Erb Takes Herald & Review 100 at Macon
Speedway
By Brett Zerfowski
Macon,
IL (July 8, 2010) - The DIRTcar Summer Nationals
made their yearly visit to Macon Speedway Thursday with much
anticipation with the points
chance very close. Dennis Erb, Jr. of Carpentersville has won
three-straight Summer Nationals points championships and was
leading the chase
into the 30th Annual Herald & Review 100.
Former Macon Speedway track champion Brian Shirley was the fast
car very early being the fastest of the 34 drivers in the Late
Model division. He was a heat winner and started at the pole position
for the 100-lap event. Through the first 54 laps, Shirley was nearly
untouchable. He weaved his way in and out of the lapped traffic
and opened up on second place driver, and two-time Herald & Review
100 champion, Shannon Babb.
Heading into the 55th lap, which by that time had only experienced
two cautions, Babb caught a groove and got fast. He passed Shirley
as he banged his way off the walls along the 1/5th-mile dirt track.
Babb’s lead would hold until Jason Feger, of Bloomington,
IL., took over on lap 62 as the race’s third leader. Feger
raced on the high groove to start stretching his lead from second-place
Babb, who continued to run along the bottom. A yellow came out
on lap 80 to force Feger and Babb to a bumper-bumper scenario and
on the restart, Babb got an incredible burst of speed from the
bottom to bump and pass Feger and regain the lead with only 19
remaining.
Babb was trying for his second-straight Herald & Review championship
but after a caution on lap 94 and the restart, Erb, Jr., who had
closed the gap running tightly across the bottom of the racetrack,
took advantage of a mistake by Babb. On the 96th lap coming out
of the second turn, Babb got loose and sent him barreling towards
the backstretch wall. That opened up the door for Erb and he jumped
past Babb for the race’s final laps to claim his first Herald & Review
100 championship. Babb’s recovery would allow him a third
place finish behind Feger and in front of Greenbriar, AR, driver
Jack Sullivan. Macon Speedway regular Kyle Logue posted a sixth-place
finish.
The race lasted 41 minutes and went through six caution flags.
Shirley led the most laps with 54 and exited on lap 59. Babb totaled
21 leading laps, Feger had the lead for 18 and Erb finished the
race with 3 laps to win.
The UMP Modifieds were also apart of the show and Dave Crawley,
Jr. won his fifth feature to extend his two-point lead in the division
over Aaron Burcham, who finished fifth in the 20-lapper. Mark Tullis
was the second-place finisher and Bloomington, IN., native John
DeMoss made his first trip to Macon Speedway a decent showing taking
third.
Another exciting night of racing is due on Saturday with the sponsor
of the Sportsman class, Touchstone Energy, coming to Macon Speedway
for Touchstone Energy Night. It will also be a special night for
the firefighters with the Fireman’s Ball as all firefighters
and their families will be admitted into Macon Speedway for half-price
showing proper identification. The POWRi Micros will be apart of
the show which will feature a Sportsman’s Qualifier for the
Springfield Mile race in August.
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