BUFFALOTWP — The numbers tell the story for Lynn Geisler.

The veteran driver of the No. 1CLate Model from Cranberry Township recorded his 106th Lernerville Speedway career victory in that division Friday night at the Sarver track.

That victory pulled him within 11 of Bob Wearing Sr.'s Lernerville Late Model victory record of 117, which has stood since 1988. No driver has won more than 81 features here in any other division.

But win No. 105 for Geisler didn't come easily.

Geisler took the lead on a second-lap restart, then lost it to Matt Lux on an 11th-lap restart. He regained the lead on a 12th-lap restart, then lost it to Sam Stile on a 17th-lap restart.

He regained the lead for good on a 24th-lap restart — the eighth restart of the 25-lap race.

"It's frustrating when that happens,"Geisler said. "It always seems to be the same drivers out there causing them, too."

Regardless, Geisler became the first repeat winner in the Late Model division this season by sliding up in front of Stile on the second turn off the final restart.

"I should have started up on top,"Stile said in retrospect, instead opting for the low groove on the track for the final restart. "I didn't think Lynn would have enough push to get up in front of me, but he sure did."

Stile is no stranger to victory lane himself, having won 47 features at various tracks over the past four seasons, including the first Lernerville win of his career last week.

Geisler and Stile were side-by-side coming off the final turn of the final lap. Geisler beat Stile to the checkered flag by .145 of a second.

"The competition is why I came here,"Stile said.

When asked about catching Wearing's Late Model record, Geisler managed a smile despite suffering from the flu all day.

"That (117 wins) is a benchmark, and breaking it isn't going to come easily. That's why it's a benchmark,"Geisler said. "If I get it, I'll be thrilled. If I don't, I have no problem being second to Bob Wearing Sr."

Sprint Feature

Ed Lynch Jr. started 12th but recorded his second consecutive feature win at the Sarver oval, taking advantage of an accident that took out the first- and second-place cars.

Scott Priester of Rimersburg was running first through eight laps when Terry Bowser spun out in front of him on the fourth turn. Priester's car got into Bowser's and then second-place driver Andy Priest hit the wall while trying to avoid the pile-up.

Priest, who was driving the No. 15 car for the vacationing Arnie Kent, flipped the car after hitting the wall.

Lynch took the lead from Kevin Schaeffer on Turn 4 of the ninth-lap restart and won the race going away.

Lynch's win was his fourth at Lernerville this season.

Modified Feature

Lucky 7 was working for Kevin Bolland Friday night.

After car problems in the heat race forced Bolland to start 21st — three times seven — in the feature, the New Brighton driver of the No. 777 weaved his way to victory on the date 7-7.

After erring in the car's set-up, his team pulled two push rods and a sparkplug, forcing Bolland to run his heat race on seven cylinders, giving him a seventh-place finish.

Bolland started fourth on an 18th-lap restart, but split right through the three cars in front of him to grab the lead.

"We had a bad heat race because we were thrashing around in the engine (in the pits),"Bolland said.

The rear of Bolland's car was smoking at times, but he held on for his 35th career Lernerville feature win, including his fourth this year and second in a row.

Bolland's mother is in UPMC Shadyside receiving treatments for leukemia. His trophies are resting on the window sill of her hospital room — on the seventh floor.

Pure Stock Feature

In a bizarre race that had four re-starts on the opening lap, sending seven cars to the pits before the first lap was completed, Greg Beach of Chicora found victory lane at Lernerville for the first time since May 2005.

Beach started ninth but was in third by an 11th-lap restart. He moved up to second when race leader Bob Egley had to pit with a flat tire.

Beach took the lead from Jason Fosnaught on the back straightaway following the restart. Fosnaught wound up hitting the wall off Turn 4, sending his car flipping and spiraling violently through the air. He was not hurt in the crash.

"The car's been coming around,"Beach said. "It's a new car. We've been playing with it. ... A lot of it is me getting used to driving it. It's a lot different from my old car."

The win was the eighth of Beach's career at Lernerville.

Notes: There were a season-high 100 cars in the pits. ... Gary Rankin's fifth-place finish in the Sprint feature is his best this season. ... Bob Wearing Jr. of Renfrew had his No. 1WLate Model towed off the track on the first lap of his heat race. He started the feature 24th and wound up seventh.