BUFFALO TWP — Carl Murdick never planned to become a dirt track race driver.

It just happened.

“My brother Dale and I were driving around one day, saw a (race) car for sale and bought it,” Murdick said. “I took it racing that night at the old Butler Fairgrounds that night and finished 11th.”

He had no idea what he started.

Now 77, Murdick is in his 55th year of racing. The Butler resident is the only driver to race at Lernerville Speedway during each of the track’s 47 years of existence and has 12 feature wins in the Modified division. He was track champion there in 1970.

His son, Dave, 51, has been racing for 35 years, has 28 career feature wins at Lernerville in the Modified division and was track champion there in 2004 and 2005.

His daughter, Sheila, used to race a Sprint car at Lernerville and now does so at Mercer Raceway Park. She’s been racing for 24 years.

His granddaughter, Bobbi, races a Sprint car at Mercer as well.

“I’m not surprised they got into it,” Murdick said. “They were always hanging around the garage when they were little and I was building my car.

“I turned an old tractor mower into something they could ride around in. They drove it all over the Butler Farm Show grounds next door.”

Before that, “I used to use Dad’s roll cage as monkey bars when I was 4 or 5 years old,” Dave recalled, laughing.

Dave and Sheila grew up with three sisters — Shirley, Sharon and Sue — but none of them caught the racing bug.

“I was Daddy’s little girl,” Sheila said. “I wanted to be just like him.”

Carl Murdick won his points championship in the first Modified race car he ever built. He passed that car down to Dave, who won the Western Pa. Rookie of the Year award with it in 1979.

“The day I got my driver’s license, I raced that night,” Dave said. “I waited all my life for that. I grew up watching Dad race at so many tracks.”

His father was there for Dave’s first-ever heat race. He drew the fourth starting position.

“I volunteered to go the tail of the field, but Dad said to keep the fourth spot, that it was mine fair and square,” Dave said. “I sailed off of Turn 2, over the hill, less than halfway through my first lap.”

Carl raced five nights a week at one point — Wednesdays at Meadville, Thursdays at North Hills, Fridays at Lernerville, Saturdays at Mercer and Sundays at Tri-City. He’s raced on more than 50 tracks overall.

After his first year of racing, Dave Murdick replaced his father’s original car, which got sold off. But it eventually found its way back into the family.

Sheila’s husband, Gary Rankin, bought the car without knowing its history.

“He came home with it and I couldn’t believe it,” Sheila said. “When I told him that was Dad’s old car, he couldn’t believe it, either.

“Gary raced with it, then handed it down to me when I got started. All four of us raced in that car at some point.”

Dave and Sheila aren’t surprised their father is still racing.

“The running joke in the family has always been that I’ll retire before he does,” Dave said. “It could happen. I don’t see myself doing this more than four more years or so.”

Carl is saying he may finally stop racing after this season. His daughter hopes he comes back next year.

“He’s been saying it’s his last year for the past 10 years,” Sheila said. “I don’t want him to quit. It’s what keeps him going.

“I know Bobbi’s proud of him. We all are. We do like Dad.”