Ferree back in Victory Lane
BUFFALO TWP— If Alex Ferree was looking for an encore, he found it.
After winning the Late Model feature on opening night three weeks ago at Lernerville Speedway, Ferree sped from last to first over the final 19 laps Friday to capture the feature on opening points night.
"I never thought I could win it, but I did feel like I could come back and finish among the top five,"Ferree said. "The car was that good."
The Saxonburg driver of the No. 4 car was nudged into the infield while coming around Turn 3 on the sixth lap, sending himself to the back of the field.
Ferree quickly made up for lost time, taking advantage of a race that had eight restarts to work his way through the field. By the race's final restart on Lap 18, he was in fourth place, trailing Mike Blose, Dutch Davies and Gregg Satterlee.
Coming off the fourth turn of Lap 19, Ferree zipped into the lead for good.
"My car was real good between turns three and four,"Ferree said. "I saw the opening, the tires just dug in and I got through."
Ferree is driving a fresh car this season. His father drove it in three races last year, as did Ferree.
"Tonight was only the eighth total race for this car,"Ferree said. "It really agrees with me."
The Late Model feature wasn't kind to the front row. Pole-sitter John Mollick led the first five laps before his car malfunctioned. Nick Jones pitted after only two laps.
Blose started fourth and led from laps six through 18. Davies started eighth and finished third.
"With all those restarts, you couldn't get into any kind of rhythm,"Davies said. "You hated to keep seeing that yellow flag."
• Brian Swartzlander had the pole alongside Jim Weller Jr. in the Modified feature and the two were poised for a close finish with four laps remaining.
As Swartzlander approached Turn 1 on the 22nd lap, the engine in Mike Miller's No. 72 car blew, pouring smoke into Swartzlander's face.
"I couldn't see anything,"Swartzlander said. "I was covered with fuel and oil."
Swartzlander got tangled with Miller's car, and Weller car was clipped as well. Swartzlander and Weller. both had to pit, handing the lead to Jeremiah Shingledecker, who kept it for the remainder of the race.
The win was Shingledecker's first big-block Modified triumph at Lernerville. He has five Modified wins at Tri-City Speedway and won a small-block Modified feature to close Lernerville's 2006 season.
"This feels great,"Shingledecker said. "You have to take advantage of the breaks when you get them."
• Ed Lynch Jr. started eighth, took the lead on the 12th lap and cruised to his first Sprint feature win of the season. The victory hiked his record total in the Sprint division at Lernerville to 83.
"I had to bide my time a little bit and let everybody wear out the groove they thought they wanted,"Lynch said. "The top cushion was the preferred groove, but you have to go somewhere else to pass."
• Paul Schreckengost started fifth, but he led the Pure Stock feature from the fifth lap on to notch his first Lernerville triumph since July 2005.
Notes:There were 101 cars in the pits. ... Dean Pearson of Harrisville was injured in a single-car mishap during the Modified feature and was taken from his No. 8J car on a stretcher. Complaining of back pain, he was taken to a hospital.
