WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Tyler Erb Leads 39th Summer Nationals into Week 2 Against National, Regional Stars
DAVENPORT, IA (June 18, 2024) – Six races in three different states is on tap for Week 2 of the 39th DIRTcar Summer Nationals, led by points leader and the only race winner thus far – Tyler Erb.
Erb leads the Late Model field into another weekly championship chase, which begins Tuesday, June 18, at the Iowa 1/4-mile of Davenport Speedway. Then, it’s off to Adams County (IL) Speedway on Wednesday, Spoon River Speedway on Thursday, Brownstown Bullring on Friday, Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 Saturday and Lincoln Speedway on Sunday.
DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals competition resumes Wednesday at Adams County, continuing through Sunday at Lincoln. Kentucky driver Hunt Gossum leads the points standings with three top-five finishes in the first three races. The Series looks for its fourth different winner to start the season at Adams County.
Tickets for each event will be on sale at the gate on race day. If you can’t be at the track to watch in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.
Here are the drivers to watch and storylines to follow this week:
STREAK KEPT A ROLLIN’ – Three races, three wins on the Hell Tour for Tyler Erb.
With his third-straight Summer Nationals Feature win at Fairbury Speedway Saturday night, the 27-year-old from New Waverly, TX, has won the first three Late Model races of the season – a feat last accomplished by six-time champion of the Summer Nationals, Billy Moyer Sr.
Following the Sunday rainout at Sycamore, Erb has officially clinched the Week 1 points championship, making a total of $35,000 in winnings for him in only three races. He’s scheduled to compete in all six events during Week 2 in search of more Feature wins and another $10,000 weekly points championship bonus. He’ll try and make it four wins-in-a-row Tuesday at Davenport.
CHASING GREEN – Currently sitting third in the overall championship standings, Jason Feger is prepared for another week of competition on the Hell Tour.
Feger, 46, of Bloomington, IL, clinched the Week 2 points championship last year, sealing the $10,000 check with wins at Brownstown and Lincoln. Historically, Feger has done well at both tracks with five of his 26 career Summer Nationals Feature wins coming at the two tracks.
Last week, the reigning MARS Late Model champion posted two top-fives and three top-10s in the three races contested. His best finish of third came at Fairbury Speedway on Saturday against a deep field of 48 DIRTcar Late Models – the highest car count thus far.
SUMMIT MOD STREAK – The DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals heads into Week 2 of competition, going on a stretch of three different winners in the first three races.
Current DIRTcar UMP Modified national points leader Mike McKinney, of Plainfield, IL, won the season opener Wednesday at Peoria Speedway, reigning MARS Modified champion Michael Long won Friday at Tri-City Speedway, and Trevor Neville scored his first career Summit Modified win Saturday at Fairbury.
The Summit Modifieds went five races before getting a repeat winner in 2023. The record for the most races without a repeat winner is 11, which happened in the tour’s second season of operation in 2012. Multi-time UMP Modified national champion Devin Gilpin won the opening race at Indiana’s Brownstown Speedway and was the first to repeat 10 races later at another of his home-state tracks – Lincoln Park Speedway.
PEACH STATE REPRESENT – Garrett Smith has made public his plans to follow the entire Week 2 schedule as he shoots for a weekly championship and his first Summer Nationals win.
Smith, the 20-year-old Dirt Track World Championship winner from Madison, GA, has two career appearances with the Summer Nationals, both of which came in 2022. His best run came at Springfield Raceway in Missouri when he finished 13th in the main event.
After Georgia-Florida Speedweeks in February, the former national touring racer has primarily raced around the Midwest. His one win this year came in February at Screven Motorsports Complex in his home state of Georgia.
BACK FOR MORE – Dillon McCowan has also made public his plans to follow the Summer Nationals though Week 2 and will come into the six-race stretch sitting fourth in the points standings.
McCowan, 20, of Urbana, MO, made his Summer Nationals debut in 2023, notching a sixth-place finish after starting 15th on the grid at Springfield Raceway in Missouri. Since then, he ran the three races last week, posting a best finish of third in the season opener at Peoria.
The former Modified racer made the transition to full-time Super Late Model racing last year and has already won twice this year – once in DIRTcar competition at Kankakee County Speedway in May.