The Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series Fueled by VP would begin its stretch run for the 2026 season on Saturday evening with the 4th Annual Fall 40 at Portsmouth Raceway Park in Portsmouth, OH and Tyler Erb of Waverly, TX would lead all forty laps on the event to score the $10,000 victory. The event would be co-sanctioned with the Coltman Farms Racing Battle of the Bluegrass DIRTcar Series presented by Slicker Graphics.
The win by the 29-year-old Erb would be his third Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series Fueled by VP victory of the season and his fifth career series win and came behind the wheel of the Best Performance Motorsports owned Rocket Chassis powered by a Scott Bailey Race Engine with sponsorship from Langenfelder Mechanical Contractors, First Class Septic, Roberts Bee Company, Anthony’s Pizza, JRR Trucking, Paul Construction, Curtis and Sons Companies, Coles County Speedway, and Sani-Weld Inc.
Tyler Erb would take the lead at the drop of the green flag on the 4th Annual Fall 40 Valvoline A-Main, with Derek Fisher, R.J. Conley, Kody Evans, and Seth Daniels in pursuit. Daniels would pass Evans for the fourth position on lap two, while Erb would put some distance on the field.
The caution would wave on lap six when Shannon Thornsberry would slow in turn four. The attempted restart would see Matt Melvin spin in turn two, while Josh Bocook, Michael Chilton, and Kenneth Howell would tangle in turn four on the attempted restart. The caution would fly again on the attempted restart when Tripp Gerrald would spin on the frontchute.
Once action finally resumed, Erb maintained the lead, while Fisher, Conley, and Daniels would be second through fourth, while Kirk Phillips would pass Evans for the fifth position. While Erb would again stretch his lead, tenth place starting Jason Jameson would mount a charge toward the front, taking the fifth position from Phillips on lap nine.
Erb continued to pull away from the field until the caution appeared once again on lap thirteen when Avery Taylor and Josh Bocook would tangle in turn four. Erb again controlled the restart, with Fisher, Conley, Daniels, and now Justin Cooper in fifth. Jameson would roll past Cooper for the fifth position on lap fourteen and take the fourth spot from Daniels one circuit later. Erb would continue his rapid pace out front and would catch slower traffic on lap twenty-two, while Jameson would take third from Conley on the same circuit. Jameson would drive past Fisher for second on lap twenty-four, Fisher and Daniels would trade slidejobs for the third position, with Daniels finally winning the battle for third on lap twenty-eight.
The final caution would wave on lap thirty when R.J. Conley would spin in turn two. The restart again saw Erb control the restart and maintain the lead, while Jameson, Daniels, and Fisher second through fourth, while 21st starting Colten Burdette would go from seventh to fifth. Erb would maintain between a 1.5 and 2.0 second lead over Jameson, while Burdette would take fourth from Fisher on lap thirty-five. Erb would catch the rear of the field as he saw the white flag wave, but would handle the traffic and score the win, with Jameson, Daniels, Burdette, and Fisher completing the top five. The remainder of the top ten finishers would be Phillips, Miles Cook II, Tripp Gerrald, R.J. Conley, and Rod Conley.
This would be the final event for the Coltman Farms Racing Battle of the Bluegrass DIRTcar Series presented by Slicker Graphics for 2026 and Colten Burdette of Parkersburg, WV would win the series title for the second consecutive season.
The next event for the Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series Fueled by VP will be Saturday October 24 at Montpelier Speedway in Montpelier, OH for the track’s annual Monster Mash event, paying $5,000 to win and $500 to start.
For more information on the Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series fueled by VP, please log on to www.IMDIRT.net or call (828) 361-5981.
The Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series fueled by VP is brought to the fans in the region by many important sponsors and partners: Official partners include, Valvoline Global Operations (Official Oil), VP Racing Fuels (Official Fuel), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Coltman Farms Racing (Checkered Flag Sponsor & Battle of the Bluegrass DIRTcar Series Title Sponsor), Jail Breaker Brands (Official Potato Chip), STAKT Products, DIRTcar Racing, XS Power Batteries (Green Flag Sponsor), Todd Steel Buildings (Move of the Race Award), FloRacing (Rookie of the Year Award), DirtonDirt.com, MD3 (Hard Charger of the Race Award), Conley River Terminal (Hard Luck Award), Impact RaceGear (Official Outfitter), Allgaier Performance Parts & Racing Shocks, Domination Race Cars (Official Victory Lane Sponsor), C&W Sales, Joy Ride Transport, Curtis Towing, MAGA Lift (Official Droop Check Sponsor), Simpson Race Products (Official Safety Equipment), Shane Bailey Racing, Swafford Signs (Official Decals & Graphics), MyRacePass (Official Website), Deatherage Racing Opticians (Middleman Award), Wayne’s Auto Repair (Official Hot Pit Sponsor), Slicker Graphics, Jim & Nancy Viox, JD Enterprise & Dirt Empire Magazine.
Official Summary of Results
Portsmouth Raceway Park-Portsmouth, Ohio
Saturday October 3, 2026
Feature Finish:
1. Tyler Erb-New Waverly, Tex.
2. Jason Jameson-Lawrenceburg, Ind.
3. Seth Daniels-Jackson, Ohio
4. Colten Burdette-Parkersburg, West Va.
5. Derek Fisher-Olympia, Ky.
6. Kirk Phillips-Ashland, Ky.
7. Miles Cook II-Wheelersburg, Ohio
8. Tripp Gerrald-Nicholasville, Ky.
9. R.J. Conley-Wheelersburg, Ohio
10. Rod Conley-Wheelersburg, Ohio
11. Kevin Wagner-Wheelersburg, Ohio
12. Travis Carr-Stoutsville, Ohio
13. Jesse Puckett II-Irvine, Ky.
14. Josh Bocook-Wheelersburg, Ohio
15. Michael Chilton-Salvisa, Ky.
16. Kyle Bond-Coolville, Ohio
17. Justin Cooper-Wheelersburg, Ohio
18. Kody Evans-Camden, Ohio
19. Avery Taylor-South Shore, Ky.
20. Matt Melvin-Coal Grove, Ohio
21. Kenneth Howell-Inez, Ky.
22. Shannon Thornsberry-Martin, Ky.
Derek Fisher (14.932 seconds) set the Slicker Graphics Fastest Hot Lap.
Tyler Erb was the fastest in VP Racing Fuels “Challenge the Clock” Time Trials with a 15.044 second lap among 31 entries and earned the $246 “In Memory of Dennis Selby” Fast Time Award.
Tyler Erb won Joy Ride Transport Heat-1.
Derek Fisher won C&W Sales Heat-2.
R.J. Conley won Curtis Towing Heat-3.
Tripp Gerrald won STAKT Products B-Main.
Colten Burdette won the MD3 Hard Charger Award advancing 17 positions.
Kevin Wagner won the Deatherage Racing Opticians Middleman (11th Place) Award.
Miles Cook II was the FloRacing Rookie of the Race.
Jason Jameson won the Todd Steel Buildings Move of the Race Award.
Justin Cooper won the Conley River Terminal Hard Luck Award.
Quade Schoonover was the STAKT Products First Non-Transfer.
Lap Leaders: Tyler Erb 1-40
Allgaier Performance Halfway Leader was Tyler Erb.
Swafford Signs White Flag Leader was Tyler Erb.
Deatherage Racing Opticians Caution Flags: Six (lap 6, 6 restart, 6 restart, 6 restart, 13, 30)
Time of Race: 27 minutes, 8 seconds.
Provisional Starters: Colten Burdette, Miles Cook II
Margin of Victory: 1.919 seconds.
Heat One Finish: Tyler Erb, Kody Evans, Matt Melvin, Jason Jameson, Michael Chilton, Shannon Thornsberry, Caiden Black, Miles Cook II, Michael Conley, Colten Burdette
Heat Two Finish: Derek Fisher, Kirk Phillips, Josh Bocook, Rod Conley, Kyle Bond, Jesse Puckett II, Corey Lewis, Quade Schoonover, Travis Carr, Matt Cook
Heat Three Finish: R.J. Conley, Seth Daniels, Justin Cooper, Avery Taylor, Kenneth Howell, Tripp Gerrald, Kevin Wagner, Austin Mullett, Chase Hunley, Darren Kattine
B-Main One Finish: Tripp Gerrald, Shannon Thornsberry, Jesse Puckett II, Travis Carr, Kevin Wagner, Quade Schoonover, Chase Hurley, Austin Mullett, Michael Conley, Corey Lewis, Miles Cook II, Colten Burdette, Caiden Black (DNS-Darren Kattine, Zach Hill, Matt Cook)
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