Instead of seeing the black-and-white checkers, Erb’s heart sank when the yellow flag flew for an accident in turn 2. In an instant Erb’s four-second lead evaporated into the Eldora dust.
The caution set up a double-file restart and two-lap shootout for the Dirt Late Model Dream presented by Ferris Mowers, a crown jewel event for late models.
Erb, 43 from Carpentersville, Ill., chose the outside row on the restart and rocketed away from the field for his first Dream victory. He beat runner-up Josh Richards by 1.1 seconds.
It was also the first time a driver from Illinois won the Dream.
“All I’ve got to say is, ‘How ‘bout that Illinois?” said Erb, who unfurled an Illinois flag and proudly waved it while on top of his late model on the victory lane stage.
Erb led 33 of the 101 laps, including the final 12. He battled West Virginia’s Josh Richards as the two traded the lead four times during the final 71 laps. Erb grabbed the lead for good on lap 90 when he went low coming out of turn 4. He stretched the lead to four seconds on lap 99 before the caution.
“My heart dropped coming to that checkered flag coming out of that corner,” Erb said. “I didn’t know what was going to happen after that. … I just knew we had a good car. Just fortunate there. We made the right decision and picked the right line at the end.”
The win came in Erb’s sixth Dream start. He finished third in 2015 and second in 2013.
Richards, searching for his first crown jewel victory at Eldora, led laps 70-89 after he went high and beat Erb in a drag race down the front stretch. Richards was involved in the final caution and didn’t have anything for Erb on the final restart after suffering damage to his car.
“I knew it was going to be a long shot,” said Richards, who settled for $20,000. “We had a lot of damage. The left front corner was dragging the ground and I spun the tires on the start because the nose was dragging. I thought we might have a little bit of a shot there, I just needed another car length or two to get a run down into three. But what can I say? We’re a lot closer than what we were.
“I had a blast out there. Congrats to Dennis and those guys. The best car won the race and he did a great job.”
Georgia’s Dale McDowell, the 2014 Dream winner, finished third. Defending champ Jonathan Davenport, also from Georgia, finished fourth. Indiana’s Don O’Neal (2011 winner) finished fifth.
Iowa’s Chris Simpson, Ohio’s Devin Moran, Georgia’s Shane Clanton (2012 winner), South Carolina’s Chris Madden and Arizona’s Ricky Thornton Jr. rounded out the top 10.
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