BUFFALO TWP — The racing name is familiar.

The passion for the sport is the same.

The circumstances — drastically different.

Pete Wearing, 27, of Evans City has been racing a RUSH Crate Late Model for four years now. His uncles are Bob Wearing Jr. and Brandon Wearing, both of whom raced Late Models for a number of years.

His grandfather, Bob Wearing Sr., is the all-time feature victory leader at Lernerville Speedway.

“Once it's in your blood ... it's in there,” Pete Wearing said of racing.

While his family racing predecessors have found victory lane, Pete Wearing struggles just to keep his car on the track. He says he owns a couple of top 10 feature finishes in his career.

But neither was close to the checkered flag.

“Ninth and 10 — that sounds about right,” Wearing said, laughing. “I've never come close to winning a race.”

He's never had a race team, either.

“I've got a couple of buddies who help me out at the track a little bit on race nights,” Wearing said. “My girlfriend lends a hand, too. And Billy Kessler, who pits next to me all the time, is always willing to help out.

“Racing is a fraternity. Everybody is willing to help everybody.

“In the garage every night during the week, it's me. It's almost like a second job. I work a 40-hour week during the day, then put in another 40 hours on the car at night,” he added.

Wearing doesn't have much of a racing budget, either, for his No. 111 car.

“Everything on this car is used, including the tires,” he said.

Yet there he was in the pits on Firecracker 100 weekend at Lernerville Speedway, going up against the best cars in his division.

After finishing at the bottom of the heat race standings that Friday night, Wearing found himself starting 12th out of 12 cars in a B-Main on Saturday. Only two cars advanced to the Bill Emig Memorial feature for a shot at $10,000.

“I almost didn't show up today (Saturday),” he admitted. “I know I have next to no shot, so I figured, why bother?

“Then I got to thinking, you never know what's gonna happen in this sport. Maybe a miracle can happen. I have to keep trying.”

Wearing finished toward the back of the pack in the B-Main and again in the consolation race to end the night.

He still races regularly at Pittsburgh (Pa.) Motor Speedway, where the Crate Late Models are part of the weekly show. Wearing is 21st in the PPMS Crate Late Model points standing with 153.

“There are always goals in front of him, even if it's just making the show, that keep him going,” Wearing's girlfriend, Sandy Bertotti, said. “Like he says, racing is in his blood. He can't say no to it.

“He loves the challenge of trying to beat the odds.”

Wearing doesn't anticipate quitting racing on his own. He sees himself being forced out at some point.

“Parts on these cars are constantly changing and it's hard to keep up,” he said. “The day will come when the older parts I use on my car just won't be available anymore.

“Eventually, I'll be forced out of the game. But as long as I can put this car on the track, I'll be out there.”