BUFFALO TWP - If the race was 'Follow the Leader', then Valencia's Alex Ferree did right by clearing his own path.

In Friday's Late Model feature at Lernerville Speedway, Ferree grabbed the lead on lap 13 and held on to pull out his first victory of the season.

Three others - Matt Gaston, Mike Blose and John Flinner - each had the lead in the race only to have car problems and were forced back into the pits.

Ferree took the lead from Flinner, whose car began to smoke then shoot fire from underneath.

"I didn't know it was Flinner that blew up," said Ferree, 23. "I never knew how close he was. The red flag was out and I stopped between turns 1 and 2. An official I talked to said it was the No. 7 car (Jeff Henry)."

"I thought I blew the motor," said Flinner of Zelienople. 'The gasket came off the oil filter. Four bucks. I thought I broke (the motor)."

Ferree made a push after the restart on lap 13 to take the lead going high while Ferree went low and took the lead. Half a lap later, Flinner was in trouble.

"It was getting loose on me," said Flinner. "I should've stayed on the bottom. I guess I thought I was good. Alex's stuff is good too."

Lynn Geisler of Cranberry Township was gunning for his 100th career win at Lernerville. He finished fifth thanks in part to getting turned around and had to work his way back through the pack.

"I brought most of it on myself," said Giesler. "It was nobody's fault. The track was good. There was some real racing, but you've got to be there in the end.

"You can't win 100 races if you don't win one. I think I have my head on straight," he added.

Ferree picked up a win in Late Models at last year's MACS and has won only a handful of races in the division.

On Friday, everything just seemed to come together.

"I began by trying to run on the bottom a lot," said Ferree. "When I ran on (turns) 3 and 4, it felt so good. It was wide open."

Ferree picked a good night to win his first event of the year - it was his mother Gayle's birthday.

Ed Lynch and Rod George had quite a battle in the Sprint feature, swapping the lead several times before Lynch caught George on the final turn for the win.

George led from laps three to 14, having taken it from Arnie Kent. He also was the leader on lap 19, but Lynch led from 15 through 18, and most importantly, the 20th.

"I knew Rod was going to be there," said Lynch of Apollo, who captured his 69th race in the division at Lernerville and 70th overall.

"There were multi-grooves in the ground and anytime you have multi-grooves, that's what racing's all about. Whenever you use the whole track to race, it's a race," he added.

Dave Murdick has been a model of consistency this season in the Modified division.

When he pulled away from Jim Weller with the win, the points leader at Lernerville finally picked up his first victory of the season.

"Our car's been great this year and (Friday night's) the best it's been yet," said Murdick of Slippery Rock.

"We've had two seconds, two thirds, and now a win," he added.

Murdick and crew decided to take a gamble with the set-up of the chassis.

"We went with different tires and softened things up. I thought it would have been stickier than it actually was."

Murdick is hopeful the success will continue to attain one of the team's goals - the points championship.

"It's always nice to be the points leader. It's a great place to be. We haven't had that luxury before."

In the Pure Stock feature, Scott Bochek was able to take advantage of a caution and held off Rob Shook for the victory.

Shook led for the second and third laps, but Bochek took the lead and never officially relinquished the lead.

With a caution after nine laps, Bochek was passed by Jason Fosnaught two laps later, but another caution flag came out before that lap was completed.

Bochek received the top spot on the restart and pulled away from the field.

"It's a great feeling because we've been struggling all year," said Bochek, of Cheswick. "The competition here week in and week out is great."

The win made Bochek Lernerville's all-time Pure Stocks champion.

Notes:

Ten World War II veterans who served with Don Martin were honored before the start of Friday's races … There were 115 cars in the pits, including 37 Pure Stocks … The MACS Late Model Special, $5,000 to win, will highlight next Friday's races plus the All-Star Sprint '03 Feature.