of his late slider on Simpson. “I miscalculated on the slide job by hitting the black and sliding up in front of him. My apologies to him, and I’m glad I didn’t take both of us out. We weren’t bad there. We had to ride the top. We weren’t good on the bottom. The cautions helped us starting on the outside.”
“We have a really good race car,” said Simpson. “I thought early in the race, when I was trying to take lead, I used up my right rear tire way too much. Late in the race, I was kind of wheel-spinning with it. It was a good night for us and a good finish. It should have been a good point night for us.”
The 15th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores will continue on Friday, September 14, with Lions Club International Night. For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com
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Results from Night One of the 15th Annual Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores
Time Trials Group A (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 1S, Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL (5), 17.739; 2. 5, Don O’Neal, Martinsville, IN (26), 17.753; 3. 1, Earl Pearson Jr., Trinity, NC (14), 17.905; 4. 1R, Josh Richards, Shinnston, WV (25), 18.002; 5. 14J, Jake Neal, Omaha, NE (13), 18.018; 6. 14, Darrell Lanigan, Union, KY (3), 18.041; 7. 16T, Tyler Bruening, Decorah, IA (17), 18.044; 8. 32S, Chris Simpson, Marion, IA (2), 18.063; 9. 99JR, Frank Heckenast Jr., Frankfurt, IL (23), 18.091; 10. 39, Tim McCreadie, Watertown, NY (12), 18.109; 11. 21, Billy Moyer, Batesville, AR (20), 18.174; 12. 25F, Jason Feger, Bloomington, IL (9), 18.188; 13. 25Z, Mason Zeigler, Chalk Hill, PA (19), 18.207; 14. 28, Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL (1), 18.241; 15. 51, Matt Furman, Iowa City, IA (27), 18.286; 16. 29D, Spencer Diercks, Davenport, IA (24), 18.296; 17. 1GRT, Justin Zeitner, Malvern, IA (28), 18.305; 18. 56S, Chris Spieker, Massena, IA (11), 18.316; 19. 00S, Jesse Stovall, Billings, MO (22), 18.333; 20. 18J, Chase Junghans, Manhattan, KS (15), 18.366; 21. 94, Austin Rettig, Sikeston, MO (6), 18.379; 22. 58H, Jeremiah Hurst, Dubuque, IA (16), 18.409; 23. 28M, Jimmy Mars, Menomonie, WI (18), 18.409; 24. 58, Dave Eckrich, Oxford, IA (7), 18.462; 25. B1, Brent Larson, Lake Elmo, MN (8), 18.789; 26. 1M, Mike Mataragas, Sycamore, IL (4), 18.829; 27. 40, Joel Callahan, Dubuque, IA (29), 18.917; 28. 22B, Jonathan Brauns, Muscatine, IA (21), 19.027; 29. 10C, Junior Coover, Norfolk, NE (10), 19.371.
Time Trials Group B (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 0, Scott Bloomquist, Mooresburg, TN (27), 17.231; 2. 40B, Kyle Bronson, Brandon, FL (15), 17.834; 3. 18, Shannon Babb, Moweaqua, IL (1), 17.839; 4. 76, Brandon Overton, Evans, GA (6), 17.876; 5. 25C, Shane Clanton, Zebulon, GA (8), 17.885; 6. 25S, Chad Simpson, Mount Vernon, IA (17), 17.897; 7. 91, Tyler Erb, New Waverly, TX (26), 17.907; 8. 20, Jimmy Owens, Newport, TN (11), 17.948; 9. 20RT, Ricky Thornton Jr., Chandler, AZ (16), 18.015; 10. 32, Bobby Pierce, Oakwood, IL (3), 18.242; 11. 83, Scott James, Harrison, IL (28), 18.293; 12. 37, Scott Ward, Hayti, SD (10), 18.294; 13. 51M, Joey Moriarty, Phoenix, AZ (12), 18.377; 14. 3S, Brian Shirley, Chatham, IL (2), 18.414; 15. 33, Nick Marolf, Moscow, IA (19), 18.462; 16. 14Z, Zach McMillan, Gladewater, TX (14), 18.463; 17. 30, Brian Birkhofer, Muscatine, IA (5), 18.510; 18. 49, Jonathan Davenport, Mount Airy, NC (7), 18.548; 19. 54, Mike Fryer, Freeport, IL (18), 18.548; 20. 93, Jay Johnson, West Burlington, IA (9), 18.695; 21. 1777, Jared Landers, Batesville, AR (21), 18.731; 22. 39T, Rob Toland, Davenport, IA (24), 18.771; 23. 22, Greg Satterlee, Indiana, PA (20), 18.813; 24. 14M, Morgan Bagley, Longview, TX (13), 18.854; 25. 4W, JC Wyman, Griswold, IA (4), 18.963; 26. 15D, Justin Duty, Happy Valley, OR (22), 19.237; 27. 9, Lyle Zanker, Rockford, IL (25), 19.244; 28. 6H, Al Humphrey, Giltner, NE (23), 19.381.
Group A Heat one (started), 12 Laps, 3:45.1: 1. Jesse Stovall (2); 2. Jeremiah Hurst (1); 3. Mason Zeigler (4); 4. Tim McCreadie (5); 5. Brandon Sheppard (8); 6. Josh Richards (7); 7. Tyler Bruening (6); 8. Spencer Diercks (3); 9. Brent Larson (9); 10. Jonathan Brauns (10);
Group A Heat two (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Chase Junghans (2); 2. Chris Simpson (6); 3. Jimmy Mars (1); 4. Mike Mataragas (9); 5. Don O’Neal (8); 6. Jake Neal (7); 7. Dennis Erb Jr. (4); 8. Justin Zeitner (3); 9. Billy Moyer (5); 10. Junior Coover (10);
Group A Heat three (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Dave Eckrich (1); 2. Frank Heckenast Jr. (6); 3. Earl Pearson Jr. (8); 4. Matt Furman (4); 5. Darrell Lanigan (7); 6. Chris Spieker (3); 7. Jason Feger (5); 8. Austin Rettig (2); 9. Joel Callahan (9);
Group B Heat one (started), 12 Laps, 3:46.4: 1. Bobby Pierce (5); 2. Scott Bloomquist (8); 3. Tyler Erb (6); 4. Brandon Overton (7); 5. Rob Toland (1); 6. Joey Moriarty (4); 7. Mike Fryer (2); 8. JC Wyman (9); 9. Zach McMillan (3); 10. Al Humphrey (10);
Group B Heat two (started), 12 Laps, 3:48.8: 1. Brian Birkhofer (3); 2. Shane Clanton (7); 3. Jimmy Owens (6); 4. Greg Satterlee (1); 5. Kyle Bronson (8); 6. Brian Shirley (4); 7. Scott James (5); 8. Jay Johnson (2); 9. Justin Duty (9);
Group B Heat three (started), 12 Laps, 3:45.3: 1. Jared Landers (2); 2. Jonathan Davenport (3); 3. Chad Simpson (7); 4. Shannon Babb (8); 5. Nick Marolf (4); 6. Morgan Bagley (1); 7. Ricky Thornton Jr. (6); 8. Scott Ward (5); 9. Lyle Zanker (9);
C main (started), 12 Laps, 3:49.1: 1. Tyler Bruening (1); 2. Ricky Thornton Jr. (2); 3. Scott James (4); 4. Dennis Erb Jr. (5); 5. Jason Feger (3); 6. Scott Ward (6); 7. Spencer Diercks (7); 8. Justin Duty (16); 9. Justin Zeitner (9); 10. Zach McMillan (8); 11. Austin Rettig (11); 12. Jay Johnson (12); 13. Brent Larson (13); 14. Jonathan Brauns (17); 15. Joel Callahan (15); 16. Lyle Zanker (18); 17. Al Humphrey (20); 18. Mike Fryer (10); 19. Junior Coover (19); 20. JC Wyman (14) DNS – 21. Billy Moyer
B main (started), 15 Laps, 4:48.5: 1. Brandon Sheppard (1); 2. Kyle Bronson (2); 3. Shannon Babb (4); 4. Brandon Overton (6); 5. Josh Richards (5); 6. Don O’Neal (3); 7. Darrell Lanigan (9); 8. Brian Shirley (10); 9. Joey Moriarty (8); 10. Tim McCreadie (11); 11. Jake Neal (7); 12. Greg Satterlee (16); 13. Ricky Thornton Jr. (20); 14. Matt Furman (13); 15. Chris Spieker (15); 16. Rob Toland (14); 17. Mike Mataragas (17); 18. Nick Marolf (12); 19. Scott James (21); 20. Morgan Bagley (18); 21. Dennis Erb Jr. (22); 22. Tyler Bruening (19)
A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Tyler Erb (2); 2. Earl Pearson Jr. (7); 3. Chad Simpson (4); 4. Jimmy Owens (10); 5. Frank Heckenast Jr. (3); 6. Scott Bloomquist (8); 7. Brandon Sheppard (19); 8. Chase Junghans (11); 9. Chris Simpson (5); 10. Mason Zeigler (1); 11. Brian Birkhofer (14); 12. Brandon Overton (22); 13. Jonathan Davenport (16); 14. Jimmy Mars (15); 15. Don O’Neal (24); 16. Shane Clanton (6); 17. Josh Richards (23); 18. Shannon Babb (21); 19. Dave Eckrich (17); 20. Jared Landers (18); 21. Bobby Pierce (12); 22. Jesse Stovall (9); 23. Kyle Bronson (20); 24. Jeremiah Hurst (13). Lap Leaders: Zeigler 1-16, Erb 17-25. Hard-charger: Sheppard.
Thursday Point Totals
1 1 Earl Pearson Jr. 488
2 0 Scott Bloomquist 487
3 91 Tyler Erb 482
4 25S Chad Simpson 480
5 1S Brandon Sheppard 476
6 20 Jimmy Owens 474
7 99JR Frank Heckenast Jr. 473
8 32S Chris Simpson 467
9 76 Brandon Overton 463
10 25C Shane Clanton 459
11 5 Don O’Neal 458
12 18 Shannon Babb 453
13 25Z Mason Zeigler 452
14 18J Chase Junghans 448
15 30 Brian Birkhofer 448
16 1R Josh Richards 447
17 32 Bobby Pierce 442
18 40B Kyle Bronson 442
19 49 Jonathan Davenport 439
20 28M Jimmy Mars 424
21 1777 Jared Landers 422
22 00S Jesse Stovall 422
23 58 Dave Eckrich 418
24 14 Darrell Lanigan 416
25 58H Jeremiah Hurst 409
26 14J Jake Neal 407
27 39 Tim McCreadie 405
28 3S Brian Shirley 395
29 51M Joey Moriarty 395
30 20RT Ricky Thornton Jr. 392
31 51 Matt Furman 387
32 16T Tyler Bruening 378
33 33 Nick Marolf 376
34 83 Scott James 376
35 22 Greg Satterlee 375
36 56S Chris Spieker 373
37 39T Rob Toland 366
38 28 Dennis Erb Jr. 366
39 1M Mike Mataragas 359
40 25F Jason Feger 352
41 14M Morgan Bagley 351
42 37 Scott Ward 347
43 29D Spencer Diercks 337
44 1GRT Justin Zeitner 331
45 14Z Zach McMillan 328
46 94 Austin Rettig 319
47 93 Jay Johnson 319
48 21 Billy Moyer 316
49 15D Justin Duty 312
50 54 Mike Fryer 312
51 B1 Brent Larson 304
52 40 Joel Callahan 296
53 9 Lyle Zanker 294
54 22B Jonathan Brauns 293
55 4W JC Wyman 293
56 6H Al Humphrey 287
57 10C Junior Coover 281
Category: Iowa, Knoxville Raceway
