BUFFALO TWP — A year removed from his Limited Sprint points title at Sharon Speedway, Brandon Spithaler has moved up to the 410 Sprint cars.

And his future appears to be limitless.

Spithaler, 18, won his first feature in a 410 Sprint July 17 at Mercer Raceway Park. He finished eighth in Lernerville Speedway's feature the night before.

The Evans City driver also has been a top-10 finisher in Tom Burkey's No. 57 Sprint car. Burkey is an Ohio-based driver and car owner who Spithaler met at the Chili Bowl in Tulsa, Okla., in January 2009.

"I've been doing a lot of running around between Wayne County (Ohio) and here, but it's been worth it," Spithaler said. "I'm getting a lot of experience pretty quickly."

Spithaler raced in the Limited Sprint division at Sharon for three years. He was Rookie of the Year while finishing third in points in 2007 and was second in points in 2008 before claiming the points crown last year.

His foray into the world of 410 Sprint car racing has gone as expected.

"These are so much faster," he said. "In a Limited, you can basically go full throttle all the time. In a 410, you have to work the throttle so much more."

Before winning at Mercer, Spithaler had finished as high as seventh at Sharon and sixth at Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway this season. He's also been a top-10 car in Ohio.

Frank Spithaler, Brandon's father, continues to be his crew chief. Burkey helped to provide an engine for the family's No. 22 car.

"We never could have afforded a 410 on our own. We don't have that kind of budget," the elder Spithaler admitted. "Tom's been a big help to us in that regard.

"I'm learning on the fly with this division just like I did with the Limited Sprint. But there's so much to learn," he added.

Frank Spithaler said he's compiling an ever-growing notebook of information that's up to seven pages "while some race teams back here have 1,000 pages of information. That's where we're at on the learning curve.

"Every track we race on is totally different. Experience means so much," he added.

The Spithalers' goal is to be running consistently in the top five by the end of this season.

"Brandon's driving ability is there right now," Frank Spithaler said. "We just need the car and the setup to catch up to him."

Brandon Spithaler has no idea where his racing career will take him, but he said he wants to have a long career in the sport.

"I know asphalt (racing) is where the money is," he said. "But I'd rather stay on dirt. This is what I enjoy."

Lernerville SpeedwayPoints StandingsTop 15 through July 24SprintsDanny Holtgraver 357, Ed Lynch Jr. 356, Rod George 342, Bob Felmlee 338, Jack Sodeman Jr. 308, Carl Bowser 302, Brent Matus 247, Kevin Schaeffer 198, Brandon Matus 184, Pete Miller III 182, Scott Priester 166, Brian Steinman 144, Charlie Holben 140, Lindsay Enscoe 134, Scott Bonnell 133

Late ModelsDave Hess Jr. 364, Jared Miley 314, Alex Ferree 312, Gregg Satterlee 269, Lynn Geisler 251, Chuck Sarver 234, John Garvin Jr. 230, Doug Eck 206, Dave Murdick 194, Ken Schaltenbrand 163, Mike Johnson 160, Mike Morris 154, Brian Swartzlander 153, Chub Frank 152, Dan Swartzlander 140

ModifiedsKevin Bolland 317, Jeremiah Shingledecker 292, Del Rougeux Jr. 290, Brian Swartzlander 287, Dave Murdick 270, Dean Pearson 243, Mike Turner 228, Carl Murdick 195, Steve Feder 177, Shawn Fleeger 164, Jim Weller Jr. 149, Erik Martin 141, Tom Winkle 110, Don Brown 86, Kevin Green 82

Sportsman StocksJoe Kelley 434, Bob Egley 362, Ryan Moyer 330, Jim Fosnaught 327, Jason Fosnaught 299, Wayne Carbo 294, Paul Schreckengost 292, Brett McDonald 263, Mark Sanders 260, Terry Young 249, Scott Byers 237, Shawn Thorn 192, A.J. Flick 178, Corey McPherson 173, Jim Bills 157