Dennis Erb Jr. Dominates Summer Nationals at Spoon River
Photo by Mike Ruefer
Photo by Mike Ruefer
Pierce adds to his Summer Nationals points lead
CANTON, Ill. – June 23, 2016 – Dennis Erb Jr., fresh of his win at the Dirt Late Model Dream, came into Thursday night’s DIRTcar Summer Nationals at Spoon River Speedway with the wind at his back and did it ever show.
Erb cruised to a dominant victory over Billy Moyer and Bobby Pierce in the 50-lap feature and scored the $10,000 payday.
“I didn’t know if it was easy or not,” Erb said. “The car was good and I didn’t see anybody challenge me there. We were able just to get out front and I didn’t feel no challenge, so I just kept driving my line.”
Erb started the feature on the pole and and easily pulled away from Moyer through the opening half of the feature. A caution flag flew on lap 28, but Erb maintained when the feature returned to green. Through traffic in the closing laps, Moyer tried to close the gap on Erb but was unable to make a move.
The win was the 20th Summer Nationals victory of Erb’s career.
Pierce charged through the field and battled past Mike Marlar to finish in third. He added to his Summer Nationals points lead.
The DIRTcar Summer Nationals returns to action on Friday at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill.
Follow the Summer Nationals and Summit Modified Nationals on Twitter at Twitter.com/SummerNationals or on Facebook at Facebook.com/SummerNationals. Stay up-to-date with the latest news from the series throughout the lead up and the summer on the series’ websites at TheHellTour.com and ModifiedNationals.com.
DIRTcar Summer Nationals Statistical Report; Spoon River Speedway; Canton, Ill.
A-Main: 1. Dennis Erb, Jr (Carpentersville, IL), 2. Billy Moyer (Batesville, AR), 3. Bobby Pierce (Oakwood, IL), 4. Mike Marlar (Winfield, TN), 5. Kevin Weaver (Gibson City, IL), 6. Brandon Sheppard (New Berlin, IL), 7. Jason Feger (Bloomington, IL), 8. Timothy Culp (Sheridan, AR), 9. Shannon Babb (Moweaqua, IL), 10. Chris Simpson (Oxford, IA), 11. Billy Drake (Lincoln, IL), 12. Taylor Scheffler (Waukesha, WI), 13. Gordy Gundaker (St Charles, MO), 14. Ryan Unzicker (El Paso, IL), 15. Justin Reed (Camp Point, IL), 16. Kolby Vandenbergh (Ashland, IL), 17. Austin Rettig (Sikeston, MO), 18. Brian Diveley (Springfield, IL), 19. Bob Gardner (East Peoria, IL), 20. Jim Moon (New Florence, MO), 21. Don Hammer (Clinton, IL), 22. Nick Bauman (New Berlin, IL). Hard Charger: Taylor Scheffler
2016 DIRTcar Summer Nationals Schedule
| Date | Day | Track | Winners |
| Northern Kickoff | |||
| June 15 | Wednesday | Brownstown Speedway | Rain/Cancelled |
| June 16 | Thursday | Kankakee Co. Speedway | Bobby Pierce |
| June 17 | Friday | Cedar Lake Speedway | Billy Moyer |
| June 18 | Saturday | Cedar Lake Speedway | Billy Moyer (2) |
| June 19 | Sunday | Wilmot Speedway | Bobby Pierce (2) |
| Heartland Tour | |||
| June 20 | Monday | OFF | |
| June 21 | Tuesday | Jacksonville Speedway | Bobby Pierce (3) |
| June 22 | Wednesday | Farley Speedway | Rain/Cancelled |
| June 23 | Thursday | Spoon River Speedway | Dennis Erb Jr. |
| June 24 | Friday | Tri-City Speedway | |
| June 25 | Saturday | Fairbury Speedway | |
| June 26 | Sunday | Tri-State Speedway | |
| Southern Tour | |||
| June 27 | Monday | OFF | |
| June 28 | Tuesday | Clarksville Speedway | |
| June 29 | Wednesday | Belle Clair Speedway | |
| June 30 | Thursday | Springfield Raceway | |
| July 1 | Friday | Fayette Co. Speedway | |
| July 2 | Saturday | Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 | |
| July 3 | Sunday | Lincoln Speedway | |
| Independence Week | |||
| July 4 | Monday | LaSalle Speedway | |
| July 5 | Tuesday | Daugherty Speedway | |
| July 6 | Wednesday | Peoria Speedway | |
| July 7 | Thursday | Macon Speedway | |
| July 8 | Friday | Farmer City Speedway | |
| July 9 | Saturday | Highland Speedway | |
| July 10 | Sunday | Quincy Raceways | |
| Champions Week | |||
| July 11 | Monday | OFF | |
| July 12 | Tuesday | Plymouth Speedway | |
| July 13 | Wednesday | Shadyhill Speedway | |
| July 14 | Thursday | Merritt Speedway | |
| July 15 | Friday | Oakshade Raceway | |
| July 16 | Saturday | Oakshade Raceway |
