BUFFALO TWP— Danny Smith and Brian Ellenberger saw their luck change Tuesday night at Lernerville Speedway.

Smith's turned for the better. As for Ellenberger's — not so good.

The Butler driver of the No. 20 car was one of the fastest qualifiers during time trials, won the fast dash with room to spare, drew the pole for the 35-lap All-Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Feature and led that race for the first 30 laps.

But Ellenberger went too high off Turn 2 of the 31st lap, slipped off the top of the cushion and lost the lead to Smith, who kept it the rest of the way to gain the $5,000 winner's purse.

"I know I've got a good car and a good spot in the feature,"Ellenberger said after winning the fast dash. "Now it's up to me.

"I know the track is gonna change. It's going to slick off and it's already starting to dry out between turns 1 and 2. That's where most of the passing is going to be."

Ellenberger added that motors "run crisper in cooler weather like this and this weather gives old drivers like me a break."

Motors require gasoline to work, however, and Ellenberger ran out of fuel.

He gradually slipped toward the middle of the pack during the final few laps before his car stopped on the front straightaway near the flag stand, moments before Smith's No. 4 car beat Rod George across the finish line.

"I was hoping they'd throw the checkered right there,"Smith said. "I really didn't need to run two more laps."

As Ellenberger's car was ushered to the pits, Smith held off George again to claim his 30th career Sprint All-Star series win and his first career victory at Lernerville.

"I've been here for Outlaws and All-Star shows since 1980," he said. "I've finished second, finished third. ... It feels good to finally get one.

"That was a tough break for Brian, though. He was hooked up tonight."

One of Ellenberger's crew members said after the race that "they must have run 70 laps out there. We lost ground late because we were running out of fuel. What are you gonna do?"

Smith, of Danville, Ind., said he had two gallons of fuel in his tank at the end of the race.

"I wanted to be safe, not sorry," he said.

Smith knows all about tough breaks. His garage burned down four years ago. His wife died a year and a half ago.

His new garage was finished this spring and "my personal life is looking a whole lot better," he said. "Things are positive again."

George, a veteran Lernerville driver from Kittanning, nearly spoiled Smith's party on the final turn of the final lap. He ran the low groove most of the night before he was forced to challenge Smith up high around the final turn.

Smith beat him to the checkered by about a car length.

"We were right there,"George said. "I gave it what I had. It just didn't work out. Second place in this race is a good finish for us."

"I had to take that bottom groove away,"Smith said. "I could feel (George) next to me and I was afraid he'd slide underneath me at the end."

Ed Lynch Jr. of Apollo, who had the fastest qualifying time at 13.017 seconds, finished third, holding off Dale Blaney.

"There was a good race going on in front of me,"Lynch said. "All I could do was hang on with Dale coming up behind me.

"I needed more (lapped) traffic. I didn't need any more laps. I was as good as I was gonna be tonight. It was fun watching Danny and Rod. They put on a show."

Notes:Dave Groves of Morgantown, W.Va., won the 20-lap UMPModified feature. ... There were 60 cars in the pits, including 36 Sprints. ... Fab Four racing returns to Lernerville Friday.