CHILLICOTHE, Ohio - Getting that first win on a national tour for most young guns usually takes a lot of time and frustration. Doing it again, however, is very different, let alone on the very next night.
Most people would never have bet that Tyler Erb would sweep both nights of the Outlaw Invasion at Chillicothe, Ohio’s Atomic Speedway before this weekend, and yet, he did, taking the race lead away from runner-up Mike Marlar on a last-lap pass for the win.
“It means a lot to be able to be able to race with these guys like we do and finally have the results that I feel like we should have,” Erb said.
The battle among the leaders began to heat up around lap 20, when Erb moved into second around Marlar and Chris Madden and appeared hot on then-leader Brandon Sheppard’s tail. He made the pass for the lead on lap 23 and held it across the stripe before Sheppard dove into turn one and snatched it right back. The caution came out just a few laps later, settling Erb alongside Marlar.
Erb gave Marlar the bottom lane for the restart, which proved to be the wrong decision, as Marlar took second back immediately and ran with the spot until the final lap. Sheppard made a costly mistake getting into turn one on lap 40, allowing both Marlar and Erb to sneak by on the inside. By this time, the leaders were in deep lapped traffic, which made things a little dicey for the last ten laps.
Sheppard was able to battle back on the inside to reclaim the runner-up spot briefly, before Erb found the rocket boosters, blasting by Sheppard and charging after Marlar with less than five laps to go.
Corner by corner, Erb closed the gap and saw his opportunity with the white flag in the air. He threw it very hard into turn one, riding the top edge of the track, and got a big blast off of turn two, pulling dead even under Marlar as they drag raced down the backstretch. Without making any contact, Erb dive-bombed into turn three and slid up in front of Marlar to secure the spot. Down the frontstretch he came once more, a winner yet again with the World of Outlaws Late Models.
“Tonight, it was easier and harder, in a sense,” Erb said. “They left the top (groove) open for me, I mean, the whole race I think I passed every car on the top.”
“The track was slower and definitely not as dangerous,” Erb continued. “But at the same time, it was very easy to make mistakes.”
Sheppard finished in third, with Moran in fourth and Chase Junghans in fifth.
Madden, Devin Gilpin, Kody Evans, Colten Burdette and Rick Eckert rounded out the top ten.
For more information on the World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series, visit WoOLMS.com.
World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series
Atomic Speedway – Chillicothe, OH
Race Results – September 29, 2018
1. 91-Tyler Erb
2. 157-Mike Marlar
3. 1-Brandon Sheppard
4. 9-Devin Moran
5. 18c-Chase Junghans
6. 44-Chris Madden
7. 1g-Devin Gilpin
8. 4G-Kody Evans
9. 44c-Colten Burdette
10. 7-Rick Eckert
11. 10-Eddie Carrier
12. 25-Shane Clanton
13. 12-Jason Jameson
14. 18-Eric Wells
15. 22-Chris Ferguson
16. 4B-Jackie Boggs
17. 54-David Breazeale
18. 9s-Chris Shannon
19. 71R-Rod Conley
20. B1-Brent Larson
21. 20c-Duane Chamberlain
22. 17-Shannon Thornsberry
23. 11g-Billy Gullion
24. 44f-Mark Frazier
25. 99jr-Frank Heckenast
http://accesswdun.com/article/2018/10/720083/tyler-erb-scores-woo-lms-victory-at-atomic-speedway