PEORIA, IL – June 25, 2007 – Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., was flawless in marching to a flag-to-flag victory in Monday night’s 40-lap UMP DIRTcar Racing Summernationals A-Main at Peoria Speedway.
In a race that ran non-stop after a single caution flag flew on the first lap, Erb grabbed the lead from the pole position at the initial green flag and never looked back. He held off several challenges from Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill., to pocket the quarter-mile track’s $6,000 top prize in his Petroff Towing/Thomason Transportation Rayburn.
It was the fourth win of the 2007 Summernationals for Erb, who entered this year’s 27-event schedule with a total of three career triumphs on the tour.
Erb, 34, tightened what is shaping up to be the closest Summernationals points race in several years with his score. He’s third in the standings, 28 points behind leader Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., who finished ninth (his worst placing of the ’07 tour), and two points behind second place Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., who finished third.
The 24-year-old Steidinger settled for second place, falling just short of his first career Summernationals win.
O’Neal finished third, followed by six-time Summernationals champion Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., and Jason Feger of Springfield, Ill.
Forty-seven dirt Late Models entered the event.
Heat winners were Feger, O’Neal, Steidinger and Erb, and the B-Mains were claimed by Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning, Mich., and Marlar.
UMP DIRTcar Racing Summernationals Feature Finish (40 laps):
1. Dennis Erb Jr.
2. Wes Steidinger
3. Don O’Neal
4. Billy Moyer
5. Jason Feger
6. Kevin Weaver
7. Rodney Melvin
8. Eddie Kirchoff
9. Mike Marlar
10. Terry Casey
11. Billy Moyer Jr.
12. Jeep VanWormer
13. Shannon Babb
14. Ryan Dauber
15. Steve Sheppard Jr.
16. Jordan Bland
17. Charles Hess
18. Tim Lance
19. A.J. Diemel
20. Eric Bruce
21. Steve Lance
DNQ: Adam Mefford, Dawn Memmel, Jay Sparks, Don Hammer, JR Shickel, Todd Bennett, Kenny Adams, Ron Bartels, Lance Alcorn, Chad Jones, Matt Murphy, Rich Bell, Russ Adams, Christian Rayburn, Shawn Gray, Brandon Thirlby, Chris Laney, Greg Longfellow, Ryan Little, Gerry Reeder, Jeff Maher, Mike Mullvain, Ed Dixon, Scott Bull, Cody Baumann, Jim Felker
UMP DIRTcar Racing Summernationals Point Standings (after 10 of 27 events):
1. Mike Marlar 731
2. Don O’Neal 705
3. Dennis Erb Jr. 703
4. Wes Steidinger 659
5. Rodney Melvin 637
6. Steve Sheppard Jr. 619
7. Terry Casey 587
8. Jeep VanWormer 559
9. Kevin Weaver 525
10. Randy Korte 477
11. Eddie Kirchoff 455
12. Jason Feger 439
13. A.J. Diemel 316
14. Rusty Schlenk 303
15. Billy Moyer 287
16. Greg Johnson 222
17. Ryan Dauber 214
18. Jordan Bland 212
19. Chad Zobrist 206
20. Matt Taylor 202
