Mike Marlar and Tyler Erb scored Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victories last week.
Marlar went to victory lane at Ohio’s Portsmouth Raceway Park on Thursday night, while Erb took the win on Friday night at Tyler County Speedway in Middlebourne, West Virginia.
After Wednesday night’s series event at Muskingum County Speedway in Dresden, Ohio was washed out, the series moved on to Portsmouth Raceway Park on Thursday night, where Mike Marlar ran away with the Independence 50.
It marked Marlar’s third series win of the season, and the 12th of his career.
At the drop of the green flag, Marlar sprinted to a comfortable lead and held the point for the entire race. Marlar had to withstand a five lap shootout to the finish with second place running Josh Richards and Jimmy Owens after a lap 45 caution.
Richards moved into the second spot on lap four and tried to stay within striking distance of Marlar, but at stages during the race Marlar held a more than a straightaway advantage over Richards. Owens, who started sixth moved into third past Hudson O’Neal on lap 33 as he tried to track down Richards inside the last ten laps of the race before settling for the third spot. O’Neal and Blairsville, Georgia’s Jonathan Davenport completed the top five.
Marlar commented that his third heat race win over his good friend Owens is what set the stage to get the victory.
“I want to thank Jimmy for running me clean in that heat race. We went back-and-forth for most of the race. It was probably one of the best heat races you will ever see. Jimmy could be standing here right now if he would’ve won that race. He had a really good race car tonight as well.”
On Friday night, Tyler Erb scored his first series victory since February as he wired the field en route to the win at Tyler County Speedway.
Erb became the tenth different winner in as many visits by the series at Tyler County Speedway. The victory didn’t come easy, as podium finishers Josh Richards and Devin Moran charged after Erb the entire 50-lap distance.
Moran and Erb led the field to green with Erb taking the lead on the initial lap. There was a tight battle the entire distance for second as three different drivers held that position during the race. Chris Ferguson, Moran, and Richards all had a turn in the runner-up position behind Erb.
Richards cleared Moran on lap 42, then set his sights on Erb, who was battling lapped traffic. Richards closed on Erb, but the 22-year-old made his move around a lapped car with two to go, and that allowed him to open up enough distance to cross the finish line as the winner for his first ever victory at Tyler County.
Richards took second just ahead of Moran, with Chris Ferguson and Tim McCreadie rounding out the top five.
“I am super-pumped!” exclaimed Erb in victory lane. “We have a super-fast racecar right now. This is the best car I have ever driven. It feels like a year since we won a race. This is one of my favorite tracks. We haven’t been here a lot, because it’s a long way from Texas.”
The series was slated to race on Saturday at Ohio’s Mansfield Motor Speedway, only to see the event rained out.
For more information on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, visit LucasDirt.com.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Portsmouth Raceway Park – Portsmouth, Ohio
Independence 50 – July 4, 2019
| FINISH | START | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | EARNINGS |
| 1 | 2 | 157 | Mike Marlar | Winfield, TN | $12,000 |
| 2 | 3 | 14 | Josh Richards | Shinnston, WV | $6,300 |
| 3 | 6 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | $4,300 |
| 4 | 10 | 71 | Hudson O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | $3,450 |
| 5 | 7 | 49 | Jonathan Davenport | Blairsville, GA | $3,350 |
| 6 | 9 | 17d | Zack Dohm | Cross Lanes, WV | $1,800 |
| 7 | 5 | 1T | Tyler Erb | New Waverly, TX | $2,300 |
| 8 | 8 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | $2,000 |
| 9 | 4 | 50 | Shanon Buckingham | Morristown, TN | $1,900 |
| 10 | 22 | 5 | Michael Norris | Sarver, PA | $1,100 |
| 11 | 13 | 12d | Doug Drown | Wooster, OH | $1,075 |
| 12 | 18 | 8 | Jacob Hawkins | Fairmont, WV | $1,050 |
| 13 | 12 | 71R | Rod Conley | Wheelersburg, OH | $1,025 |
| 14 | 16 | 21 | Billy Moyer, Jr. | Batesville, AR | $1,700 |
| 15 | 1 | 1M | Devin Moran | Dresden, OH | $1,700 |
| 16 | 23 | 1 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | $1,900 |
| 17 | 24 | 40B | Kyle Bronson | Brandon, FL | $1,700 |
| 18 | 14 | 17T | Shannon Thornsberry | Martin, KY | $1,000 |
| 19 | 25 | 2s | Stormy Scott | Las Cruses, NM | $800 |
| 20 | 11 | 22F | Chris Ferguson | Mount Holly, NC | $1,000 |
| 21 | 21 | C9 | Steve Casebolt | Richmond, IN | $1,000 |
| 22 | 19 | 71C | RJ Conley | Wheelersburg, OH | $1,000 |
| 23 | 15 | 22 | Gregg Satterlee | Indiana, PA | $1,000 |
| 24 | 17 | 12J | Jason Jameson | Lawrenceburg, IN | $1,000 |
| 25 | 20 | 4B | Jackie Boggs | Grayson, KY | $1,000 |
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Tyler County Speedway – Middlebourne, WV
Race Results – July 5, 2019
| FINISH | START | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | EARNINGS |
| 1 | 2 | 1T | Tyler Erb | New Waverly, TX | $12,800 |
| 2 | 3 | 14 | Josh Richards | Shinnston, WV | $6,300 |
| 3 | 1 | 1M | Devin Moran | Dresden, OH | $4,200 |
| 4 | 4 | 22F | Chris Ferguson | Mount Holly, NC | $2,750 |
| 5 | 5 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | $2,950 |
| 6 | 9 | 157 | Mike Marlar | Winfield, TN | $1,800 |
| 7 | 13 | 44B | Colten Burdette | Parkersburg, WV | $1,500 |
| 8 | 10 | 87 | Derek Doll | Greenwood, WV | $1,300 |
| 9 | 7 | 49 | Jonathan Davenport | Blairsville, GA | $2,300 |
| 10 | 11 | 22 | Gregg Satterlee | Indiana, PA | $1,100 |
| 11 | 6 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | $1,875 |
| 12 | 18 | 8 | Jacob Hawkins | Fairmont, WV | $1,050 |
| 13 | 8 | 40B | Kyle Bronson | Brandon, FL | $1,725 |
| 14 | 12 | 25Z | Mason Zeigler | Chalk Hill, PA | $1,000 |
| 15 | 24 | 71 | Hudson O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | $1,700 |
| 16 | 19 | 21 | Billy Moyer, Jr. | Batesville, AR | $1,700 |
| 17 | 15 | 50 | Shanon Buckingham | Morristown, TN | $1,700 |
| 18 | 25 | 2s | Stormy Scott | Las Cruses, NM | $800 |
| 19 | 20 | 32 | Travis Stickley | Keyser, WV | $1,000 |
| 20 | 14 | 5 | Michael Norris | Sarver, PA | $1,000 |
| 21 | 23 | 1 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | $1,900 |
| 22 | 16 | 57 | Kyle Thomas | Pennsboro, WV | $1,000 |
| 23 | 17 | 5* | Shane Hitt | Buckhannon, WV | $1,000 |
| 24 | 21 | 66c | Matt Cosner | Ridgeley, WV | $1,000 |
| 25 | 22 | 17d | Zack Dohm | Cross Lanes, WV | $1,000 |
http://accesswdun.com/article/2019/7/812467/mike-marlar-tyler-erb-race-to-lolmds-feature-victories