QUINCY, Ill. — The Lucas Oil MLRA’s return to the Adams County Speedway on Sunday night proved to be worth the wait, as Tyler Erb raced to a thrilling first career win under the Lucas Oil MLRA banner in the Cinco de Mayo 40.
Erb jumped to the early race lead, which proved to be short lived as the nights first of four cautions waved on lap three for two time series champion Tony Jackson Jr. as he slowed on the speedway with a flat tire. Jackson would return and rally for a 13th-place finish.
After another quick spin caution for Sunoco Rookie of the year driver Aaron Marrant, the field would go green for another six laps with Erb at the point over Pearson and a high side hustling Derrick Stewart. Justin Duty slipped off the track in turn three and four while running inside the top ten on lap nine bringing out the third caution of the night.
With Erb in control, Stewart would take the second spot away from Pearson momentarily, but the Ainsworth, IA driver could never mount a serious charge for the top spot and settled for an MLRA career best 6th place finish at the end.
With the night’s longest green-flag stretch taking the field the final 29 laps, lapped traffic made its way into play over the course of the final 15 laps of the main event.
Erb had used the low line the majority of the night on both ends of the speedway, and with side-by-side lapped traffic in his cross hairs Erb was forced to move around in the closing laps to overcome the traffic.
Lapped traffic allowed Pearson to edge ahead a couple of times exiting turn four, but in the end it was Erb leading all 40 laps to earn the $5,000 MLRA payday.
Pearson scored his best MLRA finish of the year with a second-place run, with Gordy Gundaker grabbing the third spot on the podium.
Garrett Alberson charged from 16th on the grid to another strong fourth-place finish while current Midwest Sheet Metal Point Leader Chad Simpson rounded out the top five.
“I didn’t think one and two was going to be there, it was super sketchy,” commented Erb. “In three and four under caution I was kind of seeing how big it was built up and I didn’t think I needed to enter all the way up against it just because I thought I might drive out of here. If I hit that end just right, I could carry enough speed down the front straightaway and get back down in one and two.”
The finish:
Feature (40 laps): 1. 1T-Tyler Erb[1]; 2. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[2]; 3. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[6]; 4. 58-Garrett Alberson[16]; 5. 25-Chad Simpson[3]; 6. 43-Derrick Stewart[4]; 7. 99F-Frank Heckenast Jr[8]; 8. 32-Chris Simpson[19]; 9. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[14]; 10. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[17]; 11. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[10]; 12. 15S-Clayton Stuckey[12]; 13. 25J-Tony Jackson Jr[7]; 14. 52B-Matt Bailey[11]; 15. 8-Dillon McCowan[13]; 16. 11-Jeff Herzog[15]; 17. 15D-Justin Duty[9]; 18. 1XM-Aaron Marrant[22]; 19. 3W-Brennon Willard[21]; 20. 96-Dalton Imhoff[24]; 21. 78S-Steve Stultz[23]; 22. 1ST-Justin Reed[18]; 23. 33F-Rickey Frankel[20]; 24. (DNS) 31K-Kye Blight