BUFFALO TWP - The timing was right for Scott Bonnell.

The 12-year Sprint car racing veteran from Fairview had 12 feature wins in his career - but none at Lernerville Speedway.

Until Friday night.

Bonnell started the first Sonia Bullis Memorial Race up front with rookie driver Carl Bowser of Sarver. Bowser, who graduated from Freeport High School this past spring, led the feature for the first six laps before spinning out in lapped traffic.

Bonnell took over the lead for the seventh-lap restart and never lost it, holding off Sprint racing veterans Ed Lynch Jr. and Rod George for the checkered flag.

"I kept looking up at the scoreboard and saw those guys were there," Bonnell said. "For me, it was a matter of concentration and staying on the gas.

"Lernerville is the hardest track to race anywhere around here. It really gets fast and slick off the cushions. Lynch and George have won here often, which shows how good they are."

Bonnell won on a night in which his winner's check was $2,800, the largest winning purse for a regular race in Lernerville history.

The purse was built up through donations honoring the memory of Bullis, owner of the Sprint car Chad Hill drove last year. Bullis died in the off-season from cancer.

Having a Sprint race in her memory was Hill's idea.

"I drove for her for three years," Hill said. "She was an incredible woman, an awesome lady. She gave her heart and soul to racing.

"This was the absolute least I could do for her. I'm shooting for a winner's purse of $5,000 next year."

That would suit Bonnell just fine.

"It sounds like this race is going to get bigger and better," he said.

Lynch started the feature in the second row, but could not find a way to maneuver past Bonnell.

"I was able to run right up on him, but lapped cars were three-wide across the track," Lynch said. "There was nowhere to go.

"What can you do? You don't want to hit anybody. The racing groove was up top and Scott ran a great race up there."

Bowser was doing the same - until he reached lapped traffic.

"A car (Sheila Rankin) turned sideways and it was either spin out or ram into it," Bowser said. "But I got too close, too quick.

"I still need more experience. It's hard to control the speed you've been going at when you run up on slower cars."

Bowser and his father, Terry, both earned their first career checkered flags earlier in the night. Carl Bowser won his heat race and Terry Bowser claimed the B-Main.

"Sometimes you have to be patient in a Sprint car and he (Carl Bowser) will learn that," Bonnell said. "Sometimes you have to bide your time behind lapped cars.

"Patience was key for me tonight. I wasn't going to give up that top groove no matter what happened."

In other feature action:

Tom Winkle of Mars started fifth in the Modified race, but took advantage of mishaps to Brian Swartzlander and Kevin Bolland to win the feature.

Swartzlander had the pole and led the race until a fifth-lap restart. Bolland jumped in front of him and in trying to regain the lead on the first turn, Swartzlander hit the infield berm and tore up his front end.

Bolland assumed the lead from there and held it until the 16th lap, when he blew his engine.

Winkle inherited the lead and kept it.

"This was a tough race, but I'll take it any way I can get it," Winkle said. "It was a process of elimination out there."

Winkle's win was the sixth of his career at Lernerville. No Modified driver has won more than one feature at Lernerville all season.

Nick Jones of Pittsburgh led the Late Model feature from start to finish. He held off Lynn Geisler - who finished second after starting 12th - for the checkered.

"I was fortunate to start on the pole because we weren't as good as we should have been tonight," Jones said. "Up high was the best place to be. I knew Lynn would be up there, too … I was doing a little road blocking."

Jones won his third feature of the campaign. No other Late Model driver has won more than once at the Sarver track in 2005.

Paul Schreckengost had the pole for the Pure Stock feature and led the race throughout. The feature win was his first here since opening night, 2003.

Notes:

There were 105 cars in the pits. … A violent crash in the Sprint feature brought out the red light as Dan Shetler and Skip Dougherty both flipped. The wing of Dougherty's car soared into the air, but neither driver was hurt. … Nick Jones and his brother, Jeff, both won Late Model heat races. It was Jeff Jones' first career checkered flag. … Gary Risch Jr. of Freeport finished second in the Modified feature. His previous best feature finish this year was eighth. … Defending track Pure Stock points champion Joe Kelley made his first appearance of the year at Lernerville. He won his heat race and was second in the feature. He recently secured his overall 100th career feature win and has been dominant at Latrobe Speedway. … Fab Four racing returns next Friday, along with the BRP Modified Tour.