BUFFALO TWP — Last June, Johnny Garvin Jr. tasted victory for the first time at Lernerville Speedway.

He hasn't won there since.

But he's knocking on the door — in more ways than one.

Garvin, 30, tallied 382 points in the Late Model division last season. The Freeport graduate and Sarver resident finished second, 57 points behind champion Alex Ferree of Saxonburg.

Garvin tallied seven top-finishes last year.

“Winning the points is something we want this year,” crew member Kevin Bittner said. “It's within our reach. We have a good car.

“I think we'll be better and another year's experience always helps.”

Garvin's father, Johnny Sr., raced from 1977 through 1997 and compiled more than 20 career feature wins. He never won a Lernerville points title, however.

“My dad really wants me to get one,” Garvin Jr. admitted. “It's important to him and I would love to make it happen for him.

“Personally, I'm not a big fan of racing for points. It can be stressful. But, yeah, we're one of the contenders. But there's probably 10 other contenders here every week, too.

“You have to be consistent and you have to stay clean. A little luck doesn't hurt, either,” Garvin added.

Garvin's race team had to borrow another car and motor to finish out the final two weeks of last season.

“We're in good shape with parts and equipment this year,” Bittner said.

Garvin began this season early, heading to Volusia, Fla., in February for DIRTcar Nationals and qualifying for a show there. He raced at Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park on consecutive Friday nights before Lernerville's season opener.

“We won our heat race, had the pole and led the feature for 24 laps there,” Garvin said. “Then I got caught behind an accident involving lapped cars and I had nowhere to go.

“That's all part of racing. Sometimes you're just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Lernerville will likely be the only track Garvin runs for points this season.

“We should be in the mix here,” he said. “We want to hit a few other tracks and experience different things that way, too.”

Bittner added that if Lernerville rains out early enough on any given Friday, “we'll head for Attica again. We want to stay active.”

Tuffy Hyte, “the brains behind the operation,” said Garvin, and John Demmie are other key members of his crew.

One thing Garvin doesn't worry about is the other competition on the track on a given night.

“I want to be competitive no matter who's out there,” he said. “The day you worry about other people who run here is when you lose sight of your own program.

“We'll show up, put our car out there and take our chances.”

Garvin's season debut at Lernerville last week resulted in a fourth-place heat race finish and fifth-place in the feature.

Lernerville Speedway Points

(top 15 through April 18)

Sprints

Logan Wagner 36, Danny Holtgraver 36, Carl Bowser 34, Cory Good 31, Brandon Matus 30, Jack Sodeman Jr. 27, Sheldon Haudenschild 27, Jared Zimbardi 27, Mike Lutz 24, Brent Matus 19, Dan Shetler 19, Scott Priester 18, Wes McGlumphy 17, Brandon Spithaler 16, Andre Layfield 16

Late Models

Russ King 38, Mike Pegher Jr. 36, Jared Miley 35, Alex Ferree 34, John Garvin Jr. 29, Brian Swartzlander 26, Michael Norris 26, Tommy Beck 25, Chuck Sarver 24, Kenny Schaltenbrand 22, Dan Swartzlander 20, Brandon Wearing 17, Doug Eck 17, Gary Lyle 16, Terry Rayko 14, Todd Bachman 14

Modifieds

Mat Williamson 38, Brian Swartzlander 37, Erick Rudolph 35, Rex King 33, Brad Rapp 30, Dave Murdick 30, Rex King Jr. 26, Steve Feder 24, Mike Turner 23, Tom Winkle 20, Rodney Beltz 20, Jeremiah Shingledecker 19, Bob Warren 17, Rick Regalski 15, Carl Murdick 14, Mark Frankhouser 14

Sportsman Stocks

Terry Young 37, Corey McPherson 36, Mark Sanders 35, Jim Fosnaught 34, Rob Shook 28, Bob Egley 25, Brett McDonald 24, Joey Zambotti 23, Jeff Miller 21, Stan Riggle 20, Pat Hanley 19, Scott Byers 18, Paul Schreckengost 17, Aaron Easler 16, Neil Tristani 16