TAMPA, Fla. - Tyler Erb continued his recent hot streak as he claimed his third victory in only a four-race season thus far on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series tour.
Erb dominated the event, leading every lap of the Winternationals on Tuesday night at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Florida.
Erb started on the outside of the front row and pulled away from the pack at the start of the 30-lap main event. His torrid pace was only slowed by a single caution on lap eight.
Earl Pearson, Jr. started alongside Erb on the front row. After dropping back as much as a full straightaway at time, he regained his momentum over the second half of the race to finish second. Dennis Erb, Jr. earned his best finish of the year by taking third. Brandon Sheppard came home in fourth, followed by Jimmy Owens in fifth.
Kyle Bronson charged through the field early on, advancing from the ninth starting spot to take control second from Pearson on lap 14. Bronson then held the runner-up spot until Pearson forged ahead soon after. Pearson started to close the gap on Erb as the youngster approached heavy lapped traffic. Pearson chopped several seconds off of the Texan’s lead, but Erb skillfully maneuvered through traffic to elude the challenge of Pearson.
“I got high in turn four after I was signaled that my lead was getting smaller and smaller,” the 22-year-old Erb said. “I made the decision to go to the outside to pass cars after seeing (Brandon) Overton do it in front of me. Going to the outside gave us a little leeway and some space to breathe.
“Like I said last night, driving for this team has been a dream come true. I am probably one of the happiest people in the world right now. I am lucky enough to be able to do this for a living. I just couldn’t imagine being with anybody better than this team at the Best (Performance Motorsports) shop. I am really thankful for this opportunity and I am looking forward to the next four nights.”
Brian Shirley, Josh Richards, Kyle Bronson, Billy Moyer Jr., and Tim McCreadie rounded out the top ten.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
East Bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL
Winternationals – February 6, 2019
| FINISH | START | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | EARNINGS |
| 1 | 2 | 1T | Tyler Erb | New Waverly, TX | $5,000 |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | $3,000 |
| 3 | 7 | 28 | Dennis Erb, Jr. | Carpentersville, IL | $2,000 |
| 4 | 3 | 1S | Brandon Sheppard | New Berlin, IL | $1,500 |
| 5 | 4 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | $1,000 |
| 6 | 11 | 3s | Brian Shirley | Chatham, IL | $800 |
| 7 | 13 | 14 | Josh Richards | Shinnston, WV | $750 |
| 8 | 9 | 40B | Kyle Bronson | Brandon, FL | $700 |
| 9 | 12 | 21 | Billy Moyer, Jr. | Batesville, AR | $650 |
| 10 | 15 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | $600 |
| 11 | 17 | 49 | Jonathan Davenport | Blairsville, GA | $550 |
| 12 | 16 | 71 | Hudson O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | $500 |
| 13 | 10 | 116 | Tanner English | Benton, KY | $500 |
| 14 | 22 | 1M | Devin Moran | Dresden, OH | $500 |
| 15 | 6 | 14m | Morgan Bagley | Gladewater, TX | $500 |
| 16 | 18 | 9 | Billy Moyer | Batesville, AR | $500 |
| 17 | 20 | 5 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | $500 |
| 18 | 21 | 2 | Brandon Overton | Evans, GA | $500 |
| 19 | 14 | 22 | Gregg Satterlee | Indiana, PA | $500 |
| 20 | 5 | 50 | Shanon Buckingham | Morristown, TN | $500 |
| 21 | 8 | 48 | Colton Flinner | Allison Park, PA | $500 |
| 22 | 26 | 11H | Austin Hubbard | Bridgeville, DE | $500 |
| 23 | 25 | 18J | Chase Junghans | Manhattan, KS | $500 |
| 24 | 19 | 2s | Stormy Scott | Las Cruses, NM | $500 |
| 25 | 24 | 1G | Devin Gilpin | Columbus, IN | $500 |
| 26 | 23 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN | $500 |
