BUFFALO TWP — Mat Williamson made history by clinching the Modified points championship Friday night at Lernerville Speedway.

The points races took some wild and wacky turns otherwise at the Sarver oval.

Saxonburg’s Alex Ferree wrapped up his fourth career Late Model title, but needed some drama to do so. The drive shaft in Ferree’s No. 10 car broke during his heat race.

Sporting a 25-point lead over Jared Miley and a 38-point edge over John Garvin Jr. entering the night, Ferree did not want to miss the feature. When complications occurred while trying to replace the drive shaft in the pits, Ferree’s team borrowed a new transmission from fellow Late Model driver Chub Frank.

“It wasn’t the right length, so my guys thrashed and thrashed to make it work,” Ferree said. “They deserve a lot of credit for this.”

Ferree started 13th in the 16-car feature. Four caution flags in the first four laps helped him get through the pack and into second place by Lap 7. He overtook race leader Frank on the 10th lap and cruised to the win from there.

“Alex was in a league of his own out there tonight,” No. 111 Late Model driver Brian Swartzlander said.

“We had to keep the car in high gear the entire race,” Ferree said. “They pushed me out of the pits in high gear.

“If someone had spun out in front of me, I’d have gotten into it, too, because no way could I miss him. But the track stayed clean.”

Ferree’s win was his 23rd at Lernerville, tying him with Blackie Watt and Bob Wearing Jr. for fifth on the track’s all-time list.

Because Miley was on vacation and Garvin’s car broke during the feature, Ferree also wrapped up the points title.

“Honestly, tying those names in wins means a little more to me than the points right now,” Ferree said. “The points title is nice and it’s my fourth one, but (John) Flinner won five titles in a row. I don’t know if anyone’s breaking that.”

Swartzlander extended his track record Modified win total to 81 by cruising to victory Friday, but Williamson took third and clinched the points championship.

Williamson began the night with a whopping 53-point lead and became the first Canadian driver to ever win a points crown here. He finished among the top three for the 11th time this year — and with a small block engine.

“We broke our big-block motor Aug. 6 in Michigan and have run with a small block since,” Williamson said. “We did what we wanted to do tonight, wrap up the points so we don’t have to worry about anything happening next week.”

Williamson hails from St. Catharines, Ontario, and estimates putting 25,000 miles on his trailer since December.

“We came here to win and that’s what we did,” he said.

“He’s a young kid and he’s had a great year,” Swartzlander said. “He’s young and he’s traveling around racing. That’s great. We need more young guns in this sport.”

The Sprint and Sportsman Stock points titles will be decided next Friday. Brandon Spithaler of Evans City began the night with a six-point lead over Brandon Matus and he still holds that margin.

But he had some anxious moments Friday.

Spithaler was in a three-car battle for the lead when he drove too high off the cushion in Turn 4 of the 11th lap, spinning out and being forced to the back of the field. He weaved through traffic from there and finished seventh, preserving his slim points lead.

“I’m a little mad at myself right now,” Spithaler said. “That was just a mistake on my part, hitting that cushion. My car had to run on seven cylinders after that.

“I’ve been making too many mistakes lately.”

Andrew Palker, 28, of West Salem, Ohio, won the Sprint feature easily. He started fourth, took the lead on the sixth lap and won by a wide margin.

It was only Palker’s second-ever appearance at Lernerville. The two-time defending Wayne County Speedway points champion raced here once in 2005.

“I’m doing the all-star race at Mercer Saturday night, so we were towing the car here anyway,” Palker said. “I figured I’d come in here and take their money.”

Palker plans to race the All-Star Sprint circuit next year.

Corey McPherson overtook AJ Flick for the Sportsman Stock points lead as Flick’s No. 2 car got a flat tire on the sixth lap. McPherson finished second to Joe Kelley in the feature, turning a five-point deficit to Flick into a five-point lead.

Kelley won his 45th career Stock feature at Lernerville, extending his own track record. It was his first win at the Sarver oval since 2011.

Notes: There were 72 cars in the pits. ... Slippery Rock’s Dave Murdick was going for his fourth Modified feature win in eight days, but finished second. He had won at Lernerville, Mercer and Sharon in the past week. ... Swartzlander finished third in the No. 111 Late Model to go with his Modified win. ... Terry Young of Butler claimed his first Sportsman Stock heat win of the year. McPherson claimed his ninth, most of any driver in any division this year. ... Fab Four points racing concludes next Friday.