BUFFALO TWP— Consistency and Mike Pegher Jr. go hand in hand.

Only 22 years old, the 2002 Seneca Valley graduate is closing in on his first — and perhaps last — Pure Stock points championship at Lernerville Speedway.

With two weeks left in the points chase, Pegher has 442 points, 19 in front of runner-up Bob Egley's 223 and 27 in front of two-time defending champion Butch Lambert.

"It would be so cool to win this,"Pegher said. "It'd be my biggest accomplishment so far in racing.

"And I know it would mean a lot to my family."

Pegher's family has plenty of racing history. His father, Mike Pegher Sr., ran a Pure Stock for years. His uncle, Don Pegher, raced for years as well.

Dave Pegher, Mike's grandfather, won the semi-lates points title at Lernerville from 1974-76, winning 14 features during that stretch.

While Dave Pegher was dominant, Mike Pegher is steady.

The latter has two feature wins at Lernerville this season, but 12 top-four finishes. Jason Fosnaught is the only other Pure Stock driver with as many as eight top-four finishes here this season.

Pegher also has nine heat race wins in 2007. Only Bob Egley and Terry Young have as many as six among the other drivers in the Pure Stock division.

"It takes consistency to win points championships these days because there are so many good cars,"Lambert said. "Mike has been about as steady as you can be.

"He was young when he started racing here. He's still young — but he's a very good race car driver."

Pegher shrugs off his own consistency.

"It's just maintenance on the track and off," he said. "I've got a crew that works hard and I know most of the guys I'm out there racing with.

"Luck has a lot to do with finishing races, too."

Pegher's car has broken only once all season:A broken right front ball joint knocked him out of a feature on a night he won the heat race.

Pegher's father is among his crew members working on the orange No. 09 in the pits.

"We've all been around racing our whole life,"Pegher Sr. said. "My dad was racing at Clinton Speedway when I was a little kid.

"My own racing career was under-budgeted. I finished third in points in 1989, I think, but never did anything notable on the track but have fun."

Pegher Sr. may not have won much, but he's well in-tune with his son's racing triumphs.

"He's got 22 feature wins,"he said proudly. "Mike's won here, at Mercer, Sharon and Knox. And he's going to win a lot more before he's through."

But not in a Pure Stock. The Pegher race team has a Late Model ready and waiting for Pegher Jr. to jump into next year.

"All of my (Pure Stock) stuff is for sale,"Pegher Jr. said. "That's why it's important to me to win the championship this year. We won't run for points with the Late Model next year, just take it to a few different tracks and get a feel for it."

Dave Pegher has won points titles at Mercer, Blanket Hill and other tracks besides Lernerville.

As soon as he saw his grandson take a car on a race track, he knew he had potential.

"We first sent him out there in an old car with an old engine, dated equipment ... He was competitive anyway,"Dave Pegher said. "He hung near the front of the field time after time.

"We couldn't wait to put him in a decent car to see how he would do. He could have a great career."

As for watching his grandson hunt down a points title?

"I've enjoyed this season more than any of the championships I won," Dave Pegher said.

While in victory lane after winning a feature a few weeks ago, Lambert said he hopes Pegher does bring home the title.

"We've become good friends through traveling to different races together,"Lambert said. "Mike races clean and he races hard. I respect the way he drives and he respects other cars on the track. That's what I try to do.

"He's going to be a tough guy to beat for a long, long time."

Lernerville Points Standings(top 15 through Aug. 4)SprintsEd Lynch Jr. 407, Kevin Schaeffer 403, Rod George 385, Carl Bowser 326, Dan Shetler 308, Scott Priester 305, Charlie Holben 263, Brent Matus 253, Mike Luitz 253, Ralph Spithaler 231, Dan Holtgraver 219, Scott Bonnell 210, Gary Rankin 197, Dan Kuriger 195, Terry Bowser 158

Late ModelsAlex Ferree 476, Gary Lyle 331, Matt Lux 322, Lynn Geisler 312, Jared Miley 306, Mike Blose 294, Greg Satterlee 291, Nick Jones 258, Ken Schaltenbrand 256, Chuck Sarver 224, John Mollick 217, Dutch Davies 209, Sam Stile 204, Dave Murdick 202, Dan Swartzlander 199

ModifiedsBrian Swartzlander 408, Del Rougeux Jr. 401, Dave Murdick 367, JRMcGinley 312, Tom Winkle 287, Kevin Bolland 286, Jeremiah Shingledecker 278, Mike Turner 276, Carl Murdick 254, Jim Weller Jr. 246, Steve Feder 208, Phil Evans 208, Skip Moore 185, Doug Fleeger 162, Mike Miller 158

Pure StocksMike Pegher Jr. 423, Bob Egley 395, Butch Lambert 390, Jason Fosnaught 374, Greg Beach 364, Bob Lipinski 362, Paul Schreckengost 325, Joe Kelley 321, Terry Young 301, Wayne Carbo 297, Jim Fosnaught 277, Chuck Gebauer 232, Shawn Thorn 213, Pat Hanley 212, Jake Ayers 199