Night two of the WinterNationals goes Tyler Erb‘s way getting to victory lane with a thrilling win at East Bay. Erb had to hold off Brandon Overton, not once but twice on the final lap to seal the victory.
After taking the lead from Overton with three laps to go, Erb thought he had won. Only to find out the caution flag flew just before he took the checkered. What was a relief for Erb, turned into a moment where he had to get back on the wheel one more time. Brandon Sheppard cut a tire in turn one while the battle for the lead entered turn three. Sheppard slowed down the back and forced the yellow to fly. It came down to a one lap shootout between Erb and Overton.
Erb go the jump and sailed to victory lane. It’s Erb’s first win of the new year. Following the previous night’s performance and the rough practice session, it was important to get the win Tuesday night.
“It feels really good. Last night was kind of a heartbreaker and practice I crashed this thing right at the end,” Erb said following the win. “It means a lot, my guys work really hard and my boss spends a lot of money for me to come out here and do this. When I get to stand up here it’s just a representation of all of them.”
.@Terbo_91 climbs from his @BestTerbo1 @Rocket_Chassis in #LucasDirt Victory Lane @eastbayracepark pic.twitter.com/7zvYu84iFg
— #LucasDirt 🏁 (@lucasdirt) January 27, 2021
Early Cautions
Early on there was not much of a rhythm the drivers could get into. On lap one there was a caution taking out some big names including Tim McCreedie, Gregg Satterlee and Dennis Erb, Jr. Following the restart only one lap later another yellow flew. Again another lap went by and the caution flew again. The lap three caution saw Jimmy Owens and Kyle Strickler get involved with a couple other drivers. Three laps in and three cautions had already flown on the 30 lap feature.
Things would settle in and so did Brian Shirley. He led the first handful of laps and really had set a good pace between him and the field. Unfortunately, for Shirley the yellows weren’t done flying. On lap 9 a caution flew for Shane Clanton billowing smoke from his car. This would set up the next restart and the final 20 laps.
Overton would make it four-wide at the restart and take the lead on lap 10. From there it was Overton pacing the field. Sheppard closed the gap and found himself running second and Erb in third with 10 laps to go. Laps wound down and it still was a three way race before Erb pulled a slider on Sheppard to get by him.
Three-Driver Battle for the Win
Once Erb passed the reigning World of Outlaws Late Model champion he had his eyes set on Overton. A little help from lapped traffic gave Erb the chance. He took advantage of the opportunity with three to go. The two were side by side at the line with the advantage going to Erb.
Overton hung on the quarter panel of Erb for the next lap before the race saw Erb gain a car length or two on Overton. As they came to the white flag, Erb had to have one clean lap and the race was his. He did his part of the deal but not all things come that easy. A caution flew right as Erb took the checkered flag for a flat tire on Brandon Sheppard’s car.
This set up the one lap shootout. Erb had to hold off Overton one last time and was successful. Erb gained the advantage at the start and put away Overton and the race as he wins the feature event at East Bay on Tuesday. Overton took second, Shirley was third, Josh Richards was the name on the move as he started his night in the B-main before placing fourth and Kyle Bronson took fifth.
The pole sitter Tanner English wound up finishing in sixth place and Monday night’s winner Hudson O’Neal took home eighth place on the night. Sheppard would finish 19th after the flat tire.
Top Ten from East Bay Raceway Park.
1. Tyler Erb
2. Brandon Overton
3. Brian Shirley
4. Josh Richards
5. Kyle Bronson
6. Tanner English
7. Johnny Scott
8. Hudson O’Neal
9. Devin Moran
10. Tyler Bruening
