ROSSBURG, OH – Oct. 3, 2007 – This weekend’s UMP DIRTcar Racing Fall Nationals at Eldora Speedway will serve as a coronation for Super Late Model star Dennis Erb Jr.
 
The two-night racing meet will be a battle to the final lap, meanwhile, for open-wheel Modified standouts Denny Schwartz and Jeff Leka.
 
Carpentersville, Ill.’s Erb heads into the Friday/Saturday (Oct. 5-6) UMP DIRTcar Racing points-season finale with the sanctioning body’s 2007 Super Late Model national championship already secured. His late-summer/early-fall surge has him 41 points ahead of Fairbury, Ill.’s Wes Steidinger – a deficit that Steidinger can’t overcome in Eldora’s 40-lap, $10,000-to-win A-Main on Saturday night.
 
The UMP DIRTcar Racing open-wheel Modified national points race is an entirely different story. Ashmore, Ill.’s Schwartz leads Buffalo, Ill.’s Leka by a scant two points, making it very likely that the title won’t be decided until the checkered flag falls in Saturday night’s 25-lap, $3,000-to-win feature for the division.
 
Erb, 35, clinched his first career UMP DIRTcar Racing Late Model national title last weekend. With Steidinger not entering any UMP DIRTcar Racing-sanctioned events over the weekend, Erb’s victory on Saturday night at Kamp Motor Speedway in Boswell, Ind. – the 22nd of the season for the driver known as the ‘One Man Band’ – and a fifth-place finish in Sunday night’s rain-shortened ‘Fall Harvest Shootout’ at Quad City Raceway in East Moline, Ill., allowed him to wrap up the $20,000 crown.
 
Both Erb and Steidinger plan to compete in this weekend’s UMP DIRTcar Racing Fall Nationals, but even an Erb DNF and Steidinger victory wouldn’t change the national points standings. With both Erb and Steidinger already passing the best-50-finishes benchmark that is used to determine the champion, Steidinger can only gain a maximum of 14 points by winning the event (he’s replacing a seventh-place finish worth 66 points).
 
Erb will go into the recordbooks as the first driver in the history of UMP DIRTcar Racing Super Late Model action to win the Summernationals and national points championships in a single season.
 
“It feels great to become the first person to win both the UMP national championship and the UMP Summernationals in the same year,” Erb said in a team press release. “I was so far behind in the (national) points chase after the Summernationals that no one knew if I could make that many points up. But we set our minds to it and survived a great point battle with Steidinger. 
 
“It is a relief to finally have it over with though, as we can now focus on winning the UMP Fall Nationals instead of worrying about the points.”
 
There will be no relaxing at Eldora for the UMP DIRTcar Racing open-wheel Modified national title contenders. Schwartz and Leka are so close, one misstep could ruin their hopes of winning the championship, which is determined using a driver’s best 35 finishes of the season.
 
Schwartz, who leads Leka 2,513-2,511, is in the driver’s seat to win his second UMP open-wheel Modified national crown in the last three years. With a fifth-place for 72 points being his next race to replace, he can unofficially assure himself of the title by placing third in Saturday night’s A-Main.
 
Leka, who is seeking his first-ever UMP open-wheel Modified national championship, will have just one option: win the feature. If Leka captures the 25-lapper and Schwartz fails to finish in the top-four spots, the former NASCAR Weekly Racing Series national champ would unofficially claim the title by two points over Schwartz.
 
Leka, who has 27 feature wins this season, is looking to replace a third-place finish for 76 points this weekend. That means only a win or runner-up finish will allow him to pick up more points – and if he finishes second, the best he could do is tie Schwartz for the title. The two drivers could also unofficially finish in a tie if Leka wins the race and Schwartz finishes fourth.
 
A repeat of the 2006 UMP DIRTcar Racing Fall Nationals would be fine with Leka, who came from the 11th starting spot to score his first-ever win at Eldora in last year’s 25-lap A-Main. Schwartz, who entered last year’s Fall Nationals feature needing a top-five finish to have a shot at the title, finished a quiet ninth.
 
The UMP DIRTcar Racing national points standings will remain unofficial until an audit of all drivers is completed.
 
A huge field of cars is expected for the Fall Nationals, which have found a home at the high-banked, half-mile oval. Last year a total of 70 Super Late Models and 110 UMP DIRTcar Racing open-wheel Modifieds entered the event.
 
A talented army of drivers is expected to join Erb and Steidinger in the Super Late Model field. Some of the racers with plans to attend include top-five UMP points men Randy Korte of Highland, Ill., Steve Sheppard Jr. of New Berlin, Ill., and Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill.; World of Outlaws Late Model Series regulars Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky. (last year’s Fall Nationals winner) and Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va.; Eldora’s recent Johnny Appleseed Classic victor Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning, Mich.; 2007 Sunoco American Late Model Series champ Brian Ruhlman of Clarklake, Mich.; Scott James of Lawrenceburg, Ind.; Bart Hartman of Zanesville, Ohio; and Wayne Chinn of Tipp City, Ohio.
 
Action kicks off on Fri., Oct. 5, with time trials for the Super Late Models and Modifieds; heat races for the Modifieds; and the Race of Champions for both divisions. The pit and spectator gates will open at 1 p.m., and hot laps are set to begin at 6:15 p.m.
 
On Sat., Oct. 6, the pit and spectator gates will open at 2:30 p.m. Racing is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. with heat races for the Super Late Models, followed by B-Mains and the features for both divisions.
 
Adult general admission is $5 on Friday night and $20 on Saturday. All kids 15 and under will be admitted free on Friday, and on Saturday admission is $12 for kids 12-15, $5 for children 7-11 and free for those 6 and under.
 
A weekend combo pit pass costs $40, while a Saturday-only pit pass is $25.
 
After the racing is completed on Friday night, a Barn Party will take place with D.J. Good Vibrations spinning tunes.
 
For more information on the UMP DIRTcar Racing Fall Nationals, visit www.eldoraspeedway.com or call 937-338-3815.
 
Additional info on UMP DIRTcar Racing is available by visiting www.umpracing.com.
 
2007 UMP DIRTcar Racing Late Model National Points Standings as of Oct. 1 (Rank/Driver/Points/Races Counted – Maximum of 50):
 
1. Dennis Erb Jr. 3378 50
2. Wes Steidinger 3337 50
3. Randy Korte 3235 50
4. Steve Sheppard Jr. 3186 50
5. Jason Feger 3019 50
6. Kevin Cole 2917 50
7. Mike Hammerle 2693 50
8. Ryan Dauber 2648 50
9. Mike Schulte 2604 50
10. Richie Hedrick 2499 49
11. Kevin Weaver 2478 50
12. Brian Ruhlman 2473 44
13. Jeep VanWormer 2472 43
14. Rusty Griffaw 2454 50
15. Scott Bull 2422 50
16. Rusty Schlenk 2416 48
17. Rodney Melvin 2208 41
18. Shannon Babb 2164 36
19. Ed Dixon 2163 47
20. Don O’Neal 2154 36
21. Joe Harlan 2071 44
22. Rick DeLong 1994 35
23. Ryan Unzicker 1981 48
24. Mark Voigt 1904 44
25. Dustin Mooneyham 1902 42
 
2007 UMP DIRTcar Racing Modified National Points Standings as of Oct. 1 (rank/driver/hometown/races counted – max of 35/points/feature wins):
 
1. Denny Schwartz/Ashmore, IL 35 2513 18
2. Jeff Leka/Buffalo, IL 35 2511 27
3. Shelby Miles/Bloomington, IL 35 2398 12
4. Bobby Martintoni/Livingston, IL 35 2330 9
5. Jesse Cramer/Spencer, IN 35 2324 9
6. Gary Cook Jr./Deer Creek, IL 35 2321 3
7. Kent Robinson/Bloomington, IN 35 2311 4
8. Bobby Bittle/New Athens, IL 35 2266 6
9. Bub Patrick/San Pierre, IN 35 2247 12
10. Randle Sweeney/Clifty, KY 35 2246 21
11. Ryan Thomas/Martinsville, IN 35 2222 3
12. McKay Wenger/Fairbury, IL 35 2205 7
13. Todd Sherman/Churubusco, IN 35 2185 3
14. Danny Schwartz/Ashmore, IL 35 2157 14
15. Dave Porth/Gardner, IL 35 2154 7
16. Matt Bex/Aroua, IN 35 2152 3
17. Mike Spatola/Manhatten, IL 35 2135 2
18. Tim Reynolds/Boswell, IN 35 2104
19. Jon Henry/Ada, OH 35 2088 4
20. Chuck Haga/Bismark, IL 35 2080 1
21. Rob Fuqua/Paris, IL 35 2077 4
22. Matt Boknecht/Seymour, IN 35 2073 6
23. Andy Sprague/Muskegon, MI 35 2072 13
24. Kevin Hastings/Kankakee, IL 35 2066
25. John McCaul/Montague, MI 35 2064 14