From Kevin Kovac,
UMP DIRTcar Racing Public Relations

EVANSVILLE, IN - October 23, 2008 - Just call him Mr. UMP DIRTcar Racing.

After sweeping the UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals and national Super Late Model championships for the second consecutive season, the moniker clearly suits Dennis Erb Jr.

Yes, Erb, 36, of Carpentersville, Ill., has become the poster boy for the Midwest's well-known grassroots short-track organization.

"Running with UMP just fits my program," said Erb, an owner-operator known as the 'One Man Band' who hails from the heart of UMP DIRTcar country. "We can stay close to home and run a lot of good-paying races, so, with my budget, it's the most feasible way for me to try to make some money."

A fulltime professional driver, Erb has certainly found racing on the UMP DIRTcar circuit to be a formula for financial success. For the second straight year he'll collect a hefty chunk of points-fund cash to help get him through the winter and prepare for 2009 - a total of $50,000, including $25,000 for the Summer Nationals, $20,000 for the national crown and $5,000 for capturing the UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned Northern Allstars Late Model Series championship.

The road Erb took to that booty was a bit less stressful than in 2007, when he became the first driver in UMP DIRTcar history to win the Summer Nationals and national Super Late Model points titles in the same season. While he once again engaged in a close battle for the Summer Nationals trophy, he needed no dramatic, second-half rally to grab the national championship. This year he simply cruised to the national title, clinching it with several weeks of points racing remaining.

"This year was definitely a little different," Erb said of his pursuit of the UMP DIRTcar national crown, which was determined using drivers' 40 best finishes/points nights. "Last year we were over 200 points behind (Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill.)
in the national points after the Summer Nationals and had to chase him down to the last couple races, but this year we got a little bit of a lead after the Summer Nationals and were able to run with it to the end.

"We had a little bit of breathing room this year, so that made it a little easier on us. We didn't have to worry about what track we were gonna go to every week to make sure we'd race against the most cars possible to get (national) bonus points (which are based on car counts)."

Erb's total of 15 UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned feature wins fell short of the 20 victories he tallied in 2007, but he entered the month of June with just a single circuit triumph to his credit. A Tri-Track Challenge win on June 1 at Macon (Ill.) Speedway got him rolling heading into the Summer Nationals and he never looked back.

On the strength of two wins (at Haubstadt, Ind., and Lawrenceburg, Ind.), 15 top-five and 19 top-10 finishes in 20 Summer Nationals A-Mains (his only placing outside the top 10 came when he experienced a mechanical malfunction on the final lap of a race), Erb out-pointed Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., for the grueling tour's championship in mid-July. Then, through the conclusion of weekly points racing at the end of September, he pulled away in the national standings with victories at seven different tracks in four states, including an Aug. 2 score at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo., that was worth $16,000 thanks to a $10,000 bonus he received for capturing two of the season's three Tri-Track Challenge events.

Erb capped his championship campaign in style, winning his first-ever feature at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, in the points-season-ending UMP DIRTcar Nationals on Oct. 4 and clinching his first career NALMS title with a triumph on Oct. 10 during the tour's concluding weekend at Quad City Raceway in East Moline, Ill.

"We had a real good year," analyzed the low-key Erb, who also registered 10 runner-up finishes this season in UMP DIRTcar events en route to a 292-point margin of victory (3,285-2,993) over Steidinger in the national standings. "To go out and win a championship anywhere proves that you had a good season, a good car, good equipment and you race good.

"When you can come back and win both of championships, it just shows that we're on top of things and we run good all year long."

With help from such backers as Petroff Towing, J&J Steel, Thomason Transportation, C.J. Rayburn Race Cars and Rhyne Engines and a dedicated volunteer mechanic in Heather Lyne, Erb has assembled a team that's become the envy of the UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model world.

And he couldn't be happier about reaching the pinnacle of a circuit that's in his blood.

"When you've grown up running with the (UMP DIRTcar) series, it means a lot to be on top of it," said Erb. "With the caliber of drivers that UMP has and the number of cars we have to compete against the whole year, winning a championship is an accomplishment."

For more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing, visit www.dirtcar.com.

Official Final 2008 UMP DIRTcar Racing Super Late Model National Points Standings (driver/points):

1. Dennis Erb Jr. 3285 2. Wes Steidinger 2993 3. Jason Feger 2888 4. Steve Sheppard Jr. 2718 5. Brian Shirley 2695 6. Kevin Weaver 2669 7. Michael Kloos 2570 8. Brian Ruhlman 2451 9. Rusty Schlenk 2439 10. Eric Smith 2425 11. Ryan Unzicker 2418 12. Mike Hammerle 2322 13. Daren Friedman 2147 14. Mike Schulte 2135 15. Jayme Zidar 2131 16. Scott Bull 2087 17. Dusty Moore 2072 18. Randy Korte 2062 19. Jeep VanWormer 2034 20. Will Vaught 2008


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