Danny Edwards Jr. moved out front on lap 5 and stormed to his third victory of the season in the McDonald’s 100 for the Crossroads Fuel Service Late Model Stock Cars, the featured event Saturday at Langley Speedway.

John Staton was the surprise pole winner, qualifying at 86.654 mph. He shared the front row with Edwards.

The yellow flag made an early appearance, flying on lap 2 when Jeff Shiflett, Casey Wyatt and Wesley Falk tangled and spun in Turn 1.

Back under green, Staton and Edwards Jr. pulled away in nose-to-tail formation, opening a one-length gap over Mark Wertz and series leader C.E. Falk.

On lap 5, Edwards Jr. ducked under Staton off the second corner and motored into the lead on the backstretch. He left the door open for Wertz, Falk and Greg Edwards, who also bypassed Staton.

By lap 65, Edwards Jr. had padded his lead to nearly half a straightaway over Wertz, who enjoyed a similar margin over Greg Edwards.

Heading into the final 10 circuits, Edwards Jr. and Wertz were fairly secure in first and second. Behind them, though, Wyatt had tracked down Greg Edwards and was looking to move up to third.

On lap 95, Wyatt drove under Greg Edwards on the backstretch. He inched ahead at the end of lap 96 and completed the pass on lap 97.

At the finish, Edwards Jr. was the winner by 1.768 seconds — about half a straightaway — over Wertz. Wyatt was third to the line, followed by Greg Edwards, while Falk nipped Dean Shiflett for fifth.

Back in Victory Lane for the first time since mid-May, Edwards Jr. said, “we’ve been working awful hard on it. It’s been a while since we’ve been here and it’s not for lack of effort. I’ll tell ya’ what, the guys on this team have really put up with a lot with me and trying to get this car sorted out.”

Edwards Jr. shaved eight points from Falk’s division lead and now trails by 18 — 788-770. Two points events remain on the ‘09 calendar.

In the evening’s other feature events:

In a 75-lapper for the Rolling Thunder Modified tour, Thomas Stinson moved to the front with a pair of high-side passes and rolled to the victory. Ronnie Davis started on the pole and set the pace for the first 63 circuits.

At the checkers, Stinson was the winner by 0.783-second — four lengths — over Jimmy Humblet.

In the 50-lap Atlantic Power Sweeping Super Street race, Randy Sample took the lead on lap 13 and sped to his first victory of the year. He also took over the division points lead from nine-time race winner Ryan Nester, who was suspended for the remainder of the season on Aug. 29.

Robbie Davis started on the pole and led all 25 circuits for his fourth straight win in the Med Express Urgent Care Super Truck race.

At the stripe, Davis was the winner by 0.674-second — three lengths — over Charlie Barclay.

Cameron Patrick took the lead for good on lap 20 and held on for his first victory of the season in the 25-lap Casey Cycle City INEX Legends feature.

Patrick started on the pole and set the pace for the first 18 laps. On lap 19, Spencer Saunders pushed his machine to the front, slipping by Patrick off Turn 4. A lap later, though, Patrick returned the favor, nosing back ahead at the stripe.

At the end of the caution-free race, Patrick was the winner by 0.229-second — less than two lengths — over Steve Keesee.

Continuing an outstanding rookie campaign, Adam Florian notched his seventh victory in the 25-lap EZ Auto of Newport News UCAR race. He started on the pole and took the lead for good on lap 6.

Allen Dail shared the front row with Florian and grabbed the lead as the field streamed out of Turn 2 on the opening lap.

Florian regained the lead on lap 6 as he ducked under Dail off Turn 2 and motored ahead on the backstretch. Just one lap later, he had already pulled away by almost two lengths.

Division leader Randy Prillaman came home seventh in the 23-car field and saw his lead over Chris Hildebrand trimmed from 24 to 14 — 596-582.

Casey Sipe started on the pole and led wire-to-wire, pulling away in the closing circuits for his seventh victory in a 30-lapper for the Standard Welding Pro 6 division.

At the finish, Sipe was the winner by 1.447 seconds — almost half a straightaway — over D.J. Watson, who was making his first start of the season.