BUFFALO TWP — If you’re going to learn, learn from the best.

That’s Mike Pegher Jr’s take on things when it comes to getting behind the wheel of a Late Model this season.

Pegher, 25, a 2004 Seneca Valley graduate, has been splitting time driving Cranberry Township resident Lynn Geisler’s No. 1 Cochran Late Model at Lernerville Speedway and Pittsburgh (Pa.) Motor Speedway.

“It’s been an awesome experience for me,” Pegher Jr. said. “Lynn and I have become good friends through racing. The tips he gives me are invaluable.”

Geisler stands second on Lernerville’s all-time Late Model feature victory list with 108, nine behind Bob Wearing Sr. He is a former points champion at the Sarver oval as well.

Pegher doesn’t have a bad track record himself. He won the Pure Stock points crown at Lernerville in 2007 abnd has since gone on to great success in a Crate Late Model owned by Geisler.

Pegher has finished second in the Northeast Series in points the past two years and has 47 wins in his four years in the Crate division, including 19 victories last year.

He picked up his first career Super Late Model win two weeks ago at PPMS.

“Lynn went on vacation to North Carolina to see family, so I got to drive the car here and at Pittsburgh,” Pegher said. “The biggest difference is in the horsepower.

“In a Crate, you can see the race developing on the track and adjust accordingly. In a Super Late, everything is fast. It’s all reaction.”

It’s all about competition as well.

“There’s the horsepower and there’s the different field of drivers,” Geisler said. “The Late Model division is filled with veteran guys who know what they’re doing out there.

“Mike’s a quality driver and he has to learn (the Super Late division) somehow. We got to know each other and the whole thing worked out,” Geisler said.

Pegher’s goal is to spend the bulk of his racing career in a Super Late Model.

“Someday, when I get the money ... But that’s as far as I want to go,” he said. “I have no desire to race on asphalt. I don’t even watch that stuff.”

Pegher has been dominant in the Crate division. He finished third among 55 cars in a 100-lap race in Tampa, Fla., two years ago.

“The best drivers in the industry were on that track,” Pegher said. “It showed me where I’m at.”

And where he wants to be.

“He’s only been in a Super Late three or four times and is already making great strides,” Geisler said. “He’ll get there.”

Lernerville Points Standings(top 15 through June 1)SprintsBrian Ellenberger 102, Danny Holtgraver 98, Brandon Matus 84, Carl Bowser 80, Kevin Schaeffer 74, Rod George 71, Brandon Spithaler 68, Gary Rankin 59, Brent Matus 59, Jimmy Light 46, Sheila Rankin 46, Lindsay Enscoe 44, Danny Smith 40, Dale Blaney 38, Cole Duncan 38

Late ModelsDave Hess Jr. 104, Jared Miley 98, Gregg Satterlee 89, Boom Briggs 84, Dave Murdick 77, John Flinner 77, Mike Pegher Jr. 69, John Garvin Jr. 66, Doug Eck 65, Jim Detman/Brian Swartzlander 62, Ken Schaltenbrand 54, Russell King 47, Bryan Force 39, Tommy Beck 38, Chub Frank 37

ModifiedsJeremiah Shingledecker 78, Kevin Bolland 69, Dave Murdick 68, Brian Swartzlander 66, Jim Weller 57, Mark Frankhouser 50, Dean Pearson 50, Phil Evans Jr. 49, Steve Feder 41, Mike Turner 40, Carl Murdick 39, Brad Rapp 36, Don Brown 33, Brian Weaver 27, Shawn Fleeger 20

Sportsman StocksRob Shook 98, Corey McPherson 94, A.J. Flick 93, Paul Schreckengost 87, Wayne Carbo 79, Jim Fosnaught 77, Brett McDonald 68, Mike Miller 62, Troy Jeuther 58, Terry Young 57, Bob Egley 57, Mark Sanders 53, Randy Hanovick 52, Joe Kelley 49, Drew Koteles 41