TWO OUT OF THREE AIN’T BAD: Erb scores third win of the season at River Cities

Dennis Erb Jr. is no stranger to Victory Lane with the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models. But how he won Friday’s Feature at River Cities Speedway was unexpected.

The Carpentersville, IL driver didn’t use his preferred inside lane, instead of going to the top en route to his third Series win of 2021.  Erb made decided to stay there because of how well his Rocket Chassis was running.

“I wanted to go back down but it felt pretty good up [top] and I wanted to keep my momentum up and I really didn’t want to break anything there,” Erb said. “I would’ve rather gotten down to the bottom, but it was working too good up top.”

For a few laps, it seemed the outside wasn’t the place to be. Jimmy Mars nosed ahead of Erb a couple of times on the bottom hoping to steal the win away. But as both drivers inched toward the back of the field, traffic played into Erb’s favor. Most of the cars were on the bottom, giving him a clear lane on the outside.

Erb’s anticipation of traffic in front of him played a role in collecting the $10,000 prize.

“I was trying to watch the cars ahead of me as we were coming up on them because I wanted to keep my speed up and not really back out of it,” Erb said.

The win is Erb’s ninth career World of Outlaws triumph, moving him to 18th on the all-time wins list. He breaks a tie with Mike Marlar and Mars, who finished second.

While slower traffic gave Erb an advantage, it didn’t help the Menomonie, WI driver. Mars had to break his momentum a few times fighting for the win.

“We just kind of got caught up with lap cars and that’s kind of the way it goes,” Mars said. “We got a second out of it, so we’ll take it and move on to the next one.”

Even though he wasn’t victorious, “The Iceman” was still smiling about his podium finish when the race was over.

“[The World of Outlaws] drivers are all top-notch,” Mars said. “To be able to come in every once in a while, and just be pretty competitive says a lot for our team. I’m pretty happy with that overall.”

Ryan Gustin, the top Rookie of the race finished third. The Marshalltown, IA felt his car was a little off, which kept him from catching the top two.

“I felt like we were coming on there a bit at the end, we were just a little bit right rear free,” Gustin said. “If we could do it all again, I think we would’ve had a shot at winning it.”

“The Reaper” closed the gap in the chase for Rookie of the Year. He’s now 102 points behind Tyler Bruening, who finished 12th.

Cade Dillard finished fourth, and three-time and defending champion Brandon Sheppard rounded out the top five.

The New Berlin, IL driver increased his lead in the standings—78 points ahead of Chris Madden, who finished 10th.

The wave of momentum Dennis Erb Jr. is riding doesn’t look like it’s stopping anytime soon. If he can keep it going, Friday likely won’t be his last trip to Victory Lane in 2021.

UP NEXT: The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet travel to I-94 Sure Step Speedway in Fergus Falls, MN on Saturday, July 17.

Morton Buildings Feature (40 Laps)-1. 28-Dennis Erb [1][$10,000]; 2. 28M-Jimmy Mars [2][$6,000]; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin [4][$3,500]; 4. 97-Cade Dillard [3][$2,800]; 5. 1-Brandon Sheppard [7][$2,500]; 6. 99JR-Frank Heckenast [11][$2,300]; 7. 12-Brad Seng [5][$2,200]; 8. 7P-Joey Pederson [6][$2,100]; 9. 7-Ricky Weiss [8][$2,050]; 10. 44-Chris Madden [15][$2,000]; 11. 44S-Cole Schill [9][$1,600]; 12. 16-Tyler Bruening [17][$1,400]; 13. 55C-Chad Mahder [10][$1,200]; 14. 99B-Boom Briggs [14][$1,100]; 15. B1-Brent Larson [12][$1,050]; 16. 6M-Jeff Massingill [18][$1,000]; 17. 14-Brody Troftgruben [21][$1,000]; 18. E85-Jason Strand [16][$1,000]; 19. 10-Paul Parker [13][$1,000]; 20. F9-Brandon Fuller [22][$1,000]; 21. T1-Tommy Corcoran [19][$1,000]; 22. 90-Lance Matthees [23][$1,000]; 23. 45-Kyle Hammer [24][$1,000]; 24. 77-Jordan Yaggy [20][$1,000] Hard Charger: 99JR-Frank Heckenast[+5]

Qualifying Flight-A –1. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 12.568; 2. 99JR-Frank Heckenast, 12.603; 3. 28M-Jimmy Mars, 12.633; 4. 97-Cade Dillard, 12.678; 5. 44S-Cole Schill, 12.835; 6. 16-Tyler Bruening, 12.862; 7. 17-Mike Greseth, 12.888; 8. 7-Ricky Weiss, 12.907; 9. 5E-Shane Edginton, 12.995; 10. T1-Tommy Corcoran, 13.009; 11. 10-Paul Parker, 13.073; 12. 44-Chris Madden, 13.201; 13. 45-Kyle Hammer, 13.208; 14. 77-Jordan Yaggy, 13.327; 15. 2X-Cody Erickson, 13.73

Qualifying Flight-B-1. 28-Dennis Erb, 12.513; 2. 7P-Joey Pederson, 12.769; 3. 12-Brad Seng, 12.85; 4. B1-Brent Larson, 12.861; 5. 76-Blair Nothdurft, 12.866; 6. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 12.902; 7. 55C-Chad Mahder, 12.994; 8. C4-Ryan Corbett, 12.997; 9. 99B-Boom Briggs, 13.059; 10. 14-Brody Troftgruben, 13.082; 11. 6M-Jeff Massingill, 13.226; 12. E85-Jason Strand, 13.268; 13. 90-Lance Matthees, 13.286; 14. F9-Brandon Fuller, 13.314; 15. 2D-Dan Dowling, 14.526

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World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models
Friday, July 16, 2021
River Cities Speedway
2300 Gateway Dr
Grand Forks, North Dakota 58203 

Series Racing
World of Outlaws Late Model Series

To Win Amount
$10,000.00

Event Schedule
TIMES:
3:00pm Pit Gates Open
5:00pm Grandstands Open
4:30pm Pill Draw (closes at 6:00pm)
6:00pm Driver's Meeting
6:30pm Hot Laps
Racing to Follow

ORDER OF EVENTS:
1 NOSA Sprints Push for Heat
2 World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Hot Laps
3 World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Qualifying - 2 Cars/ 2 Laps
4 Opening Ceremonies
5 WISSOTA Street Heats - 8 Laps
6 NOSA Sprints Heats - 10 Laps
7 World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Heats - 10 Laps
8 WISSOTA Street LCS - 10 Laps (if needed)
9 NOSA Sprints LCS - 10 Laps (If needed)
10 World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Redraw
11 World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model LCS - 10 Laps
12 WISSOTA Street Feature - 15 Laps
13 NOSA Sprint Feature - 25 Laps
14 World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Feature - 40 Laps

*All times Central

Options And Prices
$28 General Admission at advance ticket outlets
$30 General Admission at the track
$15 Kids 12-and-under
* Plus $3 handling fee per ticket ordered.
* Mailing fees US $3.00 per order; Canada $3.50 per order.

Grandstand Type
Select rows in main grandstand have seat back

Family Section Location
no

Handicapped Seating Location
Bottom row of main covered grandstands

Pit Age Requirement
NO age restriction for pits. 17 and under must be accompanied by a parent/ guardian with signed Minor Waiver.

Pit Gate Location
East side of the track

Parking Cost
Free

Handicapped Parking Location
Front gate

Camping Availability
electric hookup, onsite

Camping Cost
$20 with water; Contact Linda Bernard, 218-244-3792, for reservations

To Win Amount
$10,000.00

Type of Grandstand
Select rows in main grandstand have seat back

Handicapped Seating
Bottom row of main covered grandstands

Handicapped Parking
Front gate

Pit Age Limit
NO age restriction for pits. 17 and under must be accompanied by a parent/ guardian with signed Minor Waiver.

Pit Gate Location
East side of the track

Personal Coolers
No coolers allowed

ATMs
1

Alcohol Sales
Alcohol is sold on site, including beer and malt beverages.

Smoking Policy
No smoking in grandstands. Smoking is only permitted in designated areas.

Family Section
no

Parking Cost
Free

Camping Availability
electric hookup, onsite

Camping Cost
$20 with water; Contact Linda Bernard, 218-244-3792, for reservations

River Cities Speedway
2300 Gateway Dr
Grand Forks, North Dakota 58203 

Track Phone
(701) 780-0999

Track Email
[email protected]

Track Size
0.25

Sprint Car Track Record
9.269 seconds by Jason Meyers on 8/21/09

Late Model Track Record
11.255 by Joey Pederson on 9/9/2018

Closest Airport
Grand Forks Int'l

Other Airport
Fargo

Pit Gate Location
East side of the track

Track Map

Competitor Downloads
 https://www.dirtcarmembers.com/downloads.php

Competitor Info
Event Format:
1-20 Entries = Overall Qualifying | Two Heats | All Cars Transfer | Top 2 from each heat redraw
21-24 Entries = Overall Qualifying | Three Heats | All Cars Transfer | Top 2 from each heat redraw
25-27 Entries = Overall Qualifying | Three Heats | Top 6 Transfer | Top 2 from each heat redraw | One LCS | Top 4 Transfer
28-31 Entries = A/B Group Qualifying | Four Heats | Top 4 Transfer | Top 2 from each heat redraw |One LCS | Top 6 Transfer
32-47 Entries = A/B Group Qualifying | Four Heats | Top 4 Transfer | Top 2 from each heat redraw |Two LCS | Top 3 Transfer
48+ Entries = A/B Group Qualifying | Six Heats | Top 3 Transfer | Heat Race Winner Redraws | Three LCS | Top 2 Transfer

Event Payout: 40 Laps
1. $10,000; 2. $6,000; 3. $3,500; 4. $2,800; 5. $2,500; 6. $2,300; 7. $2,200; 8. $2,100; 9. $2,050; 10. $2,000; 11.$1,600; 12. $1,400; 13. $1,200; 14. $1,100; 15. $1,050; 16. $1,000; 17. $1,000; 18. $1,000; 19. $1,000; 20. $1,000; 21. $1,000; 22. $1,000; 23. $1,000; 24. $1,000 Tow Money: $110 - MUST start LCS in order to receive Tow Money

Technical & Safety Rules:
GENERAL RULES: Under the guidelines of Chapter 1
TECHNICAL & SAFETY RULES: Under the guidelines of Chapter 3
Weight Rule is 2350. Pound per lap burn off in the Feature event ONLY

Tire Rules:
ALL FOUR (4) CORNERS: M30 or W30
RIGHT REAR OPTION: M40
GROOVING AND SIPING IS ALLOWED
**You must qualify, heat race, and LCS on the same tires. You may change right rear tire for the Feature.