BUFFALO TWP — Dirt track racing for Steve Feder is a true family affair.

Yet when the Butler resident and driver of the No. 45 Modified car won his first and only feature in 13 years of racing at Lernerville Speedway in 2016, two members of his pit crew weren't there.

Younger brother Matt Feder and his wife Liz were part of a wedding party in New York.

“We were at a dinner that night and followed the race on a race monitor,” Liz Feder said. “When Steve won it, we just went nuts. It was so exciting.”

“We went crazy ... Everyone was staring at us,” Matt Feder said. “I think that's the only race I've missed (at Lernerville) and he wins it.”

Steve Feder, 37, first got into racing at Shadetree Speedway, racing lawn tractors with his uncle. Feder's father, Harold, helped driver Tim Temple with his Modified “back in the day,” Feder said.

That's what exposed him to the sport — and made him want to be part of it.

“I was single, living at home at the time, not paying any rent,” Feder recalled of venturing into Modified racing. “(Veteran driver) Dave Murdick helped me get started with the engine and he saw an ad for a car for sale in Auto Dealer (magazine).

“Dad and I drove to eastern Pennsylvania, checked the car out and bought it. We wound up buying a trailer to go with it.”

Feder's race team was ready-made. Matt and Harold turn the wrenches, Liz and Feder's sister, Jennifer, help out, as does his mother, June, and good friend Chuck Firster.

Feder hasn't piled up a whole lot of feature wins — just the one at Lernerville and two at Mercer Raceway Park.

He has piled up a whole lot of family time.

“We keep the car at my parents' house,” Feder said. “Two or three nights a week, we all show up there after working our jobs, work on the car until 9 at night or so, then have a couple of beers and talk.

“Racing has kept our family close together. We work on it over the weekend at times, too.”

Feder recalled a time when he “rolled the car at Tri-City one night and was able to race it at Pittsburgh the next.

“We all come together as a team like that when the situation calls for it,” he said.

Feder finished eighth with 279 points in the Modified division at Lernerville last year. He runs at other tracks in the region, but is limited by job restraints.

He works as a field service engineer with nuclear power plants for Westinghouse. His job calls for long trips out of town at times.

“I usually miss the first few weeks of the season because of work,” he said. “This year, now that they extended the season here into September and October, I may miss the latter weeks of the season.”

Feder not only has a backup car, he has a backup driver. Matt Feder, 33, has won three Enduro races at Lernerville.

When Steve can't get to the track, Matt sometimes gets behind the wheel of the No. 45.

“It helps (Steve) get some points and it's fun for me,” Matt Feder said. “I may race for him toward the end of this season. It depends what the points standings look like.”

Feder is eighth in points again, though the 2020 season is young.

Liz Feder admitted she “married into racing” but has no regrets at all. She works as an accountant.

“It's a good icebreaker,” she said, laughing. “My co-workers are always asking how things are going with the racing.

“I love coming here. It's fun being part of a team.”

Even though she missed Feder's lone Lernerville win.

“That was a special night,” Feder recalled of 2016. “We had come so close before. I remember losing on the final lap to (multiple points champion) Kevin Bolland one night.

“When we won, it was emotional. We celebrated. Now we want to do it again. We don't have a big budget for this — my own money, really — but I hope to race for a long time just because it brings the family together so often.

“That family time ... It's precious,” he added.

Lernerville Speedway Points Standings (top 10)

Sprints

Carl Bowser 68, Brandon Spithaler 66, Brandon Matus 61, Michael Bauer 57, Jack Sodeman Jr. 55, Dan Shetler 53, Brent Matus 50, A.J. Flick 49, Dan Kuriger 49, John Garvin Jr. 46

Late Models

Russ King 40, Matt Lux 37, Michael Lake 35, Colton Flinner 30, Will Thomas 30, Ken Schaltenbrand 28, Tyler Dietz 26, Mike Miller 25, Gary Lyle 22, John Weaver 22

Modifieds

Garrett Krummert 65, Dave Murdick 62, Rex King Jr. 58, Brian Swartzlander 58, Jeremiah Shingledecker 54, John Mollick 53, Rex King 53, Steve Feder 50, Ricky J. Richner 48, Colton Walters 46

Pro Stocks

Tyler Dietz 73, Jason Fosnaught 69, Mike Miller 68, Corey McPherson 66, Joey Zambotti 52, Chase Lambert 44, Brett McDonald 41, Joe Kelley 40, Mike Bordt 40, Daryl Charlier 35