Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
East Bay Raceway Park
February 11, 2013
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Erb Jr Sweeps Opening Night at DART Winternationals at East Bay



by James Essex
TAMPA, FL (February 11) - Defending DART Winternationals Champion, Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, IL kicked off the 2013 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series season with a clean sweep of events on Monday Night. Erb was the Red Buck Fast Qualifier; won his heat race to earn the outside front row starting spot and led every lap to win the main event. He earned $5,000 for the win.
 
Erb in his J&L Scrap Metals, Kuntz and Company powered Bloomquist Race Cars #28 earned his third career win at the "Clay by the Bay" by holding off 2-time series champion, Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN at the finish line. Bloomquist made a last-lap dash and came up one car-length short of victory. Don O'Neal of Martinsville, IN held off another veteran, Donnie Moran of Dresden, OH to claim third. Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, IL rounded out the top five in his best-ever East Bay finish.
 
"What can I say; the car was terrific all night! I didn't realize I had qualified that fast, they said we nearly broke the track record. To lead the laps we did and to beat Scott, takes a great effort," said Erb, who also thanked his Crew Chief Heather Lyne for her help. "She does a fabulous job, I couldn't do this without her, and she knows exactly what to do to the car to make it faster! Tonight was just one of those nights where everything fell into place and was to our benefit."
 
"We had a good car all night," said Bloomquist, who entered the event with five career wins at the 1/3rd mile oval. "The track was exceptional tonight, you could run anywhere on it, congrats to him (Erb), he drove a good race, it was one of our cars and we are happy about that."



O'Neal barely held off the 12th starting Moran to finish third in the Optima Batteries, MasterSbilt House Car. "Erb and Scott were real good tonight, we just have to go back and make some more adjustments for tomorrow night and come back even stronger, he (Moran) gave me a good-run there at the end, and I don't know where he came from."
 
Pierce mixed it up with the veterans in only his third-career trip to East Bay. The 16-year-old ran as high as third before settling for a fifth-place finish.
 
In preliminary action, Dennis Erb Jr. set the Red Buck Fast Time amongst the 42 entrants, with a lap of 14.173 seconds. Scott Bloomquist set the fastest time in Group A with a time of 14.441 seconds. Scott Bloomquist, Don O'Neal, Dennis Erb Jr., and Bobby Pierce won their respective Heat Races. Stormy Scott and Jared Landers won their respective B-Mains.
 
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Monday Night, February 11th, 2013
37th Annual DART Winternationals
East bay Raceway Park - Tampa, FL
 
A-Main
1 2 28 Dennis Erb Jr Carpentersville, IL $5,000
2 1 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN
3 3 71 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN
4 12 99 Donnie Moran Dresden, OH
5 4 32 Bobby Pierce Oakwood, IL
6 9 11 Tyler Reddick Corning, CA
7 6 11 Austin Hubbard Seaford, DE
8 20 99m Devin Moran Dresden, OH
9 18 5 Jared Landers Batesville, AR
10 14 58 Mark Whitener Middleburg, FL
11 8 5 Eric Jacobsen Seacliff Beach, CA
12 11 32c Vic Coffey Caledonia, NY
13 10 28 Eddie Carrier Jr Salt Rock, WV
14 5 18 Ronny Lee Hollingsworth Northport, AL
15 22 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV
16 16 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY
17 25 4h Chad Hollenbeck Kingsley, PA
18 15 21 Todd Frank Green Bay, WI
19 17 2S Stormy Scott Las Cruces, NM
20 26 79 Brad Malcuit Strasburg, OH
21 7 54 David Breazeale Four Corners, MS
22 24 21d Dan Stone Thompson, PA
23 13 16 Justin Rattliff Campbellsville, KY
24 19 81jr Jason Riggs Harrisburg, IL
25 21 7L Jerry Lierly Quincy, IL
26 23 1 Doug Blashe Marion, WI

B-Main #1    
1 1 2S Stormy Scott Las Cruces, NM
2 4 81jr Jason Riggs Harrisburg, IL
3 2 7L Jerry Lierly Quincy, IL
4 5 1 Doug Blashe Marion, WI
5 12 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN
6 10 21jr Billy Moyer Jr Batesville, AR
7 7 32 Chad Stapleton Edinburgh, IN
8 8 79 Brad Malcuit Strasburg, OH
9 9 10 Corey Weaver Imler, PA
10 11 48 Bob Geiger Laurel, DE
11 3 64 Braden Mitchell Russellville, AL
dns 6 77 Jason McBride Carbondale, IL
dns 13 F4 Dwight Falcon Pine Grove, LA

B-Main #2    
1 2 5 Jared Landers Batesville, AR
2 1 99m Devin Moran Dresden, OH
3 3 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV
4 6 21d Dan Stone Thompson, PA
5 5 44 James O'Hara Daleville, PA
6 10 35 Christian Augspurger Palm Beach Grdns, FL
7 8 7 Ricky Weiss St Francois, MB
8 9 4h Chad Hollenbeck Kingsley, PA
9 13 12d Doug Drown Wooster, OH
10 12 50 Scott Phillips Marlette, MI
11 11 57 Chuck Julien Apopka, FL
12 7 92 Nick Davis Gumboro, DE
dns 4 01 Jack Nosbisch Riverview, FL

Heat #1    
1 1 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN
2 2 18 Ronny Lee Hollingsworth Northport, AL
3 5 11T Tyler Reddick Corning, CA
4 4 16 Justin Rattliff Campbellsville, KY
5 6 2S Stormy Scott Las Cruces, NM
6 7 64 Braden Mitchell Russellville, AL
7 9 1 Doug Blashe Marion, WI
8 8 32 Chad Stapleton Edinburgh, IN
9 10 10 Corey Weaver Imler, PA
10 11 48 Bob Geiger Laurel, DE
11 3 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN

Heat #2    
1 1 71 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN
2 2 54 David Breazeale Four Corners, MS
3 4 32c Vic Coffey Leicester, NY
4 3 21 Todd Frank Green Bay, WI
5 6 7L Jerry Lierly Quincy, IL
6 7 81jr Jason Riggs Harrisburg, IL
7 8 77 Jason McBride Carbondale, IL
8 9 79 Brad Malcuit Strasburg, OH
9 5 21jr Billy Moyer Jr Batesville, AR
10 F4 Dwight Falcon Pine Grove, LA

Heat #3    
1 1 28 Dennis Erb Jr Carpentersville, IL
2 3 11H Austin Hubbard Seaford, DE
3 4 28 Eddie Carrier Jr Salt Rock, WV
4 8 58 Mark Whitener Middleburg, FL
5 7 99m Devin Moran Dresden, OH
6 5 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV
7 9 44 James O'Hara Daleville, PA
8 10 92 Nick Davis Gumboro, DE
9 2 4h Chad Hollenbeck Kingsley, PA
10 11 57 Chuck Julien Apopka, FL
11 6 12d Doug Drown Wooster, OH

Heat #4    
1 3 32 Bobby Pierce Oakwood, IL
2 1 5 Eric Jacobsen Seacliff Beach, CA
3 4 99 Donnie Moran Dresden, OH
4 2 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY
5 8 5 Jared Landers Batesville, AR
6 7 01 Jack Nosbisch Riverview, FL
7 5 21d Dan Stone Thompson, PA
8 6 7 Ricky Weiss St Francois, MB
9 10 35 Christian Augspurger Palm Beach Grdns, FL
10 9 50 Scott Phillips Marlette, MI

Fast Time Group A: Scott Bloomquist / 14.441 seconds
Fast Time Group B: Dennis Erb Jr. / 14.173 seconds

Strawberry Dash Winner: Brad Malcuit

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The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt series will be back every night this week with more high-flying action from the 37th Annual DART Winternationals at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, FL. For more information on the event or EBRP, log onto www.eastbayracewaypark.com.

For the latest breaking news on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, log onto www.lucasdirt.com and follow the series on www.facebook.com/lucasdirt and www.twitter.com/#!/lucasdirt.