Dennis Erb Jr. earned $20,000 for his win
The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series completed a two-race weekend on Saturday night at the Jackson Motorplex. At the end of the night, it was Dennis Erb Jr. who claimed the victory in Minnesota scoring his second WoO triumph of the season. The Carpentersville, Illinois driver earned a hefty $20,000 for his efforts in a race shown live by DirtVision.com.
A total of 16 cars were signed in for competition.
Brandon Sheppard was fastest in single group qualifying with a lap of 16.346 seconds around the 4/10 mile clay oval to beat out Dennis Erb Jr., Ryan Gustin, Cade Dillard and Frank Heckenast Jr.
Brandon Sheppard won the first heat race of the night topping Frank Heckenast, Ryan Gustin, Chris Madden and Daniel Hilsabeck in the process.
It was Cade Dillard who claimed the second preliminary by outrunning Dennis Erb Jr., Ricky Weiss, Tyler Bruening and Chad Simpson.
The WoO Late Models redraw set the first two rows on the starting grid as Dillard, Erb, Heckenast and Sheppard.
When the green flag waved over the 50-lap feature it was Erb who bolted to the early lead with Dillard, Heckenast, Sheppard and Gustin trailing. Unfortunately for Gustin, his top-5 run ended on lap 2 with a flume of smoke and what appeared to be an engine issue.
On the restart from that caution, Weiss jumped up to fourth as Erb pulled away from the pack and set about the task of building a big lead. By lap 7, the No. 28 machine led by a full straightaway. By lap 14, the leader found himself racing among slower traffic but his pursuers were unable make up very much ground.
A lap 18 yellow flag for a spin by Simpson erased Erb’s lead. On that restart, Erb maintained his lead over Dillard and Heckenast while Bruening moved to the fourth position. Further back, Sheppard and Weiss fought over the final spot in the top-5 with Sheppard emerging from that battle with the position.
The top-5 of Erb, Dillard, Heckenast, Bruening and Sheppard strung out and appeared to be logging laps until a lap 41 caution for debris restacked the field. Tire wear would become a factor over the final laps as multiple flat tires would bring about cautions.
One of the drivers hurt the most by a flat tire was second-running Bruening whose right rear gave way with just four laps remaining. But that final caution set up a frenetic dash to the finish as Erb and Sheppard exchanged the lead on lap 48. Sheppard then fell back into the clutches of Heckenast who would eventually grab the runner-up position.
But in the end, it was Dennis Erb Jr. who would claim the victory as he sailed under the checkered flag. The winner was emotional in victory lane as he dedicated the win to his longtime pet and companion. The veteran driver’s dog had to be put down earlier in the week.
Feature Finish: 1. Dennis Erb Jr., 2. Frank Heckenast Jr., 3. Brandon Sheppard, 4. Chris Madden, 5. Cade Dillard, 6. Ricky Weiss, 7. Chad Simpson, 8. Daniel Hilsabeck, 9. Boom Briggs, 10. Jordan Yaggy, 11. Brent Larson, 12. Tyler Bruening, 13. Paul Parker, 14. Blair Nothdurft, 15. A.J. Diemel, 16. Ryan Gustin
