BUFFALO TWP — Russell King scored an impressive hat trick Friday night at Lernerville Speedway.

Then Garrett Krummert pulled off a nifty trick of his own.

The former Butler resident, now living in New Castle, passed current Modified points leader Mat Williamson with a slide move in Turn 4 of the 23rd lap. The move enabled Krummert to grab the checkered flag for his first career Lernerville feature win.

Krummert, 27, has been racing at the Sarver oval for seven years.

He's competed in the Modified, Sprint and Late Model divisions.

He started the feature from the sixth spot and stood in third on a 22nd-lap restart. Rex King Sr,. had the lead, but Williamson quickly zipped around him.

“He (Williamson) pulled a slide move on me a few laps earlier,” Krummert said. “I saw the opportunity there to get him back ... I was just hoping I had enough room.

“I never thought I'd be able to beat him. He's faster than me. He's better than me. But, somehow, I got around him.”

Williamson said the move caught him by surprise.

“I wasn't expecting it,” he said. “By the time I reacted, it was too late to cut him off. That was good, hard racing. He got me.”

Krummert switched back to the Modified division this year, buying a car from all-time Lernerville Modified victory leader Brian Swartzlander two weeks before the season started.

“We put my seat in, slapped my number on the car and it's been good to us,” Krummert said. “He finished third last week after starting from the back of the field.

“This is unbelievable,” Krummert continued. “I was struggling in the other divisions and I started off in a Modified, so we decided to go back to my roots. I'm married to Carl Murdick's grand-daughter, too, so it's become a family thing.”

King began the Late Model feature from the 10th position, but worked his way through the field. He wound up passing defending Late Model points champion Alex Ferree, defending Firecracker 100 and Late Model World of Outlaws champion Darell Lanigan and one of the top Late Model drivers in the region in Chub Frank to win the race.

Frank was seemingly on his way to his 16th career Lernerville win — leading the race from wire to wire — before King passed him on the back straightaway of the final lap.

“I was trying to hold off Lanigan most of the race and figured someone might be there alongside me there late ... I just didn't think it was him (King),” Frank said.

“There's a good field of cars at this track all the time. Tonight, it was particularly good.”

Frank and Lanigan were at Lernerville Friday night to help prepare themselves for a two-night Late Models WoO show this weekend in Tyler County, W.Va. Lanigan won three of the four features he ran at Lernerville last year.

“I wanted to test some things tonight and check out this track for the (June) Firecracker 100,” Lanigan said. “I haven't raced very much so far this year. Our (WoO) schedule is light to begin with early and we've had some rainouts mixed in.”

King's win was his eighth at Lernerville and his third here this year.

“Beating Chub is special to me because he's like my Dad of Late Model racing,” King said. “He sold me my first Late Model car. I bought my trailer from him. He showed me the ropes a little bit when I was starting out.

“There were a lot of restarts in this race and I didn't need them. We went with harder tires because we were set up for longer runs. Being able to stay green for the final five laps made the difference for me.”

Sarver's Carl Bowser started 10th in the Sprint feature and picked up his second win of the season by passing Ed Lynch Jr. on the 18th lap and holding off an aggressive A.J. Flick at the end.

Lynch started up front and led the race for the first 17 laps.

Flick narrowly missed getting around Bowser with an attempted slide move in Turn 4 on the 24th lap.

“I was excited to get around Ed because that's so hard to do,” Bowser said. “I saw Flick coming up on that slide move at the last second and was able to turn the car just enough to stay in front of him.”

Still seeking his first Sprint feature win at the Sarver oval, Flick settled for second for the fourth time this season.

Bowser picked up his 16th career Lernerville victory.

“A.J. is an up and comer. They're spending a lot of money on that car and it's fast,” Bowser said. “For me, it's been feast or famine. We've either been in victory lane or back in the pits watching the last 10 laps of the feature.

“We've dealt with some bad luck. Maybe now we'll get on a roll.”

Corey McPherson won his third Sportsman Stock feature of the year, coming from the 11th starting spot to do so. He got past race leader Wayne Carbo of Saxonburg on Turn 2, off a restart with two laps to go.

Notes: There were a season-high 83 cars in the pits. ... Former track champion Jim Weller Jr. made his first appearance of the season in his No. 31 Modified, but only completed nine laps in the feature. ... Carbo was denied what would have been his first feature win in four years.

(top 15 finishers)Sprint Feature1. Carl Bowser (Sarver), 2. AJ Flick (Apollo), 3. Ed Lynch Jr. (Apollo), 4. Jack Sodeman Jr. (North Jackson, Ohio), 5. Brandon Spithaler (Evans City), 6. Brandon Matus (Wampum), 7. Scott Priester (Rimersburg), 8. Dan Kuriger (New Brighton), 9. Brent Matus (Wampum), 10. Dan Shetler (Johnstown), 11. Rod George (Kittanning), 12. Ralph Spithaler (Evans City), 13. Jimmy Morris (Fowler, Ohio), 14. Sye Lynch (Apollo), 15. Eric L. Williams (North Waterford)Heat winners1st heat: A.J. Flick, 2nd heat: Ed Lynch Jr., 3rd heat: Rod GeorgeLate Model Feature1. Russell King (Bristolville, Ohio), 2. Chub Frank (Bear Lake), 3. Darell Lanigan (Union, Ky.), 4. Alex Ferree (Saxonburg), 5. Mike Pegher Jr. (Wexford), 6. Jared Miley (South Park), 7. Ken Schaltenbrand (Sarver), 8. Boom Briggs (Bear Lake), 9. John Mollick (Toronto, Ohio), 10. Michael Norris (Sarver), 11. Dan Angelicchio (Greensburg), 12. Todd Bachman (Natrona Heights), 13. Doug Eck (Corry), 14. Chuck Sarver (West Sunbury), 15. Gary Lyle (Hyde Park)Heat winners1st heat: Darell Lanigan, 2nd heat: Michael NorrisModified Feature1. Garrett Krummert (New Castle), 2. Mat Williamson (St. Catharines, Ontaerio), 3. Dave Murdick (Meridian), 4. Brian Swartzlander (Leechburg), 5. Rex King Jr. (Bristolville, Ohio), 6. Mike Turner (Herman), 7. Shawn Fleeger (Butler), 8. Jim Rasey (Southington, Ohio), 9. Tom Winkle (Mars), 10. Steve Feder (Butler), 11. Bob Warren (Slippery Rock), 12. Rick Regalski (Slippery Rock), 13. Jeff Miller (Sarver), 14. Carl Murdick (Butler), 15. Rex King Sr. (Bristolville, Ohio)Heat winners1st heat: Garrett Krummert, 2nd heat: Mat Williamson, 3rd heat: Dave MurdickSportsman Stock Feature1. Corey McPherson (Tarentum), 2. Wayne Carbo (Saxonburg), 3. Jim Fosnaught (Bairdford), 4. Bob Egley (Kittanning), 5. Joe Kelley (Mount Pleasant), 6. Brett McDonald (Saxonburg), 7. Joe Zambotti (Kittanning), 8. Mike Miller (Chicora), 9. Scott Byers (Butler), 10. Aaron Easler (Butler), 11. Jeff Miller (Natrona Heights), 12. Eric Pitrowski (Cranberry), 13. Dave Smail (Vandergrift), 14. Brian Stivenson (Freeport), 15. John Hartman (Cabot)Heat winners1st heat: Wayne Carbo, 2nd heat: Jim Fosnaught