BUFFALO TWP — Listening to booing from the grandstand and fellow drivers questioning the legality of his car doesn't bother Joe Kelley at all.

In fact, it's music to his ears.

"When I'm hearing that stuff, it means I'm doing well," Kelley said.

The Mount Pleasant driver of the No. 66 Sportsman Stock is accustomed to doing well at Lernerville Speedway.

He owns six track championships at Lernerville, the last coming in 2004, and has a 49-point lead on Bob Egley in an effort to get his seventh title at the Sarver oval.

Kelley, 50, has won six of the first eight Sportsman Stock features this season. His record feature win total at the track stands at 38 — nine more than runner-up Scott Bochek, who hasn't raced in a few years.

"Joe puts a lot of time and effort into his racing," crew chief Dwayne Wisnewski said. "He has this car on the scales every night, making sure it makes weight.

"He's gone to a smaller engine, tries different springs, tire pressure — all sorts of stuff," he added.

Kelley is all about staying a step ahead of the competition, whoever it might be. Recent Stock division track champions Butch Lambert and Mike Pegher Jr. have since moved on to Pro Crate Late Models.

"Fans can boo me if they want to," he said. "Other race teams can make accusations. ... I don't let it deter me from trying to win. We work hard for it.

"This car's been torn apart and checked out. There's nothing illegal about it," he added.

Kelley raced a truck at Jennerstown for a year and tried a Pro Crate Late Model, but his comfort zone — and his budget — is in the Stock division.

He has no fancy hauler. He brings his car on a trailer hooked to the back of a pickup truck.

"I actually sold all of my stuff three years ago," Kelley said. "I was done. I couldn't afford to run my own car anymore."

Kelley's longtime crew chief, John "Tool" Monparte, stepped down from that role to spend more time with his children. Wisnewski has been with Kelley's race team for 10 years.

"All Joe had left was an engine. A buddy of his had a car that needed an engine and Joe wound up driving it for him," Wisnewski said.

Kelley spent a couple of years racing at Latrobe Speedway. When that track closed, he returned to Lernerville, where he dominated from 1998 through 2004, winning his six track titles during that stretch.

Kelley returned for the 2008 season and struggled, finishing seventh in points.

"And we were here the whole season. We couldn't get anything right," Kelley said.

That all changed last year, when the No. 66 car won five features and finished six points behind Bob Lipinski in the final standings.

This year, he has six wins and a second-place finish in nine Friday nights of racing.

"We spent a lot of tme in the garage figuring out what works and what doesn't," Wisnewski said.

Kelley and his wife, Marcie, have been married 15 years. They have no children.

"She worked two jobs for a while and she has contributed money to my (racing) habit," Kelley said. "I'm hoping to race on a part-time basis next year.

"I'm getting a little old for this," he said, smiling.

But he's keeping up to speed just fine.

"You always want to be the one being chased," Kelley said.

Top 15 through June 20<B>Sprints</B>Rod George 262, Bob Felmlee 258, Danny Holtgraver 254, Ed Lynch Jr. 238, Carl Bowser 231, Jack Sodeman Jr. 226, Kevin Schaeffer 198, Brent Matus 179, Pete Miller III 144, Charlie Holben 140, Brandon Matus 133, Scott Bonnell 108, Brian Ellenberger 96, Gary Rankin 94, Brian Steinman 88<B>Late Models</B>Dave Hess Jr. 293, Jared Miley 247, Alex Ferree 212, Gregg Satterlee 203, Lynn Geisler 194, John Garvin Jr. 175, Chuck Sarver 173, Dave Murdick 160, Brian Swartzlander 140, Matt Lux 123, Chub Frank 112, Mike Johnson 111, Doug Eck 109, Dan Swartzlander 97, Michael Norris 96<B>Modifieds</B>Kevin Bolland 252, Brian Swartzlander 240, Jeremiah Shingledecker 223, Del Rougeux Jr. 219, Dave Murdick 216, Dean Pearson 188, Mike Turner 170, Carl Murdick 153, Jim Weller Jr. 149, Steve Feder 140, Shawn Fleeger 124, Erik Martin 121, Don Brown 71, Kevin Green 65, Mark Frankhouser 64<B>Sportsman Stocks</B>Joe Kelley 320, Bob Egley 271, Ryan Moyer 246, Jim Fosnaught 244, Wayne Carbo 225, Paul Schreckengost 217, Terry Young 217, Jason Fosnaught 213, Brett McDonald 196, Mark Sanders 193, Scott Byers 193, Corey McPherson 173, Shawn Thorn 156, Jim Bills 122, Jeff Miller 108