Tyler Erb’s weekend at the DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park began with a sudden, race-ending heat crash that destroyed his Best Performance Motorsports No. 1. Running third in the heat after qualifying fourth, his car veered into the inside wall exiting Turn 4; Erb said he didn’t know what happened and briefly considered ending his night before his crew and nearby competitors helped get a backup machine ready. Pushed into service, the backup started the main event from a provisional 26th spot and Erb methodically charged through the field, reaching the top 15 within 12 laps and ultimately salvaging an eighth-place finish — a result he pointed to as evidence the team had the speed to contend.

The recovery carried into Friday: Erb qualified on the pole for his heat, won that heat wire-to-wire and drew fourth for the feature. He rallied from that starting spot to finish a strong runner-up behind Hudson O’Neal, even running side-by-side for the lead on the final lap. That performance underscored the rebound from Thursday’s setback and reinforced Erb’s confidence in the team’s speed during his first full World of Outlaws Late Model season.

Saturday brought another challenge, sending Erb through the Last Chance Showdown and resulting in a 16th-place finish in the main event. Because the series’ winter scoring counts each driver’s five best results of the eight races, the weekend’s poor result should have limited impact on his points standing. With help from crew members and fellow competitors who assisted in readying the backup, Erb left Volusia focused on improving for the upcoming Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals (Feb. 12–14) and the Swamp Cabbage 100 (Feb. 20–21), his weekend marked by resilience, quick recovery and racecraft under pressure.

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