BUFFALO TWP— Brian Birkhofer made all of the right decisions this week.

As a result, the Iowa driver of the No. 15 Late Model wound up with the biggest payday of his life.

Birkhofer passed World of Outlaws points leader Darrell Lanigan on the 70th lap, pulled away from the field and won the second annual Firecracker 100 Tuesday night at Lernerville Speedway.

It was his third win on the Outlaws tour this season and his first-career triumph at Lernerville. The $40,000 first prize more than doubled the $33,000 in season winnings he had earned coming into the race.

"It's only one win in the books, but it puts some big juice into the arm of my checkbook,"Birkhofer said.

The first correct decision Birkhofer made was to come to the race in the first place. The Firecracker 100 took place 31 days later than scheduled after it was rained out June 28 and Birkhofer and his wife had a vacation planned for this week.

"She wasn't too happy at first,"Birkhofer said. "But I'm sure someone's already calling her about this."

The second right decision? Avoid Pittsburgh Steelers training camp.

A lifelong Steelers fan, Birkhofer considered taking a day before the race to go to Latrobe.

"I really wanted to go up there," he admitted. "But I figured I'd better help work on the car, stay here and get stuff done. This is what's important to us."

The most critical decision Birkhofer made was during the race itself. Starting from the fourth position, he ran the bottom groove all night, patiently waiting for a chance to make a move on Lanigan.

Lanigan started up front and led the race for the first 70 laps.

"Darrell was riding the top cushion and driving hard off there through the turns," Birkhofer said. "He had to keep turning those perfect laps.

"Scott Bloomquist has won a lot of races on this circuit by sitting back, biding his time. I just did the same. I didn't want to run up top. I'm not comfortable there. I'm not as good as lot of these guys."

Lanigan bobbled slightly between turns 3 and 4 on the 70th lap and Birkhofer got in front of him.

From there, Lanigan needed a caution, but never got one.

"I sure could have used one,"Lanigan admitted. "Brian was running the bottom well and I was running the top well. That (caution) was my only chance to get him."

Birkhofer beat Lanigan to the checkered flag by nearly a full straightaway.

"When you start up front and lead for 70 laps, you want to win it,"Lanigan said. "It's disappointing getting second."

The 100-lap race had only four restarts, the final one occurring on the 62nd lap.

Shannon Babb finished third after starting 13th.

"We took a stab at it and I'm thrilled with our finish,"Babb said. "This track was definitely shiny and real racy."

The only bad decision Birkhofer made was coming a little close to Clint Smith's lapped car as he scooted past Smith with five laps remaining.

The two cars came into contact briefly, but both stayed the course.

"I was lapping a bunch of guys and didn't mean to get into him,"Birkhofer said. "That would have been my fault if something bad happened there."

But for Birkhofer, it was all good on this night.

His racing helmet features black and gold and he gleefully waved a Terrible Towel in victory lane. Birkhofer donned a Steelers cap after the race.

"To win a race like this near Pittsburgh is too cool for me," he said. "I mean, this is awesome. I'll be back for a couple of Steeler games this fall. I won't forget this."

Mike Knight of Ripley, N.Y., won the Uncle Sam 30 and received $3,000 for the victory. He passed pole-sitter Ron Davies on the 14th lap and led the rest of the way.

Notes: There were 56 Late Models in the pits. ... Gregg Satterlee of Rochester Mills was the highest finishing area driver in the Firecracker 100, taking 16th. ... Area drivers Matt Lux and John Mollick qualified for the Firecracker through the B-Mains. ... Bloomquist, last year's Firecracker 100 winner, won his B-Main, started the feature 20th and finished seventh. ... Steve Francis, the Outlaws Late Models' all-time feature win leader with 17, finished fourth.

TuesdayWorld of Outlaws Late Models Firecracker 1001. Brian Birkhofer (Muscatine, Iowa), 2. Darrell Lanigan (Union, Ky.), 3. Shannon Babb (Moweaqua, Ill.), 4. Steve Franis (Ashland, Ky.), 5. Billy Moyer (Batesville, Ark.), 6. Chub Frank (Bear Lake), 7. Scott Bloomquist (Mooresburg, Tenn.), 8. Tim McCreadie (Watertown, N.Y.), 9. Earl Pearson Jr. (Jacksonville, Fla.), 10. Tim Fuller (Watertown, N.Y.), 11. Rick Eckert (York), 12. Josh Richards (Shinnston, W.Va.), 13. Chris Madden (Grey Court, S.C.), 14. John Blankenship (Williamson, W.Va.), 15. Vic Coffey (Leicester, Ky.), 16. Gregg Satterlee (Rochester Mills), 17. Dan Stone (Thompson), 18. Donnie Moran (Dresden, Ohio), 19. Clint Smith (Senoia, Ga.), 20. Coleby Frye (Dover), 21. Matt Lux (Franklin), 22. Lynn Geisler (Cranberry Twp.), 23. John Mollick (Toronto, Ohio), 24. Shane Clanton (Locust Grove, Ga.), 25. David Scott (Garland), 26. Mike Blose (New Bethlehem), 27. Alex Ferree (Saxonburg), 28. Brandon Kinzer (Allen, Ky.)Uncle Sam 30(top 10 finishers)1. Mike Knight (Ripley, N.Y.), 2. Ron Davies (Warren), 3. Rick Briggs (Pa.), 4. Brent Rhebergen (Clymer), 5. Dave Hess Jr. (Waterford), 6. Russell King (Bristolville, Ohio), 7. John Flinner (Zelienople), 8. Keith Barbara (South Park), 9. Gary Lyle (Hyde Park), 10. Chuck Kennedy (Mars)B-Main I (top 4 to Firecracker)David Scott, Rick Eckert, Vic Coffey, John MollickB-Main II (top 3 to Firecracker)Scott Bloomquist, Dan Stone, Matt LuxC-Main (top 4 to B-Mains)Ken Schaltenbrand (Sarver), Russell King, Jared Miley (South Park), Rick Briggs