DENNIS DOUBLES UP: Erb Sweeps St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff at I-55
The Carpentersville, IL driver scored his 13th career World of Outlaws win and 25th DIRTcar Summer Nationals Triumph
PEVELY, MO– JUNE 25, 2022 – If former Major League Baseball catcher Yogi Berra was watching Dennis Erb Jr. Saturday night, he’d probably repeat his famous line, “It’s like Déjà vu all over again.”
Along with winning for the second straight night at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 to sweep the inaugural St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff, Erb also pulled the same move he did Friday night to win Saturday.

This time the Carpentersville, IL driver used the same move in Turns 3 and 4 to take the lead from Jason Feger and drive away with the $20,000 payday.

Erb went unchallenged in the final 27 laps to best the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models and DIRTcar Summer Nationals fields for the second straight night with Bobby Pierce, in second, and Jason Feger, in third, rounding out the podium.

“We were just riding out there and following [Feger] for a little bit,” Erb said. “I knew we were starting to get into traffic, and I was trying to watch him and see how he was entering the corner. He just went in there and gave me enough room to sneak up underneath him.”

Erb’s win is his fourth World of Outlaws CASE Late Models victory of the season – the most of all drivers. It’s also his 13th overall career Series triumph and his 25th DIRTcar Summer Nationals win. 

While Erb was able to move past Feger for the lead early in the race, he was still left with having to maneuver through traffic in the remaining 27 laps. He stated that being aggressive was important, knowing the caliber of drivers behind him.

“I knew we had a good group behind me there, so there was no time to relax,” Erb said. “We just had to make our marks and watch the cars in front of us. You just really can’t back off because you never know what’s going to happen.”

Erb extended his points lead for the second consecutive night—144 points ahead of Max Blair, who finished 11th. 

Feger, who led the first 27 laps, was passed by Pierce for second and had to settled for third. The Bloomington, IL driver stated he couldn’t get the car to stick to the bottom the way he wanted, allowing Erb and Pierce to slip by. 

“I just felt like I was too tight to keep it down there,” Feger said. “I couldn’t get rotated. I couldn’t like, enter in on the bottom and get rotated. 

“I kind of based everything off of [Friday] night and how the track raced. I thought there’d be enough speed to go there, which there was, but instead of all the lap cars being on the bottom, they were in the middle. So, it just kind of made it hard to pass, and [Bobby Pierce] and Dennis could rotate the bottom better than I could.”

Pierce made his way to second from eighth. He snuck by Feger on the bottom late in the 55-lap Feature but didn’t have enough time to catch Erb. The “Smooth Operator” tried multiple lanes throughout the first 30 laps before settling on the inside line. 

“I was searching a little bit, and the top wasn’t really there like it normally is in the past,” Pierce said. “It’s not even like the bottom had that much moisture. The top was just so slick and crumbly. There wasn’t enough bite up there to really get anything going, so it is what it is.

“But hey, coming from eighth to second, catfishing like that and scraping the inside wall, we’ll take it any day.”

Pierce also extended his DIRTcar Summer Nationals points lead, beating out Ryan Unzicker, who finished ninth. 

Shannon Babb crossed the line fourth, climbing as high as third before fading in the race’s late stages. The Moweaqua, IL driver was happy with his car and enjoyed racing against his Midwest rivals.     

“Overall, it was a really good race,” Babb said. “Running around the inside wall with Bobby and Feger and Gordy [Gundaker] and everybody. So, I consider it a pretty good race.”

Gundaker rounded out the top five, his third World of Outlaws CASE Late Models top five of the season. 

“I just missed a little bit on the setup, and that’s the way it goes,” Gundaker said. “When you run fifth in a crowd of 47 race cars and a bunch of really, really good guys are here, there’s nothing to hang your head about. 

“We’ve definitely had our ups and downs so far this year, and this is definitely an up. So, we’re going to take this weekend in stride and hopefully keep the momentum going.”

The highly-anticipated faceoff between the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models and the DIRTcar Summer Nationals ended with Erb proving why he’s one of the most successful drivers in both series, further solidifying that with a sense of Déjà vu.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models head North to Jacksonville Speedway in Jacksonville, IL, on Sunday, June 26, for the Wild Man Kelly Classic, as part of the JB Hawks Summer Spectacular. Joining The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet are the Xtreme Outlaw Midgets presented by Toyota.

ULTIMATE OPPORTUNIST: Erb Scores Night 1 of St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff
The Carpentersville, IL driver passed Billy Moyer Jr. with 12 Laps to go to earn his third World of Outlaws Triumph of 2022
PEVELY, MO – JUNE 25, 2022 – A second chance isn’t something that slips away from Dennis Erb Jr. 
However, the veteran Late Model driver needed that second chance Friday at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 after a caution negated his pass for the lead.  

Erb found another opportunity to strike 18 laps later, as race leader Billy Moyer Jr. caught the tail of the field. That's when Erb dove to the bottom, splitting Kye Blight's car as Moyer tried to pass him on the outside. Erb took the advantage, thundering past both of them with momentum to take the lead with 12 laps to go. 

This time, a caution wouldn’t get in Erb’s way as he bested the top drivers with the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series and DIRTcar Summer Nationals to earn the $10,000 prize on night one of the St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff. 

Erb stressed the importance of hitting his marks as a key to finding Victory Lane. 

“We really would’ve liked to have gotten [the lead] earlier, but you know we were able to just wait and got it at the right time and was able to make a move on [Moyer],” Erb said. “Our car was working really good around that bottom, and we just had to hit our marks real good.

“Once I got out front, I was able to move up and move around. It was a little slippery tonight, but we were able to go out and get it.”

Erb’s win is his 12th World of Outlaws victory and 24th DIRTcar Summer Nationals triumph.

The four-time Hell Tour champion stated his time running Summer Nationals events the past two weeks gave him the chance to get better, despite his consistency in the first half of the season. 

“We spent the last week or so going out and running [DIRTcar Summer Nationals] races,” Erb said. “We tried a few different things to see if we can make ourselves better. So, we picked up on a few things, and hopefully, it’ll help us out the rest of the year.”

Erb’s win extends his World of Outlaws CASE Late Models points lead—122 points over Max Blair, who finished 12th. 

Billy Moyer Jr. settled for second after leading the race’s first 28 laps. 

The Batesville, AK driver stated he had a good car but started to tighten up once he reached traffic. 

“If the whole time we are in clean air, I don’t know if [Erb] would’ve got us,” Moyer said. “His car was just way better than ours maneuverability-wise.

“I couldn’t run that bottom like he did, and hell, I felt like I had a parachute back there. So, I just moved back up and tried to use the whole track. All in all, the car is good, just not as good as his around the bottom.”

Frank Heckenast Jr. crossed the line third, his first podium with the World of Outlaws and DIRTcar Summer Nationals in 2022. 

Despite coming home third, the Frankfort, IL driver said his finish felt like a win.

“I screwed up in the Heat,” Heckenast said. “I didn’t screw up in the Heat; I just mean [Shannon Babb], and I had such a good race, and I have so much respect for him. I could’ve tried to slide him, and then I would’ve had the last pill for the fourth heat and started second. 

“This feels like a win. We just had so much stuff going wrong lately. When you get that close, it really just tears at you that you had a shot to win.”

Jason Feger finished fourth, his fifth DIRTcar Summer Nationals top five this season, and first with the World of Outlaws—after starting 12th. 

“Once we got rolling, the car was pretty good, and it came to life,” Feger said. “It felt really good on the restarts, and we were rolling by guys. We couldn’t get by Frankie at the end, and you know we were probably a little too nice to him.

“But I’m really happy; 12th to fourth against this bunch of guys. The car is fast and in one piece, and maybe we have something for them [Saturday].”

Four-time Hell Tour champion Brian Shirley rounded out the top five. 

DIRTcar Summer Nationals points leader Bobby Pierce finished eighth, extending his lead over Ryan Unzicker. 

Dennis Erb Jr.’s ability to take advantage of a second chance allowed him to get the edge on the competition Friday at I-55. If having that edge pays off on Saturday, it could be another $20,000 in his bank account. 

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models and DIRTcar Summer Nationals return to I-55 on Saturday, June 25 for the second night of the St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff. 

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If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online on with the DIRTVision App.