MIDDLEBOURNE, W.Va. (July 5, 2019) - For the first time since February, Tyler Erb returned to Lucas Oil Victory Lane on Friday night as he wired the field in the 25th annual Topless 50 at Tyler County Speedway.

Erb became the tenth different winner in as many visits by the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series at Tyler County Speedway. The victory didn't come easy, as podium finishers Josh Richards and Devin Moran charged after Erb the entire 50-lap distance.

Moran and Erb led the field to green with Erb taking the lead on the initial lap. There was a tight battle the entire distance for second as three different drivers held that position during the race. Chris Ferguson, Moran, and Richards all had a turn in the runner-up position behind Erb.

Richards cleared Moran on lap 42, then setting his sights on Erb who was battling lapped traffic. Richards closed on Erb, but the 22-year-old made his move around a lapped car with two-to go, and that allowed him to open up enough distance to cross the finish line as the winner for his first ever victory at Tyler County.

Richards took second just ahead of Moran, with Chris Ferguson and Tim McCreadie rounding out the top five.

"I am super-pumped!" exclaimed Erb in Victory Lane. "We have a super-fast racecar right now. This is the best car I have ever driven. It feels like a year since we won a race. This is one of my favorite tracks. We haven't been here a lot, because it's a long way from Texas."

"I wanted to move up higher in turns one and two; that's what got me the lead on Devin. It's hard to move up when you can see those guys below you. I was getting sideways into turn three and I could almost see the entire field behind me. This just shows how good of a team we have. We put in the work to win and it paid off tonight," said Erb, who currently leads the LOLMDS Rookie-of-the-Year point standings over Moran.

Richards was looking to win in front of his home state fans but was happy with his second-place finish. "Man, I sure wanted to win here tonight. I love coming here. I am glad we get to come here twice a year now. I had a lot of family and friends here tonight. We went with a little different right rear tire and it took me a while to get rolling up top. I knew with Tyler up front it was going to be hard to catch him."

Moran sat on the pole for the start of the main event and earned a podium finish. "I got close a few times. It feels good to get back on the podium. Tonight, we learned from our mistakes from last night. If we keep running up front, I feel like we can get a couple of wins here soon."

The winner's Eric and Kelly Brock-owned, Best Performance Motorsports Rocket Chassis is powered by a Durham Racing Engine and sponsored by: Industrial Resourcing Group, Roberts Bee Company, New Point Lighting and Design, Bazell Race Fuels, Sunoco Race Fuels, Franklin Enterprises, Valvoline, Keyser, and KBC Graphix.

Completing the top ten were Mike Marlar, Colton Burdette, Derek Doll, Jonathan Davenport, and Gregg Satterlee.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Friday, July 5, 2019
25th annual Topless 50  
Tyler County Speedway - Middlebourne, W.Va.

Miller Welders Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Devin Moran / 12.557 seconds (overall)
Fast Time Group B: Michael Norris / 12.893 seconds

Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Devin Moran ®, Tim McCreadie, Mike Marlar, Colten Burdette, Billy Moyer, Jr., Jared Hawkins, Matt Cosner, Chuck Kimble

FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Josh Richards, Jonathan Davenport, Gregg Satterlee, Shanon Buckingham, Brian Baumberger, Steve Weigle, Shane Hitt, Logan Hitt

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Tyler Erb ®, Jimmy Owens, Derek Doll, Michael Norris, Jacob Hawkins, Hudson O'Neal, Travis Stickley, Travis Brown

Lucas Oil Products Penetrating Oil Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Chris Ferguson, Kyle Bronson, Mason Zeigler, Kyle Thomas, Zack Dohm, Earl Pearson, Jr., Stormy Scott

Lucas Oil Products Red "N" Tacky Spray Grease B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Shane Hitt, Billy Moyer, Jr., Matt Cosner, Jared Hawkins, Logan Hitt, Chuck Kimble, Brian Baumberger-DNS, Steve Weigle-DNS

FAST Shafts B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Jacob Hawkins, Travis Stickley, Zack Dohm, Stormy Scott, Earl Pearson, Jr., Hudson O'Neal-DNS, Travis Brown-DNS

Lucas Oil Feature Finish (50 Laps):

 
Race Statistics
Entrants: 31
Lap Leaders: Tyler Erb (Laps 1 - 50)
Wrisco Feature Winner: Tyler Erb
Margin of Victory: 0.780 seconds
Cautions: Zack Dohm (Lap 8); Michael Norris (Lap 8); Earl Pearson Jr, Shane Hitt, Kyle Thomas, Matt Cosner (Lap 12); Billy Moyer Jr. (Lap 20); Debris (Lap 21); Mason Zeigler, Shanon Buckingham, Travis Stickley (Lap 21)
Series Provisionals: Earl Pearson Jr, Hudson O'Neal
Series Emergency Provisionals: Stormy Scott
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Hudson O'Neal (Advanced 9 Positions)
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Jonathan Davenport
Allstar Performance Power Move of the Race: Jacob Hawkins
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Tyler Erb
Eibach Springs Rookie of the Race: Tyler Erb
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Durham Racing Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket Chassis
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Randall Edwards (Tyler Erb)
Dirty Girl Racewear Fastest Lap of the Race: Tyler Erb (Lap #37 - 13.126 seconds)
Hot Rod Processing Tough Break of the Race: Earl Pearson Jr.
STEEL-IT Most Laps Led: Tyler Erb (50 Laps)
PFC Brakes Pole Award: Devin Moran
Time of Race: 28 minutes 12 seconds
 
Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings: