SUPR Late Models
Battleground Speedway
August 7, 2015
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ERB SHOWS OUT, DELIVERS SUPR WIN IN FRONT OF BATTLEGROUND HOME-CROWD

by Bryan Wimberley
HIGHLANDS, Tex. (August 7) - Nothing is more gratifying than being able to produce when the chips are down and all eyes are on you in front of family and friends. That was the case at Battleground Speedway, when Tyler Erb of New Waverly, Tex., wheeled his car to victory, in the first round of a P&W Sales Southern United Professional Racing Series' double-header. With the pressure on, the 18-year old teenage standout, went flag-to-flag Friday night, to score his second series' win this season and the third of his young career.

Third-starting Erb has nailed down four consecutive top 10's on the SUPR tour, while grabbing his second circuit win in ten weeks. Recently re-locating from Magnolia to New Waverly, Tex., and constructing a 114' x 60' shop on 13 acres, Erb drag raced current points leader, Jon Mitchell and Allen Tippen to turn one, at the drop of the green flag. Erb won the battle out of turn two to get a narrow advantage down the back straightaway.

Five laps into the 20-lap opener, Erb, Tippen and Mitchell had a significant three-car break-away on the rest of the field. A battle of rookie newcomers occurred soon after in turns three and four, as Kody Barber of Bogalusa, La., and Danny Zimmerman of Wylie, Tex., made contact, sending Barber scrambling in the infield. Although the pair lost some on-track positions for the incident, Barber never wavered and re-joined the action on the front-straightaway.

Erb's blistering pace caught the back of the field on lap 9, as traffic lined up in front of the leader, with Tippen applying constant duress on the young gun, piloting the No. 91. Erb gave back in return, just as good as he received, stretching out the lead by over two seconds, with seven laps remaining in the feature.

Once Erb got involved in heavy traffic, Tippen started cutting into the distance, slimming the lead to under one second, but once Erb cleared the slower competitors, he powered away from the 40-year old driver of the No. 71a.

As SUPR flagman, David Corbello, twirled two flags in the air, Erb had opened up a two-plus second margin and Tippen had fallen into the clutches of defending series' champ, Jon "Catman" Mitchell.

Tippen and Mitchell battled until the final corners, but the No. 5 driver pulled off a last lap pass to score the runner-up spot, 1.5 seconds behind winner, Tyler Erb.

Allen Tippen would settle for the final podium position, finishing third, while local product, Phil Dixon of Crosby, had an impressive run in fourth-place and feature hard charger, Rob Litton, rounded out the top 5.

Erb goes for the home-track sweep tonight at Battleground Speedway, in a $2,000-to-win/$400-to-start, 40-lap finale.

NOTES: Erb's Rocket by 91 Chassis is powered by a Kuntz & Company Racing Engine and sponsored by First Class Septic, Erb Racing, P&W Sales Oilfield Manufacturers' Representative, Bodies by 91 Inc, JD's Body Works, J&J Motorsports, Fastlane Wraps.com, Team 5 Enterprises.
The 6-minute feature ended at 11:08 pm and went caution-free, with five drivers on the lead lap.

The top 10 hard charger of Friday's feature was the series only four-time champion, Rob Litton of Alexandria, La., driving the No. 22 Rocket and going from 11th-starting position to finish fifth.

Also on the move in the main event was last season's SUPR Rookie of the Year, Rick Duke, going from 12th-to-seventh, as well as Ronnie Warman of San Angelo, Tex., taking the No. 21w from 14th on the grid, to grab a 9th-place result. Warman's lone SUPR win came at Battleground Speedway a little over 19 years ago, when he parked it in Victory Lane on June 29th, 1996.

SUPR results at Battleground Speedway (Friday):
(1) Tyler Erb, (2) Jon Mitchell, (3) Allen Tippen, (4) Phil Dixon, (5) Rob Litton, (6) B.J. Robinson, (7) Rick Duke, (8) Kody Barber, (9) Ronnie Warman, (10) Danny Zimmerman, (11) Austin Theiss, (12) Robert Metz Jr, (13) Curt Lipsey, (14) Neil Manchester, (15) David LaFleur, (SCR) Shane Hebert, (SCR) Brandon Hightower.
Lap Leaders: Erb 1-20.
Total Laps Led: Erb 20.
Margin of Victory: 1.5 seconds
FEATURE HARD CHARGER:
Rob Litton (11th-starting position to finish 5th).
Heat 1 results: Allen Tippen, Phil Dixon, Tyler Erb, Robert Metz Jr, Austin Theiss, Rob Litton, Shane Hebert (DNF), Brandon Hightower (DNF), Neil Manchester (DNF).
Heat 2 results: Jon Mitchell, Kody Barber, Danny Zimmerman, David LaFleur, B.J. Robinson, Rick Duke, Ronnie Warman, Curt Lipsey.

2015 P&W Sales SUPR DLM Series' Point Standings
(after August 7th at Battleground Speedway)
1. Jon Mitchell (Texarkana, TX) - 1,600
2. Rob Litton (Alexandria, LA) - 1,200
3. B.J. Robinson (Shreveport, LA) - 1,160
4. Tyler Erb (New Waverly, TX) - 1,105
5. Allen Tippen (Minden, LA) - 1,076
6. Kody Barber (Bogalusa, LA) - 1,044
7. Rick Duke (Ball, LA) - 950
8. Patrik Daniel (Wills Point, TX) - 885
9. Danny Zimmerman (Wiley, TX) - 796
10. Ronny Adams (Diana, TX) - 676
11. Shane Hebert (Lafayette, LA) - 613
12. Ray Moore (Haughton, LA) - 604
13. Robbie Stuart (DeRidder, LA) - 574
14. Chandler Petty (Cabot, AR) - 537
15. David LaFleur (Eunice, LA) - 513
16. Robert Metz Jr (Lumberton, TX) - 449
17. Robert Baker (Bryant, AR) - 422
18. Derek Perkins (Oakdale, LA) - 396
19. Zach McMillan (Liberty City, TX) - 381
20. Curt Lipsey (Albany, LA) - 379
21. Casey Findley (Bryant, AR) - 355
22. Lee Davis (Elysian Fields, TX) - 341
23. Timothy Culp (Prattsville, AR) - 287
24. Phil Dixon (Crosby, TX) - 286
25. Brett Frazier (Haughton, LA) - 269
26. Austin Theiss (Hockley, TX) - 258
27. Skip O'Neal (Dallas, TX) - 250
28. David Payne (Ward, AR) - 246
29. Rick Hearnsberger (Arkadelphia, AR) - 245
30. Kevin Sitton (Baytown, TX) - 231
31T. Morgan Bagley (Liberty City, TX) - 186
31T. Stacy Veuleman (Zwolle, LA) - 186
33. David Shepard (Red Oak, TX) - 173
34. Doug Begnaud (Cypress, TX) - 160
35. Tommy Surrett (Little Rock, AR) - 158
36. Tyler Townsend (Longview, TX) - 156
37. Chris Patton (Ruston, LA) - 139
38T. Al Boytis (Mexia, TX) - 135
38T. Ryan Gustin (Marshalltown, IA) - 135
40. Cole Farmer (Glenwood, AR) - 131
41. Jeff Chanler (Minden, LA) - 127
42. Larry White (Arlington, TX) - 122
43T. Chris Taylor (Texarkana, TX) - 121
43T. Howard Willis (Dayton, TX) - 121
45. Arlen Stewart (Benton, AR) - 120
46. Brandon Hightower (Natchitoches, LA) - 110
47. Aaron Drewry (Magnolia, TX) - 105
48. Manny Falcon (Pine Grove, LA) - 94
49T. Jim Bryant (Natchitoches, LA) - 85
49T. Ronnie Warman (San Angelo, TX) - 85
51. Kyle Cummings (Sibley, LA) - 75
52. Patrick Michel (Belle Chasse, LA) - 66
53. Dwight Falcon (Pine Grove, LA) - 61
54T. Austen Dempsey (Pride, LA) - 60
54T. Neil Manchester (Conroe, TX) - 60
56. Randy Timms (Wheatland, OK) - 57
57. Kenny Murphy (Maud, TX) - 51
58T. Nathan Mayes (Springdale, AR) - 50
58T. Lynnsee Provence (Little Rock, AR) - 50
60. Corie Herberger (Covington, LA) - 42
61T. Carl Thomas Jr (West Memphis, AR) - 35
61T. Donald Watson (Central, LA) - 35
63. Michael Sellers (Hensley, AR) - 33
64. Jason Botsford (Pearcy, AR) - 30
65T. Garrett Alberson (Shreveport, LA) - 26
65T. Troy Berdan (Minden, LA) - 26
65T. Nicholas Brown (Quitman, LA) - 26
68T. Jason Bolden (Quinlan, TX) - 25
68T. Chad Ewell (Forney, TX) - 25
68T G.W. Hessong (Edna, TX) - 25
68T. Nate Jantz (McKinney, TX) - 25
68T. Roger Martin (Monticello, AR) - 25
68T. Gene Skelton (Alvord, TX) - 25
68T. Michael Stratton (Sheridan, AR) - 25
*NOTE: Tyler Erb rewarded 5 bonus points for leading the most feature laps