BUFFALO TWP — After 17 years, Jack Sodeman Jr.'s dream is a done deal.

The former Butler resident won his first career Lernerville Speedway feature Friday night, easily beating Kevin Schaeffer and Ed Lynch Jr. to the checkered flag in the Sprint race.

Schaeffer is two-time defending track champion and Lynch has won 100 Sprint races at the Sarver track. Sodeman, 32, now living in North Jackson, Ohio, never knew the feeling.

Until Friday.

"When I lived in Butler, I used to drive past here every day and curse this place," Sodeman said. "It had been nothing but bad luck.

"I had two second places this year. I've finished second in races in previous years. Something always went wrong on that last lap.

"Even tonight, I held my breath during that last trip around the track," he added.

Sodeman. has been racing at Lernerville since he was 15. He's been successful elsewhere, winning 15 career features at Sharon Speedway, eight at Knox and two at Challenger.

His father, Jack Sodeman, owns 38 career feature wins at Lernerville, winning the Sprint points championship here in 1979 and the Modified points crown in 1985.

"I can remember coming here when I was 9 years old, racing Matchbox cars on the bleachers, dreaming of one day being in victory lane at Lernerville," Sodeman.

"After a while, I didn't think it was ever going to happen, but I never gave up."

Points leader Rod George — bidding for his first Lernerville points crown since 2002 — blew his rear end on the 22nd lap. He was running second at the time.

Because of that mishap, George will take a 23-point lead over Lynch into the final night of points racing next week. He began the night with a 38-point advantage.

But this was Sodeman's night. He started up front, took the lead from George on the fourth lap and never gave it up.

After pulling into victory lane, he grabbed the checkered flag, climbed on top of his No. 23 car and thrust the flag in the air.

"This feels so surreal right now," he said. "I can't believe I'm standing here. All my car owner of 15 years wanted was to win a feature at Lernerville Speedway. Here we are."

In other features Friday:

• Late Model points leader Alex Ferree of Saxonburg started on the pole but lost the lead to Jared Miley on Lap 9. He took it back when Miley blew his engine on Turn 3 of Lap 24.

"He blew it up pretty bad," Ferree said. "Usually, bad stuff has been happening to me to cost me races this year. This time, it went my way."

Ferree took the checkered flag in front of Cranberry Township's Lynn Geisler, who trails him by 16 points in the standings.

"I'm still sticking around," Geisler said of the points hunt. "Tonight was his (Ferree's) night. But you never know. Maybe next week won't be."

Ferree has three feature wins at Lernerville this year and has been a model of consistency with 10 top-five finishes.

"That's a tribute to my crew," he said. "They always give me a good car to run out there."

Lernerville's closest points race of the season is in Modifieds, where Brian Swartzlander will take an 11-point edge over Ken Bolland into the final week.

Bolland won Friday's feature after starting up front and leading wire to wire, and Swartzlander finished third. Jeremiah Shingledecker claimed second.

The win was Bolland's fifth of the year and his 47th career Lernerville feature triumph.

"We're doing what we can to seal the deal, but it's not easy," Bolland said. "When we start on the pole, I just want to hit the turns right, pay attention to detail and trust the car."

Swartzlander started 12th, but rallied to get into third.

"I wasn't good enough to get second tonight," Swartzlander said. "When those two guys (Bolland and Shingledecker) start up front, they're awfully good.

"I wanted to get into the top five tonight. We'll take it and we'll see what happens next week."

Joe Kelley extended his track record by posting his 31st career Lernerville Sportsman Stock feature win, but he still trails Bob Lipinski by 23 points.

Kelley has won six track championships. Lipinski is trying to win his first.

"Bob's been pretty steady this year," Kelley said. "If he shows up next week, it's pretty much his."

Notes: There were 72 cars in the pits. ... Cabot's Charlie Holben won his first Sprint heat race of the season. ... Swartzlander claimed his seventh heat win of the campaign. Only Kelley with nine and Lynch with eight have won more. ... Brent Matus started alongside son Brandon in the first Sprint heat. Brandon flipped his car, but was unhurt.