BUFFALO TWP — Brandon Spithaler wasted no time getting the lead.

From there, it was just run to glory.

Spithaler, 21, of Evans City, started third in the Sprint feature Friday night at Lernerville Speedway. Once the green flag waved, he immediately darted his No. 22 car between and past front-row racers Brent Matus and Dan Kuriger.

With no cautions past the third lap, it was smooth sailing as Spithaler secured his first-career Lernerville feature win in just his third full season in the Sprint division.

“I don't think I ever let off the throttle,” Spithaler said. “I was flat-footed through that whole race.”

Before Friday, Spithaler had never won a feature anywhere besides Mercer Raceway Park. But he made this one look easy.

He had as much as a straightaway lead over second-place car Brandon Matus through most of the race.

“We guessed right on the setup and I have to thank my crew for that,” Spithaler said. “We made the car tighter for the feature and the track slicked off by about the 13th lap.

“If we didn't make that adjustment, I would have faded at that point. And this track was racy, top, bottom, in the middle it didn't matter ... Lernerville is never like that.”

Brandon Matus agreed.

“This was the most fun I've had in a race in a long time,” Matus said. “You could fly out there tonight.”

But there was no catching Spithaler, even though Matus did cut into his margin of victory over the last couple of laps.

“Nah, I don't think so,” Matus said of passing Spithaler if he had more laps. “That guy ran a heck of a race. The way he was weaving through lapped traffic, it was all his.”

In other features Friday, Michael Norris of Sarver won in Late Models, Matt Williamson of St. Catharines, Ontario, claimed his third win in four tries at the Sarver oval in Modifieds and Chicora's Mike Miller took the checkered flag in Sportsman Stocks.

Norris started third, grabbed the lead off Turn 4 early in the race and held on for victory despite the back end of his No. 72 car blowing up down the back straightaway of the final lap.

Smoke spewed from the car coming around Turn 4 and by the time it crossed the finish line, flames were shooting out of the back car.

“This is bittersweet,” Norris admitted. “I'd rather have not won the race and gotten the car through it unscathed than have this happen.

“It just blew up. There was no warning sign from inside the car. I'm afraid to look under the hood now.”

Norris' win was his second at Lernerville. He won there Aug. 24 of last season. Saxonburg's Alex Ferree and Sarver's John Garvin Jr. finished second and third, respectively. Garvin started from the 16th spot.

The win was the fourth feature triumph of the year for Norris, the other three coming at Pittsburgh Motor Speedway, where he leads in points.

Williamson took the lead early in the Modified race after starting fourth, but lost the advantage to Slippery Rock's Dave Murdick on a 16th-lap restart. He took the lead back from Murdick on an 18th-lap restart and claimed his third win of the year at the Sarver oval.

Williamson finished second in his only other feature run at Lernerville.

“I'm very surprised I've been able to do this here,” Williamson said. “Winning at a 75-percent clip is going to be hard to maintain. My car is just really working well right now.”

Murdick thought Williamson jumped the restart on the 18th lap.

“By three or four car lengths, I'd say,” Murdick said. “That's how he got in front of me. I showed him the (high) groove and he took it away.

“He's an aggressive driver who could end up learning some hard lessons, but he is good. He knows how to run his car wide and take up a lot of racetrack.”

Williamson admitted Murdick “kept me guessing” throughout the race.

“He was good, right there the whole time,” the Canadian said. “In situations like that, it's always better to take the line away from the guy chasing you rather than keep your own fast line.”

Miller's win was his first of the season in Sportsman Stocks. He came from the ninth starting position to take the lead on the 14th lap.

Miller won two features at Lernerville last season.

Notes: There were 80 cars in the pits. ... Rod George made his first Lernerville appearance of the season, but it was short-lived as his No. 8 car broke in the third lap of his heat race and he scratched for the feature. ... Sheldon Haudenschld, son of World of Outlaws Sprint veteran Jac Haudenschild, finished sixth in the feature despite being forced to the back of the pack after a second-lap spinout. ... Swartzlander finished third in the Modified feature despite starting last in the 21-car field.