Blair, Erb, Jr., Miley Take WoO LMS Pennsylvania Victories

Max Blair (left), Dennis Erb, Jr. (center), and Jared Miley (right) were all victorious over the World of Outlaws Case Late Model race weekend in Pennsylvania. Photos: Jacy Norgaard

Max Blair, Dennis Erb, Jr., and Jared Miley were all winners in World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series action in the Keystone State over the weekend.

Blair kicked the weekend off on Thursday with a win at Pennsylvania’s Bloomsburg Fairgrounds Raceway. Erb, Jr. topped the field on Friday at Pennsylvania’s Marion Center Raceway, while Miley capped the weekend on Saturday at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway.

On Thursday night, Max Blair thundered past pole sitter Jeff Rine on the opening lap, and went on to lead all 40 laps en route to the win at Bloomsburg Fairgrounds Raceway.

It marked the second series win of the season for the Centerville, Pennsylvania driver, and his third at Bloomsburg.

“Having some prior experience at this place was huge,” Blair said. “It races different than any place I’ve ever been.

“I felt like the first time I was here, it took a while to get the handle of it, so I think being here was a big deal. I don’t know how much I’ve really applied setup-wise, but driving-wise, it was an advantage.”

However, his experience wasn’t the only factor leading Blair to the checkered flag. He had some luck on his side toward the end.

“We actually have a flat tire,” Blair said. “The right rear was going down on that last caution. I thought I could feel it lean over more and more, and it’s flat now.

“So, we got a little lucky there, that’s for sure. But that was a heck of a start to the weekend.”

Dennis Erb, Jr., finished in second, with Josh Richards in third, Tanner English in fourth, and Zebulon, Georgia’s Shane Clanton in fifth.

On Friday night, Dennis Erb, Jr. grabbed the lead from Rick Eckeret off turn two on the opening lap, and went on to hold off Shane Clanton on numerous restarts to score the win at Marion Center Raceway.

The win was worth a $10,000 payday for the Carpentersville, Illinois racre, as he recorded his second series win of the season.

The veteran driver knew getting ahead of Eckert at the start was a key to victory.

“You definitely needed to get out front,” Erb said. “We had a good start. We were able to roll up through the middle and just carry speed like we needed to. After that, it was kind of just hitting our marks and keeping it upfront.”

The importance of Erb hitting his marks wasn’t only key on green flag runs but also restarts. The Illinois campaigner had to defend his lead from Clanton several times.

“Once we got rolling there, I was rolling pretty good,” Erb said. “You get in a little rhythm and stuff, and you don’t want to see any of those cautions come out. But we fired off real good, and everything went good after that.”

Clanton held on for second, followed by Josh Richards in third, Gordy Gundaker in fourth, and Jon Lee in fifth.

On Saturday night, Jared Miley took the lead form Rick Eckert to score his first career series victory at Port Royal Speedway.

Miley rose from his fifth starting position, working the bottom of the racetrack. He picked off cars one by one until he climbed to second place.

He pulled alongside Eckert for the lead as the only caution of the event slowed the field. Back under green, Miley powered under Eckert in turns 1 and 2 to take a lead he wouldn’t relinquish.

The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania driver thought that caution may have kept him from reaching the $10,000 prize as he tried to anticipate Eckert’s next move on the restart.

“I was a little bit worried,” Miley said. “I kind of just got beside him, and I was worried he would move down on me and take my line away and get me messed up. Luckily, he couldn’t stay down there because he tried to move down, but he couldn’t.”

Miley needed 21 laps to take the lead but wasn’t sure of his car’s strength. He stated that everything came together at the right time.

“The car was good, and I didn’t really expect to be that good,” Miley said. “We’ve been gaining on some stuff, and (Saturday), everything just came together.

“Once I got (to second) and saw Rick leading, I knew I could get him, and I did and just tried to maintain a smooth line and just keep the car under me.”

Gregg Satterlee, Max Blair, Eckert, and Colton Flinner rounded out the top five.

Up next, the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models return to the Buckeye State May 27-28 at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio. For more information, visit WorldofOutlaws.com.

WoO Case Late Model Series
Bloomsburg Fairgrounds Raceway – Bloomsburg, PA
Race Results – May 19, 2022

1. 111V-Max Blair
2. 28-Dennis Erb, Jr.
3. 1-Josh Richards
4. 81E-Tanner English
5. 25-Shane Clanton
6. B1-Brent Larson
7. 0E-Rick Eckert
8. 99B-Boom Briggs
9. 24-Dylan Yoder
10. 45-Kyle Hammer
11. 0G-Deshawn Gingerich
12. 19R-Ryan Gustin
13. 11-Gordy Gundaker
14. 22-Gregg Satterlee
15. 4S-Ryan Montgomery
16. 06-Mike Lupfer
17. 2S-Dan Stone
18. 32J-Shaun Jones
19. 2J-Jeff Rine
20. 1*-Chub Frank
21. F1-Coleby Frye
22. 2-Andrew Yoder
23. 12B-Andy Boozel
24. 119-Bryan Bernheisel

WoO Case Late Model Series
BMarion Center Raceway – Marion Center, PA
Race Results – May 20, 2022

1. 28-Dennis Erb, Jr.
2. 25-Shane Clanton
3. 1-Josh Richards
4. 11-Gordy Gundaker
5. 5L-Jonathan Lee
6. B1-Brent Larson
7. 81E-Tanner English
8. 0E-Rick Eckert
9. 111V-Max Blair
10. 1*-Chub Frank
11. 10-Jared Miley
12. 99B-Boom Briggs
13. W3-John Weaver
14. X3-Wyatt Scott
15. F1-Coleby Frye
16. 4S-Ryan Montgomery
17. 45-Kyle Hammer
18. 21-Matt Lux
19. 1C-Alex Ferree
20. 19R-Ryan Gustin
21. 48-Colton Flinner
22. 44-Danny Snyder
23. 22-Gregg Satterlee
24. 7-Drake Troutman

WoO Case Late Model Series
Port Royal Speedway – Port Royal, PA
Race Results – May 21, 2022

1. 10-Jared Miley
2. 22-Gregg Satterlee
3. 111V-Max Blair
4. 0E-Rick Eckert
5. 48-Colton Flinner
6. 66C-Matt Cosner
7. 25-Shane Clanton
8. 81E-Tanner English
9. 28-Dennis Erb, Jr.
10. 4-Gary Stuhler
11. 45-Kyle Hammer
12. 19R-Ryan Gustin
13. 1-Josh Richards
14. B1-Brent Larson
15. 11-Gordy Gundaker
16. 24-Dylan Yoder
17. 2T-Kyle Lee
18. 119-Bryan Bernheisel
19. 76Z-Andy Haus
20. 21-Chad Myers
21. 99B-Boom Briggs
22. 32-Travis Stickley
23. 74-Tyler Hershey
24. 06-Mike Lupfer
25. 9Z-Mason Zeigler

 

About Mike Warren