BUFFALO TWP — Christmas in July was a fitting theme at Lernerville Speedway Friday night.

For three drivers — Rod George, Greg Satterlee and Del Rougeux Jr. — Christmas came early as each found themselves in victory lane, one for the first time, others after a hiatus.

But all Alex Ferree found was a lump of coal.

Yellow flags also flew like snowflakes on a tricky night at the Sarver track. Perhaps no one benefitted more from the squall of yellow than George. The Kittanning native took advantage of eight caution flags in the Sprint feature to claim his third victory of the season.

It was his first since June 15.

"I tell you what, we definitely needed (the cautions)," George said. "Without those last few cautions, we never would have got there."

George, who started the race 11th, trailed until the final two laps, when he moved ahead of KevinShaeffer.

With each caution, he got himself into better position until he finally grabbed the lead and held it.

George said the track was slick at one end and solid at the other, making for an intriguing and challenging race.

"It was kind of the best of both worlds out there," George said.

Or the worst.

Drivers of all models found maneuvering through turns one and four a difficult proposition. Those turns and the front straightaway produced the most mishaps Friday night.

It also sent Ed Lynch Jr. home early.

During the third heat race in the Sprint division, Lynch lost control on the fourth turn and flipped his car twice.

Lynch had won five features this year at the track.

George, though, deftly avoided trouble in the 25-lap race that lasted nearly 45 minutes, taking a chance on lap 23 to earn himself a win.

"I took my shot," George said. "It was either going to work out or I was going to flip it. It worked out."

Things also worked out for Satterlee, who survived another flurry of caution flags and restarts in the Late Model race to claim his first victory at any track.

Satterlee, 22, began racing two years ago. The Rochester Mills native didn't think he would reach victory lane so early in his career.

"It's still kind of sinking in," he said.

Satterlee has been steadily improving this season. He had five top 10 finishes and has placed as high as fourth.

He also took advantage of some late cautions to grab the victory.

"I knew the car was good," Satterlee said. "I know I got some breaks. Alex (Ferree) spun out and I saw (Matt) Lux pulling off — those are some guys who give me problems."

The key to Satterlee's success was his persistence. He hung around as cars crumbled and skidded around him and outlasted his competition.

"Ifelt pretty comfortable," Satterlee said. "I just had to be patient."

He had to hold off Keith Barbara and Ferree, who had a disastrous start, spinning out early. That miscue forced him all the way to the back.

The Saxonburg native fought back to third, which was no silver lining for Ferree.

"No. Not at all," he said. "Driver error. That's all that keeps going through my mind."

Ferree kept his streak of top-five finishes alive at Lernerville. He has placed in the top five in all 11 feature races this season.

"I was just trying to keep the car clean," Ferree said. "Cars are darting everywhere, so you have to keep it clean and go, try not to hit anybody."

Rougeux had a chance to refamiliarize himself with victory lane. The Frenchville native came into the night with seven top-five finishes in the Modifieds division this season, but no victories.

Until Christmas came early for him, too.

The key to Rougeux's night was the smooth performance of his car, which took the difficult turns at the Sarver track well.

"I'm just loving this car," he said. "It's a little bit tight, but I always drive my cars a little bit tight."

Notes: Jason Fosnaught of Creighton claimed the Pure Stock win, his first of the season after finishing second twice previously. ... There were 89 cars in the pits, including 27 Pure Stocks, and only 14 Modifieds.