Tyler Erb’s full-time Outlaws return paid off with career-best third in standings
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 2, 2026
Tyler Erb returned
Tyler Erb’s return to full-time national late model racing in 2026 put him back in the thick of the World of Outlaws Late Model title picture with Best Performance Motorsports. It was his first full-time World of Outlaws Late Model season since 2018, a long gap after he spent the 2024 and 2025 seasons on a self-directed “Fun Tour.” Erb said the move back to a full-time schedule brought “exponential” growth, and the results supported that view. With five races left in the season, he sat third in the championship standings behind Bobby Pierce and Nick Hoffman, and that spot marked a career high. He also had four wins in 2026, a run that gave him a strong season by any standard. Erb said it had been solid, even if it had come up a little short of his goals. The return did what a comeback to a national series should do, it put him in a position to measure himself every week against the drivers setting the pace.
Tyler Erb learned
The biggest value in Erb’s season came from the weekly fight at the front. He said racing elite competition helped him understand his strengths and weaknesses better, and he pointed to Pierce and Hoffman as the benchmark he had chased all year. That kind of pressure could expose flaws fast, but it also sharpened a driver’s game. Erb’s comments showed how much he gained from the grind of full-time competition, not just from the wins and the points total. Every week gave him another chance to compare himself with the best drivers in the series and to see where he stacked up when the field was at its toughest. That mattered as much as the standings. Best Performance Motorsports gave him a full-time seat again, and Erb used it to test himself in direct company with the top of the championship race. The season was about more than one line in the standings. It was about building a sharper read on what worked, what did not and how he fit against the best late model drivers in the sport.
Tyler Erb balanced
Erb also was entering a new stage away from the track. He said he was preparing to become a first-time father with fiancée Emma Hodge, a change that added another layer to a season already defined by movement and momentum. That personal news sat alongside a year that brought competition, growth and change. Dennis Erb Jr. was part of that picture, too. Tyler Erb said he had a bond with the fellow Rocket Chassis driver. The year brought competition, growth and change in the same stretch. It also showed how much ground Erb had covered since stepping away from full-time national racing after 2018. At the same time, he was preparing for fatherhood and a new chapter with Hodge.
