FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  

KNOXVILLE, IOWA (September 13, 2018) - Tyler Erb scored his first career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win on Thursday night at Knoxville Raceway.

The 21-year-old Texan took the lead from Mason Zeigler with eight laps to go to become the eighteenth different winner on the series tour in 2018. Earl Pearson Jr. passed Chad Simpson on the final lap to finish in second. Jimmy Owens finished in fourth followed by Frank Heckenast Jr.

Zeigler, who leads the Lucas Oil Rookie of the Year chase, led the first sixteen laps of the race until he jumped the cushion in turn four, leaving the door open for Erb to take the top spot. Erb then pulled away to take the victory in night number one of the 15th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey's General Store.

An emotional Erb in Lucas Oil Victory Lane thanked a multitude of people for sticking with him this year. "Thanks to everyone who helps me. It's been a long year and a lot of stuff has happened. Thanks to Wayne Childress and Steven Roberts. It feels like I have been racing forever and it has not been that long. This is the sweetest feeling I have ever had in my life."

"I was pretty good there. I had a good run going on him [Zeigler] and I hit that burm in two. Once he [Zeigler] jumped the cushion I figured I had better go, it might have been my only shot. Words cannot even describe how I feel right now."

Pearson slid in front of Chad Simpson off the final turn to finish runner-up to Erb. "That's all my fault, Chad and I are real good friends. I miscalculated there on the slide job. I hit the black and just slid up in front of him. My apologizes to him and I am just glad it didn't take out both of us. I don't drive that way and like I said it was just a miscalculation on my part. I was riding around the top. We were not very good on the bottom. That last caution definitely helped us starting on the outside."

Simpson, the current Lucas Oil MLRA points leader finished third. "We had a really good race car. I think early in the race when I was trying to take the lead I used up my right rear tire too much. There late in the race I was just kind of wheel spinning with it. I am sure it is all shredded up really good. It was a good night for us and a good finish. It should be a good point night for us."

Erb's Rocket Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by: First Class Septic Systems, New Point Lighting and Design, Day Motorsports, KBC Graphics.com, Franklin Enterprises, Keyser Manufacturing, Toste Construction and Roberts Bee Company.

Completing the top ten were Scott Bloomquist, Brandon Sheppard, Chase Junghans, Chris Simpson and Mason Zeigler.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Thursday, September 13, 2018
15th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals - presented by Casey's General Stores
Knoxville Raceway - Knoxville, IA

Miller Welders Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Brandon Sheppard / 17.739 seconds
Fast Time Group B: Scott Bloomquist / 17.231 seconds (overall)

Eibach Springs Heat Race #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Jesse Stovall, Jeremiah Hurst, Mason Zeigler, Tim McCreadie, Brandon Sheppard, Josh Richards, Tyler Bruening, Spencer Diercks, Brent Larson, Jonathan Brauns

FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Chase Junghans, Chris Simpson, Jimmy Mars, Mike Mataragas, Don O'Neal, Jake Neal, Dennis Erb, Jr., Justin Zeitner, Billy Moyer, Junior Coover

Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Dave Eckrich, Frank Heckenast, Jr., Earl Pearson, Jr., Matt Furman, Darrell Lanigan, Chris Spieker, Jason Feger, Austin Rettig, Joel Callahan

QA1 Heat Race #4 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Bobby Pierce, Scott Bloomquist, Tyler Erb, Brandon Overton, Rob Toland, Joey Moriarty, Mike Fryer, JC Wyman, Zach McMillan, Al Humphrey

Lucas Oil
Heat Race #5 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Brian Birkhofer, Shane Clanton, , Jimmy Owens, Gregg Satterlee, Kyle Bronson, Brian Shirley, Scott James, Jay Johnson, Justin Duty

Casey's General Store
Heat Race #6 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Jared Landers, Jonathan Davenport, Chad Simpson, Shannon Babb, Nick Marolf, Morgan Bagley, Ricky Thornton Jr., Scott Ward, Lyle Zanker

FAST Shafts C-Main Finish (12 Laps, Top 4 Transfer to B-Main): Tyler Bruening, Ricky Thornton Jr., Scott James , Dennis Erb, Jr., Jason Feger, Scott Ward, Spencer Diercks, Justin Duty, Justin Zeitner, Zach McMillan, Austin Rettig, Jay Johnson, Brent Larson, Jonathan Brauns, Joel Callahan, Lyle Zanker, Al Humphrey, Mike Fryer, Junior Coover, JC Wyman, Billy Moyer

Penske Racing Shocks B-Main Finish (15 Laps, Top 6 Transfer to A-Main): Brandon Sheppard, Kyle Bronson, Shannon Babb, Brandon Overton, Josh Richards, Don O'Neal, Darrell Lanigan, Brian Shirley, Joey Moriarty, Tim McCreadie, Jake Neal, Gregg Satterlee, Ricky Thornton Jr., Matt Furman, Chris Spieker, Rob Toland, Mike Mataragas, Nick Marolf, Scott James , Morgan Bagley, Dennis Erb, Jr., Tyler Bruening

Lucas Oil Feature Finish (25 Laps):


FINISH

START

CAR #

DRIVER NAME

HOMETOWN

EARNINGS

1

2

91

Tyler Erb

New Waverly, TX

$7,000

2

7

1

Earl Pearson, Jr.

Jacksonville, FL

$4,000

3

4

25s

Chad Simpson

Mt. Vernon, IA

$3,000

4

10

20

Jimmy Owens

Newport, TN

$2,000

5

3

99JR

Frank Heckenast, Jr.

Frankfort, IL

$1,500

6

8

0

Scott Bloomquist

Mooresburg, TN

$1,000

7

19

1S

Brandon Sheppard

New Berlin, IL

$900

8

11

18J

Chase Junghans

Manhattan, KS

$800

9

5

32S

Chris Simpson

Oxford, IA

$700

10

1

25Z

Mason Zeigler ®

Chalk Hill, PA

$600

11

14

30

Brian Birkhofer

Muscatine, IA

$580

12

22

76

Brandon Overton

Evans, GA

$560

13

16

49

Jonathan Davenport

Blairsville, GA

$540

14

15

28m

Jimmy Mars

Menomonie, WI

$520

15

24

5

Don O'Neal

Martinsville, IN

$500

16

6

25C

Shane Clanton

Zebulon, GA

$490

17

23

1R

Josh Richards

Shinnston, WV

$480

18

21

18

Shannon Babb

Mowequa, IL

$470

19

17

58

Dave Eckrich

Oxford, IA

$460

20

18

1777

Jared Landers

Batesville, AR

$450

21

12

32

Bobby Pierce

Oakwood, IL

$440

22

9

00s

Jesse Stovall

Billings, MO

$430

23

20

40B

Kyle Bronson ®

Brandon, FL

$410

24

13

58H

Jeremiah Hurst

Dubuque, IA

$400

 
Race Statistics
Entrants
: 57
Lap Leaders: Mason Zeigler (Laps 1 - 16); Tyler Erb (17 - 25)
Wrisco Feature Winner: Tyler Erb
Margin of Victory: 2.244 seconds
Cautions: Jeremiah Hurst (Lap 3), Kyle Bronson (Lap 8), Bobby Pierce (Lap 18)
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Brandon Sheppard (Advanced 12 Positions)
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Jonathan Davenport
Allstar Performance Power Move of the Race: Brandon Overton
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Earl Pearson Jr.
Hot Rod Processing Rookie of the Race: Mason Zeigler
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket Chassis
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Garrett Alberson (Earl Pearson Jr.
Fastest Lap of the Race: Shane Clanton (Lap #15 - 18.823 seconds)
STEEL-IT Most Laps Led: Mason Zeigler (16 Laps)
Dirty Girl Racewear Farthest Traveler: Kyle Bronson
PFC Brakes Pole Award: Mason Zeigler
Time of Race: 18 minutes 14 seconds

Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals Nightly Point Standings:


Car #

Name

Hometown, ST

Night #1

1

Earl Pearson, Jr.

Jacksonville, FL

488

0

Scott Bloomquist

Mooresburg, TN

487

91

Tyler Erb

New Waverly, TX

482

25s

Chad Simpson

Mt. Vernon, IA

480

1S

Brandon Sheppard

New Berlin, IL

476

20

Jimmy Owens

Newport, TN

474

99JR

Frank Heckenast, Jr.

Frankfort, IL

473

32S

Chris Simpson

Oxford, IA

467

76

Brandon Overton

Evans, GA

463

25C

Shane Clanton

Zebulon, GA

459

5

Don O'Neal

Martinsville, IN

458

18

Shannon Babb

Mowequa, IL

453

25Z

Mason Zeigler

Chalk Hill, PA

452

18J

Chase Junghans

Manhattan, KS

448

30

Brian Birkhofer

Muscatine, IA

448

1R

Josh Richards

Shinnston, WV

447

32

Bobby Pierce

Oakwood, IL

442

40B

Kyle Bronson

Brandon, FL

442

49

Jonathan Davenport

Blairsville, GA

439

28m

Jimmy Mars

Menomonie, WI

424

1777

Jared Landers

Batesville, AR

422

00s

Jesse Stovall

Billings, MO

422

58

Dave Eckrich

Oxford, IA

418

14

Darrell Lanigan

Union, KY

416

58H

Jeremiah Hurst

Dubuque, IA

409

14J

Jake Neal

Omaha, NE

407

39

Tim McCreadie

Watertown, NY

405

3s

Brian Shirley

Chatham, IL

395

51M

Joey Moriarty

Phoenix, AZ

395

20RT

Ricky Thornton Jr.

Sedgwick, KS

392

51

Matt Furman

Portland, OR

387

16T

Tyler Bruening

Decorah, IA

378

33

Nick Marolf

Moscow, IA

376

83

Scott James

Lawrenceburg, IN

376

22

Gregg Satterlee

Indiana, PA

375

56S

Chris Spieker

Massena, IA

373

39T

Rob Toland

Davenport, IA

366

28

Dennis Erb, Jr.

Carpentersville, IL

366

1m

Mike Mataragas

DeKalb, IL

359

25F

Jason Feger

Bloomington, IL

352

14m

Morgan Bagley

Gladewater, TX

351

37

Scott Ward

Hayti, SD

347

29d

Spencer Diercks

Davenport, IA

337

1GRT

Justin Zeitner

Malvern, IA

331

14z

Zach McMillan

Gladewater, TX

328

94

Austin Rettig

Sikeston, MO

319

93

Jay Johnson

W. Burlington, IA

319

21

Billy Moyer

Batesville, AR

316

15d

Justin Duty

Portland, OR

312

54

Mike Fryer

Freeport, IL

312

B1

Brent Larson

Lake Elmo, MN

304

40

Joel Callahan

Dubuque, iA

296

9

Lyle Zanker

Rockford, IL

294

22B

Jonathan Brauns

Muscatine, IA

293

4W

JC Wyman

Griswold, IA

293

6H

Al Humphrey

Giltner, NE

287

10C

Junior Coover

Norfolk, NE

281