BUFFALO TWP — Tyler Dietz had to lay low when he began attending the race cards at Lernerville Speedway.

“I grew up in Sarver and got involved in racing all by myself,” he said. “I remember as a kid, sneaking to the track to watch the races. It took people a while to figure out where I was.”

Now the Saxonburg resident's trips to the track are often accompanied by a much bigger splash.

The defending champion here in Pro Stocks, Dietz picked up his first 2020 win in the division, taking the checkered flag in the 20-lap feature Friday night.

He beat out runner-up Daryl Charlier by .81 seconds in a race that featured a number of caution flags, including one before a single lap was completed.

Jason Fosnaught, who led for the first six laps, placed fourth.

Dietz placed fourth in the season-opener here June 19. He won last year's points title after winning four features. He also finished second in the final Late Model standings in 2019.

Dietz began racing regularly at Lernerville in 2015.

It took him a while Friday to crack the top five and ultimately, take the lead.

“With that many restarts, you have to stay focused,” said Dietz. “There's not a whole lot of track here, but I'm usually a pretty patient driver and it paid off tonight.”

Erick Rudolph made the most of his return to the Sarver oval, winning the 35-lap BRP Modified event and the $2,000 that comes with it.

Rudolph, who lives near Niagara Falls, N.Y., last competed here in 2016.

“Racing near where I live, it's spotty,” he said. “Some places are going against the rules (regarding the coronavirus). Other places are racing with no fans, but you can only do that for so long.

“The track where I normally race hasn't run all year, so we thought we'd come down here.”

Rudolph's latest victory was very much in doubt early in the race.

Following a caution flag on the sixth lap, he spun out, forcing another yellow flag, and sending him to the back of the 26-car field.

“I got ran into on the restart (on Turn 1),” said Rudolph. “Nobody wants to get knocked to last place, but I still had 30 laps to go. I had time.”

Rudolph caught leader Rex King Sr. near the end of the 33rd lap.

“I'm really happy with the car,” Rudolph said.

Michael Bauer earned his first-ever win here with a victory in the Sprint feature. He never did drop out of the top five and took over the lead with seven laps remaining.

Bauer has four wins at Mercer Raceway to his credit, but the last was three years ago.

“We had a motor blow on us and that set us back for a while,” said Bauer, who first began racing motocross on his family's wide-open property in Clarion County years ago. His Sprint career began in 2011. “To win here, it feels incredible!”

Also taking a checkered flag was Greg Dobrosky in the Allegheny Sprints feature.

Lernerville Results

Top 10 in features

BRP Modifieds

1-Erick Rudolph, 2-Rex King Sr., 3-Garrett Krummert, 4-Rex King Jr., 5-Brian Swartzlander, 6-Eric Gabany, 7-Dave Murdick, 8-Chad Brachmann, 9-John Mollick, 10-Phil Vigneri

410 Sprints

1-Michael Bauer, 2-Dan Kuriger, 3-Brandon Matus, 4-Brandon Spithaler, 5-Carl Bowser, 6-Brent Matus, 7-Darin Gallagher, 8-Darren Pifer, 9-Clay Riney, 10-R.J. Jacobs

Pro Stocks

1-Tyler Dietz, 2-Daryl Charlier, 3-Corey McPherson, 4-Jason Fosnaught, 5-Todd Weldon, 6-Mike Miller, 7-Bob Egley, 8-Joey Zambotti, 9-Douglas Eck, 10-Jake Dietz

Allegheny Sprints

1-Greg Dobrosky, 2-Jacob Gamola, 3-Derek Hauck, 4-Logan McCandless, 5-Brandon Hawkins, 6-Kyle Colwell, 7-Andy Cavanaugh, 8-Stephen Cousins, 9-Tylor Cochran, 10-Nevan O'Donnell