No one in Western Pennsylvania questioned whether Ryan Hemphill had the talent to be a successful racer. It was obvious to anybody who watched him compete at Motordrome or Jennerstown speedways between 1999-2001 that Hemphill was going to be racing on a national level.

Now, after winning his sixth race -- and third in a row -- this past weekend in only his 11th start on the ARCA Re/Max Series circuit, Hemphill, an Apollo native living near Charlotte, N.C., is letting the rest of the racing world see his skill.

He is proving that his struggles to find success the past two years in the American Speed Association and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series had more to do with finding the right team than his ability to put a car in victory lane.

At Braun Racing, Hemphill, 22, has not only posted six wins, including a victory Sunday at Pocono Raceway, but he has finished in the top five eight times and he is the front-runner to win the series' Superspeedway Challenge and rookie of the year honors.

"People are everything in this business," said Hemphill, who won't be racing this weekend when the series rolls into Lake Erie Speedway, a short track. "I have by far the strongest team in ARCA. I would put them up against a lot of teams in Busch and [Nextel] Cup. The way they work together, the way they prepare themselves. It's everything when it comes time to go racing. I believe that was the biggest difference between last year, or the year before, and this year. I have not felt this comfortable racing outside of my family. When you're racing with your family, they know and make sure everything's right. Now I have the same thing. We don't go to the track unprepared."

Family is what helped to make Hemphill, a Kiski Area High School graduate, one of the weekly favorites to win at Motordrome and Jennerstown speedways, where the competition was fierce. He is a second-generation driver, racing since he was 12, when his father, Kenny, who reached the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in 1980, started him in go-karts.

As part of Chip Ganassi Racing's driver development program this year, Hemphill has a chance to achieve a level many drivers never have the opportunity to reach, and he's not wasting it.

But despite being part of Chip Ganassi's program, the core of Hemphill's team is quite small.

"It's basically myself and three other guys who make all this stuff happen," Hemphill said.

"Obviously, there's all the other people throughout the shop who help fabrication-wise and body-wise when they can, but we got a couple of full-time guys and they all work really hard.

"My team is prepared to win week in and week out. That's something that I've always been told just from racing locally, that races are won from the shop. We never go unprepared. Everybody works very well together.

"Obviously, the luck has been on our side this year. We haven't had as many problems as other teams have had. Really being prepared and having great motors behind us, crew chief [Greg Tester] and I communicate so well that basically we just go and have fun. Fortunately, we've ended up in victory lane a few times."

Lugnuts

Boundless Motor Sports Racing, Inc. -- officially announcing yesterday what the Post-Gazette reported Saturday -- has completed the purchase of the World of Outlaws, Inc. The lawsuit between Boundless and series founder Ted Johnson has been settled. Johnson is no longer associated with the Outlaws.

Lernerville Speedway, where there are only three more nights of points racing to determine track champions, will feature the Joe Pitkavish Memorial for modifieds tomorrow night. The Outlaws Late Model Series will race Aug. 13.

The late-model points race at Motordrome has tightened between Rick Miller, Neil Brown and Garry Wiltrout going into tomorrow night. Miller has a four-point lead over Brown and a 28-point lead over Wiltrout.

For the first time in Western Pennsylvania, Mercer Raceway Park will run late models and big-block modifieds in the same 30-lap, $2,000-to-win event. The modifieds will be allowed any tire and no weight rule, while the late models must keep their standard rules.

Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway and Jennerstown will run regular programs Saturday. ... Latrobe Speedway will run a regular show Sunday. ... PPMS will have a test-and-tune Wednesday to prepare for the Garin Memorial Aug. 14.