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Erb captures career payday in I-80 Nationals

Tyler Erb claimed the $30,000 top prize in the I-80 Nationals on Thursday night, which marked the richest payday of his young career. (Todd Boyd photos)

One night earlier he won the $7,000 winner’s check in a preliminary feature. With his weekend success he pushed his 2021-win total to nine and moved to fifth in the latest Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS standings) in his Industrial Resourcing Group / M&W Transport No. 1 Best Performance Motorsports/ XR1 Rocket Chassis/ Clements Racing Engine Super Late Model.

“Man it feels awesome to finally get a win in a race that pays $30,000 to win. We’ve been close before, but finally got it done on Thursday. Our car was absolutely flawless for that 53 lapper. I felt good about our chances going into Saturday in the Silver Dollar Nationals, but we just went the wrong with the setup, and the car got to be a handful late in the race,” Erb said. “Overall, I’m still pleased to come out of I-80 with a pair of wins. I can’t thank Eric (Brock), Randall (Edwards), and everyone who supports this team enough for everything they do for me. We’ve got a really great hot rod right now.”

Tyler Erb trekked to I-80 Speedway (Greenwood, Neb.) on Tuesday afternoon to kick off a five-race swing with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS). With 43 Late Models entered for the opening round of the I-80 Nationals, Erb followed up a seventh-place finish in his heat race with a runner-up finish in his B-Main. With $7,000 on the line in the feature, Tyler passed seven cars in the 30-lap affair to finish 14th.

On Wednesday, Tyler clocked in second fastest in his group before placing second in his heat race. With passing points aligning him second on the starting grid for the preliminary feature, Erb seized the lead on the opening circuit and led all 30 laps to capture his eighth win of the season. He took the checkers ahead of Ricky Weiss, Ricky Thornton Jr., Brandon Overton, and Stormy Scott to pocket $7,000.

With preliminary results from Tuesday and Wednesday placing Erb on the pole for the conclusion of the I-80 Nationals on Thursday, Tyler dominated the 53-lapper to secure a $30,000 payday, the largest of his career. Running nearly uncontested throughout the race, Erb scored his 13th LOLMDS victory of his career, which came over Hudson O’Neal, Brandon Overton, Spencer Hughes, and Ricky Thornton Jr. He finished 5.515 seconds ahead of runner-up O'Neal.

To kick off the 11th annual Imperial Tile Silver Dollar Nationals on Friday, Tyler followed up a fourth-place finish in his first heat with a runner-up finish in his second round.

With passing points setting the grid for the $53,000-to-win A-Main on Saturday night, Erb locked into the ninth-starting position for the finale. Fading outside the Top-10, Tyler slipped back to a 15th-place outing in the 80-lap affair.

Tyler climbed to fifth in the latest LOLMDS point standings.

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