BUFFALO TWP— The last night of points racing at Lernerville Speedway produced some fabulous firsts Friday.

Danny Holtgraver and Dave Hess Jr. won their first track points championships, Joe Kelley became the first seven-time Lernerville points champion and Chicora's Mike Miller won his first feature in 10 years.

Holtgraver, 20, of Pittsburgh finished fifth in the Sprint feature, which was good enough to beat out Ed Lynch Jr. by 10 points in the final standings.

Holtgraver had eight second- or third-place finishes at the Sarver track this season before notching his first career Lernerville feature win last week.

"I didn't think this would ever happen, let alone this year," Holtgraver said. "As bad as I was here the last four years? No way.

"Kevin Schaeffer told me before the race that if I finished fifth, the title was mine. Starting 13th and finishing fifth with the field of cars we had out here tonight feels like a win to me."

There were 24 Sprint cars in the pits, some of which were checking out the track for next Friday's All-Star race. Dale Blaney of Hartford, Ohio, started fifth and won the race.

"We had a good car and we just figured it out this year," Holtgraver said. "I felt more comfortable because I knew the car was good. I wasn't afraid to hit the corners hard because I knew it would stick.

"Any driver will tell you it's better to be lucky than good," he added. "And we had our share of luck this year."

Hess will attest to that sentiment.

The Late Model driver clinched his first points championship during the heat races. He took a DNF in the feature.

Hess of Waterford won four features at Lernerville in 2010.

"The breaks went our way all year. You have to have that," he said. "We came down here with the same equipment as last year and we couldn't do a thing here last season.

"Alex (Ferree) couldn't lose a race here a couple of years ago. This year, he struggled. It comes and goes."

Saxonburg's Ferree was the three-time defending points champion. He won only one feature in 2010. Defending Sportsman Stock champion Bob Lipinski failed to finish higher than fifth in a feature.

Hess' father, Dave Hess Sr., won Late Model points titles here in 1980 and 1983. They became the eighth father-son duo to claim Lernerville points crowns in the track's 42-year history.

Others to do so were Lou and Dale Blaney, Ed Lynch Sr. and Jr., Bob Wearing Sr. and Jr., Pee Wee and Mark Flick, Carl and Dave Murdick, Ed and Alex Ferree, Dick and Craig Rankin.

"We can't afford to keep driving down here every Friday year after year," Dave Hess Jr. said. "We did it this year because I wanted to grab one of these (points) titles in the same division my father did."

Jared Miley of South Park won Friday's Late Model feature, his second victory in as many weeks after going more than a year without seeing victory lane.

New Brighton's Kevin Bolland started seventh, grabbed the lead from Jeremiah Shingledecker on a 22nd-lap restart and won the Modified feature. He also clinched his third track points title, winning in 2002 and 2006 as well.

"This is an awesome way to get it done," Bolland said. "I just wanted to stay out of trouble and we wound up winning.

"I've had a lot of seconds (five) and there's no shame in that, but we got a lot of bad pill draws. The car's been good all year and I feel like we should have gotten a few more wins."

Bolland won four features at Lernerville this season. Brian Swartzlander won five and was bidding to break Lou Blaney's career track Modified win record Friday.

After winning his heat race, Swartzlander had to pit on the fifth lap of the feature with a flattened rear left tire and a damaged left rear end on his No. 83 car.

"I passed a guy and he runs right over me," Swartzlander fumed after the race. "Our car was good enough to win tonight. I was able to come back out, but the car was never the same."

Having to tag the back of the field after the mishap, Swartzlander managed to finish third in the feature. He'll have one more chance to break Blaney's record this year as a Modified special is scheduled for Lernerville in late September.

Kelley clinched the Sportsman Stock title two weeks ago, beating out runner-up Bob Egley by more than 100 points.

It was his seventh Lernerville championship and first since 2004.

Kelley won nine of the 17 Sportsman Stock features raced here this year.

"I don't race for those things. If they come, they come," Kelley said of the points titles. "I didn't feel like I was dominant. Other guys just had bad luck and I was there at the right time."

Miller won his first Stock feature since July 7, 2000. He started third and took the lead for good on Turn 1 of the 15th lap.

His car's owner, Ron Thompson, had a heart transplant last year.

"I'm happy to do this for Ron," Miller said. "It's been a long time. My son was in the womb last time I won here and he's 9 years old now."

Notes: Kelley, Holtgraver and Saxonburg's Wayne Carbo had seven heat wins each this season. Kelley won the National Guard Heat Race Challenge as the tiebreaker was most feature wins. ... All-Star Sprints and Late Models come to Lernerville next Friday.