BUFFALO TWP — Winning really is contagious.

Sprint driver Danny Holtgraver, 20, of Pittsburgh culminated a season of frustration Friday night at Lernerville Speedway by winning his first career feature at the Sarver track.

Holtgraver, who already owns feature wins at Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway, Mercer and Sharon, had won seven heat races and piled up nine top-five finishes this season before finally grabbing the checkered flag at Lernerville.

Aliquippa's Tim Shaffer, a longtime World of Outlaws and All-Star Sprint driver, just claimed the winner's purse of $150,000 at the Knoxville (Iowa) Nationals last week. He helped Holtgraver's crew with the No. D4 car's setup in the pits Friday night.

"I usually listen to my dad on that stuff," Holtgraver said. "But Dad was listening to Tim, so I figured I'd listen to him, too.

"The car felt really tight, but Tim kept telling me, 'Just drive. Just drive. ... Go wherever you want to on the track.' He was right. This car was super."

Holtgraver started from the seventh spot and took the lead from Bob Felmlee off Turn 2 on the 20th lap. Felmlee wound up second.

The race also included Outlaws drivers Dale Blaney and Butler's Brian Ellenberger, along with all-time track win leader Ed Lynch Jr. Blaney and Ellenberger finished third and fourth, respectively.

Lynch, who lost his brakes early in the feature race, wound up seventh.

"Those guys were in my heat race and I beat them there, then I beat them in the feature," Holtgraver said. "To win here means everything to me. I've waited five years for this."

Sarver's Carl Bowser, who finished ninth after winning the B-Main, said Friday's win caps Holtgraver's season.

"He's had a great year. Danny deserves this," Bowser said. "He'll be the first one to say he was pretty horrible here for a few years, but he put it together this year.

"That first win is the toughest to get. I'm happy for him."

So is Shaffer.

"I was more nervous watching him than I was at Knoxville," Shaffer said. "I've helped Danny with a few little things in the pits a few times, but he did this on his own tonight. All I did was encourage him."

Holtgraver expanded his points lead to 20 over Lynch with one week of points racing remaining.

"I wasn't even thinking about points," Holtgraver said. "I was racing to win."

Blaney said there weren't many places to pass on the track.

"Once I got to third, there was no way to get up with Danny and Bob," he said. "I felt my car was right there with theirs, but 25 laps can go by pretty quickly.

"It's important for drivers to win at Lernerville because there's more history here than at other tracks in this area."

In other features:

n Brian Swartzlander of Leechburg tied Lou Blaney's career record of 69 Modified feature wins at Lernerville. He started third and took the lead from pole-sitter Dave Murdick on the eighth lap.

"Lou's a legend. He's still the king," Swartzlander said.

"There was a time in my career I just wanted to win one feature. I never dreamed I'd be matching his win total anywhere," he added.

Swartzlander has won five times here this season.

n Jared Miley of South Park led from the third lap on to win his first Late Model feature at Lernerville since July 24, 2009.

Doug Eck of Corry finished second and points leader Dave Hess Jr. was third.

Miley has seven career feature wins at Lernerville.

n Mount Pleasant's Joe Kelley grabbed the lead on Turn 2 of the third lap and cruised to his ninth Sportsman Stock win in 16 features here this season.

Kelley increased his career win record at the track in the division to 41.

Notes: There were 76 cars in the pits. ... Next Friday ends the points season. Kelley clinched the Sportsman Stock points crown last week. Kevin Bolland has a 24-point lead on Swartzlander in Modifieds and Hess has a 38-point lead on Miley in Late Models. ... Holtgraver's seven heat wins are the most in any division.