Carl McKinney learned how to race the right way - and he chose the right teacher.

The Cranberry Township resident served as a member of Late Model driver Lynn Geisler's pit crew for five years before getting behind the wheel himself.

"I always knew I wanted to race," McKinney said. "I knew Lynn really well and joined his crew, figuring I'd bide my time and learn as much as I could."

Geisler, also of Cranberry Township, won his 100th career Lernerville Speedway Late Model feature this season.

McKinney won his second E-Mod points title in three years at Sharon Speedway.

"The biggest difference between a Late Model and E-Mod is in the seat," Geisler said. "The cars themselves are pretty similar.

"It's a tribute to Carl that he's able to contribute to my race team on Friday nights and do so well for himself behind the wheel on Saturdays," he added.

McKinney is in his 10th year of working with Geisler's team.

"He's an all-around guy who can do just about anything for us in the pits," Geisler said. "Whatever we need him to do on a given night, Carl can fill in."

Learning through Geisler spared the 33-year-old driver a lot of money and a lot of trial and error.

"I never had to go through that stuff," McKinney said. "Lynn filled me in on the do's and don'ts. If I have a question, Lynn's gonna tell me the best approach. Whatever he says, I'm going with."

While that strategy has paid off for him in the E-Mod division, McKinney's ultimate goal is to be racing a Late Model of his own on Friday nights at Lernerville.

"I'm trying to get that done, hopefully within two years," he said. "I have to get more sponsorship and when that comes together, I'll take the next step."

In the meantime, he plans to return to Sharon Speedway next spring to begin a run at a third E-Mod points championship.

"Why not?" McKinney said. "We seem to have a good thing going there."

McKinney has won 10 features in his racing career, all in the E-Mod division. He won the points title at Sharon in 2002 by 47 points over Richard Stiffler of Cortland, Ohio.

He arrived at this year's title in awkward fashion. Though McKinney edged Jeff Sharp of Canfield, Ohio, by just six points - 1,050-1,044 - he had built a 96-point lead with two racing nights remaining.

"I wanted to build that lead because I didn't want any pressure on that final night," McKinney said. "I wanted some margin for error."

He wound up needing it when his No. 6M broke down during the heat race and the B-Main Aug. 21, preventing McKinney from competing in the feature.

His lead was trimmed to six with one night to go. McKinney received the points title when Sharon's Aug. 28 card was rained out.

"I wanted to go out and race for it," McKinney said. "We all did. Nobody ever wants a rainout."

Like many dirt track race teams, McKinney's is family oriented. His father, Wes McKinney, is his crew chief. Brother-in-law Bill Fraser and cousin Joe Soha also help him in the pits, along with a friend, Jimmy Smith.

McKinney's girlfriend, Rebecca, publishes a monthly newsletter at the track.

McKinney was exposed to racing at a young age. His father worked in the pits for Dave Broman, who raced at Butler Speedway and Lernerville during the late 1970s.

"As soon as I got my driver's license, I drove to Lernerville to watch the races," McKinney said. "I didn't know when it would happen, but I always knew I'd be racing at some point."