Erb Jr. uses strong start to propel him to victory lane in MARS super late model feature

QUINCY — Dennis Erb Jr. surveyed the situation and came to an immediate conclusion.

“We knew we had to get out fast,” said Erb, when looking at the starting lineup for Sunday night’s Midwest Auto Racing Series feature event at Adams County Speedway.

Most of the premier power plants were scheduled to start at or near the front in a feature lineup that showcased 26 ground-pounding 800-horsepower Super Open late models.

Fortunately, Erb was able to do precisely what he wanted in a careful and meticulous fashion. 

The 51-year-old veteran from Carpentersville, Ill., worked his way from a fourth starting position to the front by lap 11 and was never headed in the 40-lap finale that earned him $5,000 in front of more than 2,100 fans.

“The track was taking a lot of rubber, and we were able to set the pace,” said Erb, who is not a regular on the MARS tour.

Ryan Unzicker of El Paso, Ill., who won the 2023 MARS race in Quincy, mounted a couple of mild challenges but could never get past Erb. Unzicker settled for the $2,500 runner-up check. 

Unzicker was satisfied with his finish, an effort that kept him within string distance (443-391) of series points leader Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., who finished third in the race.

“I really enjoyed tonight,” said Unzicker, who was quick to remind that as much as he races, it’s not his full-time occupation. “(My crew and I) all have to work tomorrow. It takes a lot to run this series.”

Feger, who pocketed a $2,000 third-place check, loves racing at 8000 Broadway, but has never been able to capture a checkered flag at the speedway. He’s been coming to Quincy for major events since 2006.

“This place always does a great job, but we’re still searching for our first win here … we have a lot of second- and third-place finishes,” he said. “We missed the setup a little tonight for the feature.”

The top finisher with a local tie-in was Matt Bailey of Highland, Ill., who ran a strong fifth. Bailey was once a regular at the track when he lived in Quincy, but has been gone for about a decade.

Ricky Frankel of Quincy finished 11th after leading the first 10 laps of the feature. Justin Reed of Camp Point was 12th, Jason Perry of Payson finished 13th and Darin Weisinger Jr. of Mendon was 25th.

MARS heat winners were Erb, Feger and Unzicker. Erb (12.807 seconds) was the top qualifier at 82.923 mph.

The total MARS payout was $29,800, part of an overall purse of $48,255.

Will Krup of Mount Carmel, Ill., led the majority of the 30 laps in the MARS modified feature, holding off a late charge from Michael Long of Liberty. Ryan Thomas of Brownstown, Ind., wound up third and Austen Becerra of Carthage was fourth.

Krup, one of the hottest modified drivers in the nation, has won 14 of his last 15 starts. He picked up $2,000 for his Sunday night win.

“I just tried to be patient at first,” Krup said. “We got the lead, and I just kind of cruised, even though I knew Michael (Long) was right behind me.”

Long, who is the points leader of the MARS modified series, won $1,500.

“We lost a little bit in the feature, but it was all good,” he said. “I’ll take it.”

Thomas was grateful for his third-place finish and the $1,200 check.

“We just finished our car up on Saturday,” he said. “I was just glad nothing fell off.”

Becerra led 14 laps during the first half of the race, but was victimized by a couple of restarts when he had to surrender sizable leads and was unable to make another run toward the front. Becerra earned $1,000.

Heat wins went to Krup and Becerra. Krup’s 13.749 qualifying effort (77.242 mph) was the best of the season for a modified on the .295-mile Bullring surface.

Other support series feature winners were Ricky Frankel III in stock cars, Matthew Mackey in 4-Cylinders and Jacob Jones in Crown Vics. Those three classes were the only divisions racing for points Sunday night.

Frankel’s feature victory was the first of his career and kept him in the stock car title hunt. Heat wins went to Frankel and Alan Cottom.

Robert Cottom (307), Jacob Rexing (307), Rudy Zaragoza (298) and Frankel (286) are the stock points leaders.

Mackey’s win was his second of the season. He also picked up one of the division’s three heat wins, the other two going to Jaden DeLonjay and Jordan DeLonjay.

Jaden DeLonjay (563) and Kim Abbott (419) have pulled away from the rest of the field on the 4-Cylinder points chase.

Jones’ Crown Vic victory was his third in a row and fourth of the season. Jones and Jake Etter collected heat wins. Updated Crown Vic points were not available.

Speedway Notes

• There were late model drivers on hand  Sunday from seven states: California, Louisiana, Oregon, Florida, Wisconsin, Missouri and Illinois.

• There will be no racing at the speedway July 28. The track will be closed for the Adams County Fair.

• There are only four more Sunday nights of points racing (Aug. 4, 11, 18 and 25).

• Becerra inched closer to breaking his own record for modified earnings in a season. He now has $10,770. He established the series record a year ago with $11,620. The overall track record for all classes belongs to Mark Burgtorf, who earned $17,520 in the late model division in 2006.

• Frankel’s feature win in the stock division was the first time this season the main event was not won by either Rexing or Robert Cottom.