Tri-City Banquet 1-11-03
The Tri-City banquet was the first of three banquets that Ed plans on attending this year. It was held at the Arlington Hotel in Oil City, Pa. Ed finished 2nd in points and received a clock/plaque displaying a picture of Ed in victory lane. He was also presented with the Coors Hard Charger Award. All drivers in all divisions at Tri-City are eligible for this award. It is determined by passing points in A mains throughout the season. Ed had 66 passes earning him the Coors Hard Charger Award for 2002.
Sharon Banquet 1-18-03
The "Sharon Speedway Salutes it's Stars" banquet was the first of many for the Blaney family. Dave Blaney opened and closed the evening's ceremony with upcoming highlights as well as some new events to appear on this years schedule. Ed finished 8th in points at Sharon this year and received a clock/plaque displaying a picture from victory lane.
Ed will be attending the Lernerville banquet in March.
HOT ROD NEWS TV Interview Set For 1/17/03
Friday night, January 17, Don Gamble and the TV crew from the new HOT ROD NEWS TV program will be interviewing Ed for an up-coming segment in their new program "Mr. Rodder's Neighborhood."
News of this new TV venture is in the latest copy of HOT ROD NEWS Magazine, a publication that is FREE and available at all Advance Auto Parts stores and other leading auto parts stores in your area.
"Cool cars, cool cats and hot rod fun," That's Hot Rod News TV. The show is to be aired on Saturday mornings at 8:30AM on TNN and Sunday evenings at 8:00PM on PCNC cable networks.
They explain, "There is something for everyone on this fast moving, hard driving, innovative show. You've got to see it to enjoy it, so tune in and watch the folks you know, the cruise-ins you enjoy, and the cars that matter to you."
Valley News Dispatch - Wednesday, January 1, 2003
The front page of the Sports Section of the Valley News Dispatch on Wednesday, January 1, 2003, featured a story about Joe Paterno, the Pitt Panthers, the Penguins and in the center of the page, directly under the heading "Year was full of memorable moments" was a color photo of Ed, his Mom and Dad and the 'Big $35,000 Lernerville Check'.
On page 3 titled 2002 Alle-Kiski Year in Sports, Staff Writer Rob Amen featured highlights chronologically starting with the Steelers lose to Patriots in AFC Championship Game on January 27. According to Amen, the Sports highlight for the time period of May 25th through August 4th was Ed's win on July 23.
The picture showed the Valley News photo of Ed crossing under Ken Michael's checkered flag and this story followed: "Lynch, Jr. stuns Outlaws, wins Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup - Ed Lynch, Jr., has long been known locally as the Apollo Rocket. On this Tuesday night, his reputation grew.
Lynch started on the poll and led most of the 40-lap race to outduel the World of Outlaws racers and win the $35,000 first-place Prize at Lernerville Speedway.
Lynch did so in dramatic fashion. Using a new engine and chassis combination, he posted the seventh-fastest qualifying time, followed that with a third in his heat, then won the dash to capture the poll. His victory marked the first time since 1998 that the race was won by a non-touring Outlaws driver."
February
Lernerville Banquet - 3/1/03
Ed and his family and crew will attend Lernerville Speedway's 35th Annual Awards Banquet this Saturday. We will give a full report on Sunday.
East Bay Raceway Park - 2-15-03
The 27th Annual East Bay Raceway Sprint Winternationals finished on Saturday night. Ed spent Friday night and all day Saturday re-building the #2L and had it ready for competition.
With everything lined up by points accumulated through three preliminary nights, he started 4th in the second heat and the top three cars from each heat advanced to the A-Main. He finished 2nd behind Dale Blaney and qualified for the 50-lap A-Main.
He started 20th in the feature, but pulled to the infield after the second lap. He was credited with 24th spot. The 50-lapper was won by Danny Lasoski after Greg Hodnett was disqualified for an illegal left rear wheel.
East Bay Raceway Park - 2-15-03
The 27th Annual East Bay Raceway Sprint Winternationals finished on Saturday night. Ed spent Friday night and all day Saturday re-building the #2L and had it ready for competition.
With everything lined up by points accumulated through three preliminary nights, he started 4th in the second heat and the top three cars from each heat advanced to the A-Main. He finished 2nd behind Dale Blaney and qualified for the 50-lap A-Main.
He started 20th in the feature, but pulled to the infield after the second lap. He was credited with 24th spot. The 50-lapper was won by Danny Lasoski after Greg Hodnett was disqualified for an illegal left rear wheel.
East Bay Raceway - 2-14-03
Friday was a tough night for the Lynch Racing team. Starting with time trials when he timed 28th overall in the 40-car field, this slotted him in 8th starting spot in the 4th heat. Only the top five advanced to the A-Main and Ed finished 7th and had to qualify through the B-Main.
He started 8th in the 15-lap B-Main and was attempting to pass Brian Ellenberger on lap eight for 4th spot, which would advance him to the A-Main, when the two cars came upon the lapped car of the Wisconsin Jason Johnson in turn four. Ed went over Johnson's right rear tire and flipped into the outside turn four wall. Bill Rose also got caught up in the mix.
The #2L had sever damage to the front end and rear end and all suspension parts and was done for the night.
East Bay Raceway Park - 2-13-03
Thursday night's All Star show had 42 cars on hand and Ed timed 12th overall. This started him outside second row in the 4th heat. He was looking good at the start, but the car got a little sideways in turn four and Kelly Kinser with no where to go, hit Ed and flipped bringing out the red. Kinser was not able to continue. Ed restarted 9th and made it back to 5th which qualified him for the A-Main.
He started 11th, but fell back a couple of spots over the 25 lap feature event and finished 15th.
Friday is a complete show once again.
East Bay Raceway - 2/12/03
Ed spent the evening Wednesday night trying to get a hold of the race track. He said from hot laps, time trials, heat race and feature, he was never getting the grip he needed. He timed 21st in the 42 car field and finished 2nd in his heat. He started 19th in the 25 lap feature and finished 18th. After the car wash, he will work on the set up again and try that on Thursday night.
East Bay Raceway Park - 2/11/03
Ed and the team survived a 28 hour tow to Florida through a snow-storm in West Virginia and arrived in time to participate in Media Day and Practice at East Bay Raceway Park near Tampa, Florida on Tuesday afternoon. He got to go on the 1/3 mile track for two sessions and was satisfied with the car's performance.
The 27th Annual Sprint Car Winternationals start Wednesday night and go through Saturday night.
March
Lernerville Speedway Opener - 3/28/03
Ed
had many of his questions answered Friday night when he became the first feature
winner at Lernerville Speedway's opener marking the start of the track's 36th
racing season.First, his questions concerning the major re-build of the J&J car he crashed so badly at East Bay were answered when the car performed flawlessly. Next question, of course, was had he healed sufficiently from his East Bay injuries to be able to take a full night of racing and the answer was yes. Lastly, would a six-year old engine that he put in the car this week be able to get the job done? His commanding five second lead at the end, seemed proof enough.
Twenty Sprinters were on hand and the pill draw had the #2L going 5th in the first heat. Jamie Smith had started on pole and won despite yellow on lap 3 and a red flag on lap 4. Ed finished 2nd and the top 6 were part of a re-draw for the feature lineup.
Once again, he drew a five for the first feature event of the evening. Initially, Kevin Schaeffer and Rich Kominski were on the front row of the feature with Ricky Ferkel and Brian Ellenberger in row two and Ed was in the inside of the 3rd row with Rod George outside. As the field was coming into turn four to complete the first lap, Ralphie Spithaler, who had started 8th, got high and slid off the track backwards into a concrete jersey barrier.
As Spithaler was sliding in the loose stuff off turn four, five other cars tangled causing a complete restart. Ed had passed Kominski and Schaeffer on his way to the flagstand and led the first lap, but that was erased and the remaining 14 cars were shown a complete restart. The first three cars were the same as the original line-up and then Ed was lined up 4th. Ed took the lead again after the restart, but only 3 laps were completed before Rod George lost power on the backstretch.
The line-up now showed Ed being followed by Kominski, Ferkel, Schaeffer, Davey Jones and Jamie Smith.
Another yellow on lap six for Kominski, put Ferkel, Smith and Gary Kreiss on the trail. A lap nine yellow was for Gary Rankin who spun to the inside of turn four. This time, Ed was trailed by Ferkel, Jamie Smith and Davey Jones. The final caution came on lap 15 and it ended a strong run for second place runner, Ricky Ferkel.
At the end of 20 laps, it was Ed who took Kent Michael's checkered flag by a 1/2 straight-away lead over Jamie. It was Ed's 57th win here.
#2L Ready for Lernerville Opener - 3/26/03
"We hope we have the car race-ready for Friday night, but the real test will come when we get our laps in at Lernerville," said Ed after three week-ends of non-stop work in the garage.
"There were so many bent and broken parts from our East Bay crash and they have all been rebuilt or replaced. So now we just keep our fingers crossed and hope we found them all."
At mid-week, the forecast looks good for Friday and Lernerville Promoter Ouchie Roeneigk says the track is ready. Please check our website for results if you can't be there.
Lernerville Banquet 3/1/03
On Saturday night, March 1, Lernerville Speedway hosted its 35th Annual Awards Banquet at the Days Inn in Butler, Pa. Ed and his family, sons Ed III and Sye and wife Heather were joined by crew members, Steve Anderson and Curt Hepler along with Jean and Ed, Sr. (Mom and Dad) and engine builder Paul Kistler, his wife Sue and their sons at the big awards presentation.
Track owners Helen and Patty Martin and their staff had a special surprise award planned for Ed. It was a "Milestone in Racing Award" presented "in recognition of your outstanding 2002 season that includes becoming the first local driver to win a World of Outlaw show and setting the all-time Lernerville Sprint win record."
The beautiful 4-foot trophy is on a wooden base and has four bright red column posts that surround a 10" high red surface with the inscription described above. The columns are topped with another wooden platform that holds an 8" crystal cup at the top. The nameplate at the bottom reads "2002 Milestone in Racing Award - Lernerville Speedway."
Ed's acceptance speech included thanks to all those who made his Milestone year possible and what the WoO win meant to him because it happened in front of his hometown fans.
The top 10 in the St. Barnabas Health System Sprint Division were honored where Ed received the 2nd place plaque that had a picture of his #2L that also included a head shot.
Long-time racing enthusiast, Walt Wimer has been keeping stats over the last several decades. Once a year, Walt tallies up the top three finishes at 30 tri-state area tracks and presents the #1 Cochran Automotive Cavalcade of Champions award to the top Sprint car driver. Ed was the 2002 winner and Walt presented him with a plaque that displayed the picture from victory lane with Ed holding up his "big check" for his $35,000 World of Outlaw win.
Ed had previously won the Cavalcade of Champions award in 1990 and 2000.
April
Ed Wins Tri City Speedway Opener - 4/28/03
In order to have a perfect night of racing, you would have to lead every lap of every event you entered. That is what Ed did Sunday night in the Tri City Speedway season opener.
Ed started on pole of the second heat and led every lap over Rod George and Bobby Clark. Rob Eyler won the first heat. Striving to have an early show, the officials at Tri City had the heats for the 15 Sprint cars in the record books shortly after 6:00PM.
The inversion was "0" for the 20-lap feature, making it an Eyler-Lynch front row. At the drop of the green, Ed used his outside starting berth to take the lead and it was smooth sailing until lap nine when Scott Priester brought out the first caution.
Just one lap later, Ricky Ferkel brought out a second caution. The final yellow was on lap 13 for Sheila Rankin. On the next lap Clark replaced Eyler for second, then two laps later George moved by Eyler for third.
From that point on, it was all green with Ed followed across the line by Clark, George, Eyler and Jason Jacoby as the clock read 8:30PM. It was Ed's 16th career Tri City victory and according to PR Director, Brian Spaid, it broke a tie in the Super Sprint overall win list with his father, Ed Lynch, Sr.
Immediately following the feature, Ed went to Autograph Alley where he signed and passes out autograph cards to the fans.
Ed Gets One in the Win Column at Sharon - 4/26/03
After two weeks of costly flips at The New Sharon Speedway, Ed finally kept all four wheels on the ground and chalked one up in the win column at this 1/3 mile track in Hartford, Ohio Saturday night.
Talk about turning your luck around, Ed even made the number 13 his lucky number for the night, taking the lead on lap 13 and holding on until the end.
The 22 cars that signed in ran three heats and Ed started 3rd in the first heat and that's where he finished. The crew went to work on the #2L and the changes they made, paid off big time.
The 25-lap Sprint feature was second tonight and the redraw had Ed starting 8th in the field. The front row showed CW Harshman and Kevin Andrusky at the green flag, but it was Andrusky that led the early laps.
The first caution on lap four had Ed up to fourth behind Andrusky, Harshman and Ricky Ferkel. Ed got by Ferkel on the next lap using the inside groove in turn two and when the next caution came on lap six, Ed was third. Using that same inside move, Ed got by Harshman and was second when the red flag came out on lap nine.
For the next four laps, Ed would pressure Andrusky on the inside and would pull equal to him in turns two and four, but each time Andrusky would come off the turn and be ahead on the straightaways.
Finally, on lap 13, Ed made his winning move in turns three and four, going under Andrusky and pulling ahead. Despite two more cautions, on laps 19 and 20, Ed maintained the lead and won by 10 car-lengths over Andrusky. Gary Edwards came on late to take third spot.
In his victory speech, Ed acknowledged the fact that the fans had endured cold weather to be here tonight and kept the interview short - just thanking his sponsors, Commercial Truck and Trailer, Indy Recycling, J&J Chassis, Kistler engines, Red Devil Brakes, VRP Shocks, Simpson Uniforms and Hoosier Tires.
Ed was reminded by on-track announcer Jim Pollock that his win would be shown on Youngstown's FOX station WYFX on Friday, May 2, 2003 at 10:30PM.
From 19th to 2nd at Lernerville - 4/25/03
Twenty-seven sprints were at Lernerville Speedway Friday night and Ed started 8th in the first of three heats. He was running 4th coming out of turn four on lap seven right behind two lapped cars that both spun collecting him, which resulted in major damage to the #2L. Ed was OK. The heats were won by Rod George, Chad Hill and Brian Woodhall.
The crew worked non-stop, replacing and repairing things like the top wing, front wing, headers, torsion bars and arms, wheels and tires. They were slated to start 4th in the B-Main, but after being pushed off, he had to return to the pits when the engine shut off. A coil wire had been pinched off and that was corrected, however, now he had to start ninth. He did win that race which started him 19th in the 24-car field for the 20-lap A-Main.
A caution on the start of the feature for a spin by Hill, moved Ed up to 18th. A lap five caution for Gary Rankin and Mike Kaminski who tangled on the front stretch, showed Ed up to 12th. Davey Jones brought out the yellow one lap later and Ed was now 9th. Polesitter, Eric Smith had led the early laps, but now Ricky Ferkel was the leader and Roger Bennett was 2nd with Ed up to 3rd by lap 15 when Kaminski brought out another yellow.
Lap 16 saw the final caution and the top three cars were running in the same order with Ed trying to make an inside move on Bennett in the turns with the laps winding down. Hard to believe, but coming off turn four on the last lap, Ferkel seemed to lose power and slowed dramatically coming to the start finish line. With Ed inside Bennett the two were bearing down quickly on the slowing Ferkel. Ed was forced to take evasive action at the finish line to keep from hitting Ferkel who drifted toward the middle of the track. Ferkel cross the finish line first with Ed second. Bennet who finished third, had no where to go with Ferkel slowing in front of him and Ed passing him on the inside, ended up hitting Ed on the left side after both had crossed the finish line.
It was the first win ever for the 22-year old Ricky Ferkel, who told the fans that the reason he had slowed was that he was out of fuel.
The New Sharon Speedway - 4/19/03
For the 2nd night in a row, Ed had to come from the back of an A-Main and pass lots of cars to get a top five finish.
This time it was at The New Sharon Speedway, Saturday night, where 25 Sprints were on hand for the first night of points. It was nice of owner Dave Blaney to stop by Ed's trailer to have some light conversation. David has the Easter weekend off from his NASCAR Winston Cup ride and had come home to his track to give the fans an autograph night.
Because there were so many "rookies" the cars were divided into three heats and Ed started sixth in the 3rd heat. Eric Smith and Kevin Andrusky started in the front row. The green flag waved and the field went through turns one and two. But, starting down the back stretch, Andrusky seemed to have problems and shot from the outside straight across the track toward the infield collecting Mike Kekich who was inside him, and the two together collected Ed, who was also on the inside.
The #2L tipped up into the pile, nearly going completely over. The car stood on its front wheels and front axle, almost like doing a hand-stand, then slammed back down on the track on all four wheels. The damage was severe and Ed went off on a wrecker. The other two were unable to continue, also.
Thrashing to make all the replacements before feature time, Ed and Ed, Sr. got some help from nearby crews and together, they replaced the nose wing, the top wing, the front axle, bent arms, bars and all the shocks.
Ready by feature time, he started 20th in the 25 lap A-Main event. Only one lap was recorded when Goob Schuller brought out the first yellow and Ed was up to 11th. Another yellow followed for a stalled car. Still another caution one lap later had Ed in 9th.
A red was needed for a flip on lap 11 with Ed now 6th. The final caution came with two to go and Ed was 4th. Lapped cars were plentiful and at the checkered, he was still 4th behind Jared Larson, Jason Jacoby and Jack Sodeman, Jr.
Ed Comes From Last to Second at Lernerville- 4/18/03
It was cold and rainy, but Lernerville finally got their first point race, a yellow and red flag plagued event, in the books Friday night. Two heats were run for the 23 Sprints on hand and the draw for starting positions had Ed starting 11th in the first heat. There was a caution on lap 2 and Ed was fifth. He ended up third behind polesitter Brian Woodhall and Gary Kriess.
In the 20-lap, 22 car feature the redraw had Ed slated to start sixth with Eric Smith and Charlie Holben in the front row and Brent Matus and Chad Hill in row two. Kevin Schaeffer started inside Ed in row three.
Polesitter Smith spun in turn #1 at the start resulting in a complete restart with the crossover sending Holben to the pole and Ed over to 5th. With one lap scored, Ed was forced to take evasive action in turn one which caused him to spin, bringing out the yellow. Now, he really had his work cut out for him....the single file restart had him back in 20th. On a lap two caution, he was 17th. Another yellow was out for fifth-running Ralph Spithaler, before a lap was recorded, Ed was up to 13th. A yellow after four laps had Ed up to 12th, and the yellow again showed him in 11th. By now, fans were guessing that falling temperatures could have something to do with the lack of grip the tires were getting, resulting in so many spins. A red flag on lap four for a two-car spin and flip and Ed was up to 9th. Another caution on lap six for a spinning car showed Ed up to 8th. The final red came on lap 14 for leader Holben who went over the wheel of the lapped car of Bill Kiley. This made Gary Kriess the new leader with Ed now in runner-up position.
When the green came out for the final six laps, Kriess stayed with the top groove, where he had been fast all night and Ed tried the inside in turn two, but Kriess proved the top was the place to be and stayed ahead the rest of the distance and Ed had to settle for second place.
Ed is featured in May's SprintCar & Midget Magazine - 4/15/03
The May issue of SprintCar & Midget Magazine, a popular monthly publication with national distribution, has Ed at speed in the #2L at East Bay Raceway Park on the cover.
Inside, there is a 12 page feature story by well-known, open-wheel writer Bruce Ellis who does an excellent job of describing what set the stage for Ed, Jr. in both his construction and racing careers. There are also many great color pictures throughout the story.
If fans would like to know more about Ed's early experiences in racing, school, work, family and the things that influenced his life the most; or how his values have changed over the years because of a nearly fatal accident, then this article by Bruce will make very interesting reading.
To subscribe to SprintCar & Midget call 813-984-8021 or purchase a copy at your favorite race track. If you would like the May issue mailed to you, just send $5.00 total (shipping and handling included) to SprintCar & Midget Magazine, P.O. Box 16397, Tampa FL 33687-6397.
Sharon Speedway - 4/13/03
It was a short night for Lynch Racing Sunday night at Sharon Speedway's All Star opener. Ed's pill draw had him scheduled to time trial 20th of the 34 cars signed in. His first lap was a 13.336 (placing him 15th overall) and his second lap was looking faster. However, coming off turn down the front stretch, with no notice the steering broke and the car veered right and into the guardrail. The front end dug in and he flipped several times. Ed was OK, but after putting a new front end under the car, it was decided to load up and head for the garage.
Wins Mercer Opener For Second Year In A Row - 4/12/03
For the second year in a row, Ed won the Mercer Raceway Park season opener Saturday night, leading the 20 lap feature in wire-to-wire fashion.
There were 28 Sprints on hand and three qualifying heats were lined up by the pill draw. Ed started 7th in the 2nd heat and Jamie Smith had started 3rd. With two laps to go a yellow flag inadvertently turned into a red light with Jamie leading and Ed running second. The fans were treated to two laps of side-by-side racing with Ed winning the drag race to the flagstand by a front bumper. Arnie Kent and Kevin Andrusky won the other heats and the Victory Engines Banyas 07 claimed the B-Main.
The top four in each heat were subject to a re-draw for starting positions in the feature. The team changed gears, tires and one torsion bar prior to the start. Ed drew a #1 and Scott Bonnell drew a #2. Ed led going into turn one and had caught the back of the field and lapped several cars when the first yellow came out on lap six. With a clear track ahead, he continued to lead Bonnell for the next four laps when another yellow came out on lap 10 and the following restart had two cars flipping resulting in a red.
The second half of the 20-lapper showed Ed leading Bonnell, Arnie Kent and Troy Preston. The action slowed on lap 14, when again, a yellow flag incident turned into a red on the restart. All drivers were OK and the race went green to the end with the top four (all in J&J chassis)remaining the same.
After crossing the scales, Ed came track-side to victory lane, and as soon as he climbed from the car, track announcer Mike Dutko commented on the fact that it was the first time he had seen Ed wearing glasses. Ed explained that these were his "special night-vision" wrap-around, shatterproof glasses and that he was trying them for the first time tonight.
After thanking his J&J car builder, his engine builder Paul Kistler, Ed told Mike that he was using a new Red Devil front end and brakes, Weld Wheels and Hoosier tires. He also did a favor for Kevin Andrusky who had asked Ed to wish his wife happy birthday if he got in victory circle.
Several times through the night, Mercer's management acknowledged those serving in the Military from neighboring communities and during his interview, Ed also used that opportunity to tell the large opening-day crowd how proud he was of the men and women in our Armed Forces.
Lernerville Rains Out Again - 4/11/03
For the second week in a row, Lernerville Speedway was forced to cancel their Friday night show. This time the call was made around 1:00 PM and the team never loaded the #2L in the trailer.
Weekend Race Plans - April 11-13, 2003
If the weather permits, the #2L will be racing Friday night at Lernerville, Saturday night at Mercer's Season Opener, and Sunday at Sharon's All Star Sprint Season Opener. Hope to see everyone at the races....if not, please check here for results.
Lernerville Speedway 4-4-03
The #2L crew loaded the race car and headed for the track at 4:45pm despite the bad weather that was on the way. Ed pulled up to the pit gate and was attempting to get his pit pass when the call came from the press box that the night's events were canceled. The trip wasn't a complete waste, as Ed Sr. was sure to make a quick trip to the concession stand for tasty fish sandwich before heading back to Apollo.
May
Ed comes from 12th to win Lernerville - 5/30/03
The 20-lap feature for Sprints was first in the rotation at Lernerville Speedway Friday night. A redraw of qualified cars put Chad Hill and Rod George in the front row. Next came Dan Shetler and Brent Matus in row two, then Eric Smith and Ralph Spithaler. Because Ed won the last feature, he was slated to start in 12th spot.
Hill led the first eight rounds until the back-markers of Charlie Holben and Scott Priester tangled, with Holben flipping in turn two just as the leaders approached. The results were that both Hill and George got caught up in that accident high in turn two and had to restart on the rear. Leading up to that Lap 8 red flag, Ed had been running 5th. Now, with Hill and George to the rear, he found himself in third place for the restart behind Shetler and Spithaler.
The next 10 laps were all green and Ed managed to pass Spithaler on the inside in turn two after about four laps, then he tracked down Shetler who led laps 9 through 16, and caught and passed him when the two entered lapped traffic. On lap 17, Ed claimed the lead and had a nice rhythm going until the caution flew again for a spin by Hill on the front stretch, with 19 laps in the books.
Flagman, Kent Michael then was forced to go with a green - white - checkered finish to complete Ed's 10th win of the season and 60th here. Ed had a tough choice on where to run Friday night. He is currently leading the points at three tracks - Lernerville, Sharon and Tri City. However, two of these, Lernerville and Sharon, were racing tonight. Sharon, a two-hour tow, had a World of Outlaw show with time trials and the truck would have to head up the road at least by 2:00PM to be on time for everything. By the time he set the valves and retimed the engine, it was 5:00PM when #2L was rolled into the trailer, so it was going to be Lernerville, a 1/2 hour tow, for Friday night.
Three heats were run for the 26 Sprints on hand and Ed started 4th in the first heat. Chad Hill started outside Davey Jones in the front row and led every lap with Ed second and Jones third ahead of Priester. Shetler and Spithaler won the other heats.
Ed's #2L on www.Hoseheads.com website 5/26/03
A picture of Ed's #2L on the cover of June's SprintCar & Midget magazineis featured in the SprintCar & Midget banner ad in the upper left corner of the Home Page of the popular national Sprint Car website - www.hoseheads.com. Just click on the ad to get information on a subscription.
A non-stop feature win at Tri City Speedway - 5/25/03
It was a big night of racing at Tri City Speedway when a record 141 cars were on hand Sunday to entertain the track's largest crowd of the season. The fans loved what they saw as two of the features - the BRP Modified Tour and the Sprints - went non-stop.
Twenty-five sprints were scheduled to run three heats with Ed starting outside front row of the 2nd heat and leading every lap followed by "Doc" Altmeyer, Andy McKisson, Paul Kish and Bill Kiley. The first heat winner was Daryl Stimeling over Jason Jacoby and Brent Matus. In the last heat, Jarod Larson held off Rod George, Charlie Holben and Scott Priester.
Roving announcer, Brian Spaid had a fan draw for the Sprint inversion and that number was "0", thus awarding the pole position to Stimeling with Ed outside and Larson and Jacoby in row two.
The 20-lap Sprint feature followed a non-stop 30-lap Modified feature and no one in the house would bet on another non-stopper, but that's just what happened. Flagman Greg Wheeling dropped the green flag and it was time to hang on and watch out for lapped traffic.
Ed went into the record books as leading every circuit and lapping up to the 10th place car by the time the checkered flag waved. His margin of victory over George who took over second place from Larson on the white flag lap, was a straightaway. Next came Stimeling, Jacoby, Priester, Holben, Altmeyer, Jeff Banyas and Matus.
The win puts Ed into a 4th place tie with George for Tri City's all-time sprint feature wins. Each driver now has 18. This also marked Ed's 9th win of the season.
Ed is 2nd at Sharon - 5/24/03
Starting from the pole, Ed led the first half of the 25-lap feature at The New Sharon Speedway on Saturday night, but outside pole sitter Jimmy Hawley was able to make his car respond better with the changing track conditions and led the second half of the race, ending up with a three-car length advantage at the checkered.
Two heats were run for the 22 cars signed in and Ed started 10th and finished third in the first heat which was won by C.W.Harshman from the pole and Hawley, who started 3rd, was second. Jason Jacoby led all laps of the 2nd heat ahead on Eric Smith and Jarod Larson.
The Sprint feature had four caution periods and a lengthy red flag to halt the action during which there was rain. Behind Ed and Hawley at the start were Jack Sodeman, Jr. and Smith in the second row and it was Smith who brought out the first caution on lap two.
Ed, Sodeman and Hawley brought the field to the cone on the restart, but just four laps later the yellow was out again for Goob Schuller. There was no change in the top three as action resumed.
Sodeman was challenging Ed for the lead on lap nine when something broke on Sodeman's #23Jr. car, perhaps a pitman arm, and he flipped hard in turns one and two. It took the rescue workers a while to get him out of the car and he was transported to the hospital. No word on his condition.
During the red flag, last week's feature winner, Larson went to the pits and did not return. Meanwhile, it started to rain. The restart lineup now showed Lynch, Hawley and Chad Hill up from ninth starting spot.
Hawley seemed to get faster and dove under Ed in turn three just after the half-way mark and a lap 14 caution for Deana Barbara showed the restart with Hawley, Ed and Hill.
On lap 17 Marty Ling brought out the final yellow and during the remaining eight green-flag laps Ed was able to close to three car-lengths on Hawley, but had to settle for second spot. Andres Paulker who started 14th finished 3rd ahead of Mike Kekich, Hill and Tommy Quarterson.
Lernerville Speedway - 5/23/03
With the Sprints first on the program Friday night at Lernerville Speedway, it was possible to get both heats in before the rains came for the 23 cars present.
Ed took the car he ran Wednesday night in the World of Outlaw show to see if he could find the problem that had him going backwards in that feature. He started 12th in the first heat, finished 5th and learned very little about the car. "We were on the track early and there was only a very narrow groove. I can't say that I was able to pinpoint the problem, so we will have to try this car again."
The slate was wiped clean with the rain and next week will be a totally new program.
World of Outlaws at Lernerville Speedway - 5/21/03
After Tuesday night's World of Outlaws show was rained out at Lernerville Speedway the race ran the following day. Whether all the rain changed the track conditions, it's hard to say, but after his heat race and the Dash, Ed remarked, "The track is very different tonight from our weekly Friday night shows."
Ed's night started off good enough when he went out 15th in the time trial order and turned in 7th quick time of the 39 Sprints present. Steve Kinser ended up with the fastest time of 12.540, followed by Daryl Pittman-12.566, Lance Dewease-12.573, Tyler Walker-12.600, Greg Hodnett-12.616, Danny Lasosky-12.633 and Ed Lynch, Jr.-12.661.
There were four qualifying heats and Ed started 5th in the 2nd heat and finished 3rd behind Jason Sides and Mark Kinser. The other heats were won by Joey Saldana, Freddy Rahmer and Johnny Herrera.
The fact that Ed was able to pass two cars in his heat coupled with his 7th quick time, plus an inversion of four, put him on pole for the first Dash with Hodnett outside. Dewease and Steve Kinser were in row two with Dale Blaney and Jac Haudenschild next. Hodnett was fast and pulled away from the pack to win by a wide margin over Steve Kinser and Ed. The second Dash went to Donny Schatz over Lasoski and Tyler Walker. The B-Main advanced Paul McMahan, Jason Johnson, Brian Paulus and Brian Carlson. Rod George and Dan Shetler were the two locals added by Lernerville Speedway.
The 35-lap feature only had two laps in the books when 10th starting Tim Shaffer spun in the middle of turn four and everyone miraculously missed him. Ed was still 5th.
During the next 27 green-flag laps, Ed tried every groove on the track but never found a "comfort zone" and had drivers passing him on the outside when he ran inside. Then when he switched to the high groove, he had drivers pass him on the inside.
From the pole, Hodnett led the first 12 laps before Schatz took a lead he would never relinquish. At the caution on lap 29 for Johnson who spun in turn two, Ed was back to 11th.
Shaffer brought out the final yellow when he spun on the back stretch on lap 34 and two laps were necessary to finish the race. Ed dropped two more spots and finished 13th behind Schatz in his first-ever win here. Dewease was second, after starting 11th, and Walker, Lasoski, Pittman, Steve Kinser, Mark Kinser, Saldana, Blaney, Sammy Swindell, Sides, Haudenschild and Ed.
Tri City Speedway - 5/20/03
It's never over 'til it's over....You never get a yellow when you need one and when you don't need one - there it is! Both of these cliches tell the Sunday night story at Tri City Speedway.
Ed had a 1/2 lap lead over the field when a caution came out on lap 14 of the 20-lap feature event and when the checkered waved it was Rod George in first and Ed in second.
The evening started with two heats for the 16 Sprint on hand and Ed started third in the second heat and won over George and Phil Mott. Daryl Stimeling, fresh off his 4th place finish at Port Royal the night before, made his first appearance of the year at Tri City and won the first heat over Scott Priester.
Roving announcer, Brian Spaid had a fan pick for the Sprint feature inversion and the envelope was an eight. So, Ed started 8th with Andy McKisson and Gary Rankin in the front row and Brent Matus and Mott in row two. Jarod Larson and George were side by side in row three, while Priester started inside Ed in row four.
McKisson led the first lap, then Matus took command for the next two as Ed was advancing in the outside lane. Larson passed Matus on the outside on the next round and Ed was up to third. Moving past Matus on the outside on lap five put Ed into second.
Larson had stretch his lead and it took Ed the next three laps to catch him on the backstretch. Since Larson was running the high groove, Ed went inside as the two raced side by side into turn three. Ed stayed inside and pulled away from Larson exiting turn four and led lap eight.
Moving back up to the high groove, Ed had built up a l/2 lap lead over the field when McKisson and Sheila Rankin tangled in the middle of turn four, bringing out the yellow.
The restart order was Lynch, Larson, two lapped cars, Brent Matus and George. As the laps wound down, George found a terrific bite on the inside groove and zipped past Matus and Larson in the next two laps. He then set his sights on Ed and as the two came under Greg Wheeling's white flag, George was two car-lengths back.
George stayed on the bottom and passed Ed in turn two and was ahead down the backstretch and went on to win and break the tie for total Tri City wins he had with Ed going into tonight's race. Each driver had 17 wins (equal to Bob Felmlee's total) and now George has 18. Larson finished third ahead of Stimeling, Matus, Priester, Gary Rankin, Jason Jacoby, McKisson and Mott.
The New Sharon Speedway - 5/17/03
"We just kind of sat on top of the track and didn't go anywhere for most of the race," Ed said after starting fourth and finishing third Saturday night at The New Sharon Speedway in the Sprint 25-lap A-Main. "I tried different grooves, but that didn't work. There was one time just before that third caution, when I got by Mike Kekich, I thought I might catch the leader (Jarod Larson), but my tires sealed over after the caution and I was just hanging on from that point until the checkered," he continued. The evening started great with Ed, Sr. pulling a #1 pill which started Ed on the pole of the first of three heats for the 25 cars on hand. He won that over Jack Sodeman, Jr., Tommy Quarterson, Kekich and Chad Hill. The 2nd heat went to Jason Jacoby over Kevin Andrusky, Andy McKisson and Phil Mott. Larson won the 3rd heat over C.W. Harshman.
The Sprint feature lined up first with Kekich and Larson on the front row and Quarterson inside of Ed in row two. Kekich led the first four laps over Larson with Ed third, when the caution came out for a spin by Scott Groves. The restart resulted in a red when a three-car tangle blocked the track in turn one.
Larson used the outside lane to pass Kekich for the lead before the next caution on lap six and Ed was still third. Before the final yellow flag on lap 10 Ed passed Kekich and was second. However, Hill who started 13th was on the move and with the remainder of the race going non-stop, he was able to reel in Ed and pass him on the outside on the front stretch for 2nd and make a try for Larson, but lapped traffic was a factor and the finish showed Larson, Hill, Lynch, Sodeman, Quarterson and Kekich.
Ed starts 12th and wins at Lernerville - 5-16-03
Ed had a perfect night at Lernerville Speedway on Friday night, winning his 8-lap heat and the 20-lap feature in what served as the final tune-up for the up-coming World of Outlaw show here on Tuesday.
It is rare for Ed to get the #1 pill draw for his heat, but he did and with 27 cars signed in, that started him on pole for the first of three Sprint car heats. Jamie Smith started on the outside row and led from the top groove for the first three laps. The fans were treated to side-by-side racing before Ed was able to make an inside move in turn three and lead coming out of turn four as they were completing lap four.
Following Ed and Jamie were Chad Hill, Mike Kaminski and Brian Carlson at the checkered. Jack Sodeman, Jr. and Ralphie Spithaler won the other heats. Because of winning last week's feature, Ed was slotted in 12th starting spot for the feature which showed Kaminski and Dan Shetler on the front row. Only one lap was in the books when the yellow flag came out for a tangle by Shetler and Charlie Holben, but Ed was up to 9th.
With Ed picking the inside groove, a caution on lap three showed Ed in 6th. Mike Shearer brought out the yellow on lap four with Ed up to 3rd. On lap six, Kaminski spun in turn two and Hill checked up and Gary Kriess, Jr. wasn't able to get stopped and ran into Hill, bringing out the fourth yellow flag.
On the restart, Ed had been patient as Arnie Kent, in his 2nd week behind the wheel of the Martha Dionese #15, had led Jamie Smith through the last two restarts. This time Ed pinched the inside in turn one and passed both cars on the inside coming out of turn two, to take the lead on lap seven. Two more cautions on laps eight and 13 were necessary, plus a red flag to halt the action on lap nine for a flip by Kaminski outside turn four, slowed the Sprint feature which had been second on the agenda tonight.
The last seven laps were green and Ed picked up his 3rd win here by 1/2 lap over Smith, Rod George, Sodeman, Kent, Roger Bennett, Holben, Carlson, Davey Jones and Spithaler.
The win was Ed's 59th career victory here and his 8th of the season.
Ed is 2nd at Tri City Speedway - 5/11/03
Tri City Speedway had a little of everything Sunday night.... high winds, threatening skies, a light shower, a four-division race program plus Thundercars and a Powder Puff race.
Once again there was a small field of Sprints - only 13. Ed ran the first heat starting in sixth position. He won over Rod George, Phil Mott Brian Ellenberger and Doc Altmeyer. The second heat was won by Andy McKisson followed by Jason Jacoby, Gary Rankin, Scott Priester and Butch Beasley.
The 20-lap Sprint feature followed the Big Block Modified feature and a B-Main for Stock Cars, but that's when the light shower hit the track. Ed was already in the staging lane and the team quickly backed away and pushed the car in the hauler with their driver in it.
As everyone crowded into every empty space in the trailer to stay dry, the fast-moving wind had the rain clouds out of there and the sun came out within 10 minutes. The Tri City track crew had the track ready within minutes and the B-Main was completed.
The pill draw by a fan put Jason Jacoby on the pole and Rod George outside. The second row had Andy McKisson starting inside and Ed outside while Phil Mott and Gary Rankin were in row three.
At the drop of flagman Greg Wheeling's green flag, George nosed ahead of Jacoby and by turn one George was in the lead. Ed followed that same outside move on Jacoby in turn one and exited turn two just behind George.
With 7 laps in the books, George led Ed by six car-lengths going into turn three, where they came upon the spinning car of Sheila Rankin. The yellow lights came on and the restart lineup showed Jacoby still in third, followed by Priester, Phil Mott, McKisson and Ellenberger.
One more lap was scored before Doc Altmeyer and Chris Matthews tangled inside turn two and slowed the field again. After the restart, the racing went non-stop to the end and Ed was able to get some heat in his tires and stayed closer to George (about three car-lengths) but still could never mount a serious challenge and with George's win, that puts him tied with Ed and Bob Felmlee for all-time feature wins here at Tri City. All three drivers have 17 feature wins each.
Ed gets 5th at The New Sharon Speedway- 5/10/03
Despite heavy rain showers in the morning and the prediction for severe storms in the evening, track manager Dale Blaney made the call to race Saturday night at The New Sharon Speedway. It turned out to be the right call and 120 race cars showed up.
Twenty-three of these were sprint cars that ran two heat races. Ed's pill draw had him starting second in the second heat. He won that over Jarod Larson, Gary Edwards and Paul Kekich. The other heat had Tim Hunter winning over Goob Schuller and Goob Schuller.
The rotation of divisions had the Sprints running last all night and with two previous wins here, Ed was penalized to 12th starting position because of winning back to back features here.
It turns out, he did start 11th, because Mike Kekich failed to go across the scales thus, Kekich started 12th. The 25-lapper showed two number 61's (Schuller and Gary Edwards) ) on the front row. But, to come from 11th to the front, Ed would need to hit the setup perfectly and he missed it as badly as the weatherman missed the forecast for tonight.
With Edwards leading from the start, the race had a yellow on lap 6 for Deana Barbara and again after three laps, the field slowed for another yellow. This time Edwards led Jack Sodeman, Jr, Tim Hunter, Marty Ling and Larson. Mike Kaminski was guilty of two spins, while Sodeman streaked to the front by lap 15.
Once again, the final yellow came with 22 laps chalked up, as Sodeman led Hunter, Jimmy Hawley, Marty Ling and Ed Lynch. Jr. The finishing order was the same, three laps later at the checkered flag.
Ed Wins 2nd at Lernerville - 5/09/03
After heavy rains in the morning, Lernerville Track Promoter, Ouchie Roenigk had the track in super condition Friday night and Ed took advantage of that by winning his heat and the feature.
There were 32 sprints divided into three heats. Ed started outside pole and won the second heat with Ricky Ferkel and Chad Hill winning the others and Dan Shetler won the Consey.
The redraw for the 20-lap feature lineup had Ed starting 4th and he led the first round. Two early red flags were necessary when Ferkel and Shetler flipped in separate accidents. The 4th lap saw a tangle between Mike Kaminski and Bob Altmeyer bring out the yellow with Ed leading Hill and Roger Bennett. Another caution on lap seven showed the top six as Lynch, Hill, Kevin Schaeffer, Arnie Kent, Bennett and Tim Hunter.
With 17 laps in the books, Ed was coming up on a slowing Scott Bonnell down the backstretch, when suddenly fire burst out of the left side of Bonnell's engine, bringing out the red flag once more.
The restart lineup showed Ed, Hill, Hunter, Schaeffer, Kent and Bennett. The final three laps were under green and Ed's margin of victory was five car-lengths over Hill, then it was Hunter, Schaeffer. Bemmett. Kent, Jimmy Hawley, Brian Woodhall, Rod George and Jaret Larson.
It was Ed's 58th career win here and his 7th for the season.
National Speed Sport News - "Elbows Up!" - 5/5/-3
The current issue, April 30, 2003, of National Speed Sport News (NSSN) has featured Ed in their special monthly insert - "Elbows Up!".
The story, written by Senior Editor Mike Kerchner, is titled "The Apollo Rocket - ED LYNCH, JR: FAMILY RACER - He Works, He Smiles, He Wins". There are five pictures in the article.
Mike starts his feature with, "For years Ed Lynch, Jr. has been well known around the sprint-car racing world for his winning smile, his family name, and his wild-colored sprint cars." Then later he describes Ed's feelings just prior to the big World of Outlaw win. "I thought the guys running the Outlaws were really on top of their game and it was getting harder and harder to beat them."
Capturing Ed's satisfaction in racing, Mike quotes him saying "To me, making something in your garage and taking it out there and racing it and seeing if it made you faster or slower gives me great satisfaction." The two-page spread explains how and why Ed combines his work in construction and his racing.
if you would like to subscribe to NSSN or would like to purchase the April 30th issue, call toll-free 1-866-455-2531.
Five in a row at Tri City Speedway - 5/4/03
Sunday night was the second race of the season at Tri City Speedway and Ed picked up the win in the 20-lap feature event. Counting the last three Sprint races here in 2002 and this season's opener, plus tonight....that makes five wins in a row.
Tri City only had 15 Sprints turn out tonight, but despite the small field, fans were treated to a duel between Ed and Rod George that went on throughout the length of the race.
Ed started 4th in the second heat and was unable to catch outside polesitter Scott Bonnell who won by a comfortable margin. Rod George and Brian Ellenberger followed. The first heat was won by Jason Jacoby over Jarod Larson, Brent Matus and Sheila Rankin.
The audience pill draw set the feature with George on the pole, then Matus. The second row held Ed and Jarod Larson and Scott Bonnell and Jacobs brought up row three.
George led the first two laps before Ed dove under him in turn two. On the next lap, George returned the favor, but that was negated because of a caution for a spinning car, placing Ed in the lead again. At the drop of the green, Ed was in command and although George tried valiantly to catch Ed he could not pull it off. After some side-by-side racing in the turns, George was just waiting for Ed to make a mistake with lapped cars, but that didn't happen. The #2L crossed the scales and headed to victory circle. According to Tri City PR Director, Brian Spaid, "Ed set a modern era record of five feature wins in a row. Ed's 17th career sprint win tonight makes him the top winner at the track since it reopened in 1996.
Counting records since 1968, Ed is now tied with former racer Bob Felmlee for fourth on the overall Super Sprint win list. Then comes Johnny Beaber with 21, Buddy Cochran with 24, and Lou Blaney - with 29.
Ed wins 2nd consecutive feature at Sharon- 5/3/03
Ed has his sights set on being the all-time Sprint winner at The New Sharon Speedway and Saturday night he came one step closer to that goal. With 19 Sprints on hand, two heats were run and Ed started fourth in the first heat and finished second behind pole-sitter Tommy Quarterson, who was substituting for Gary Edwards. The second heat went to second-generation driver Jason Jacoby.
The 25-lap Sprint feature was slotted to be third on the adgenda with Ed's pill draw placing him 10th in the starting line-up. Chad Hill and Jack Sodeman, Jr. started in the front row, but it didn't take Sodeman long to break out into the lead. The only caution of the event was on lap five and Sodeman and Hill led the single-file restart with Ed up to 3rd.
One lap later, Ed moved into second and set sail for Sodeman who had a six-car lead. As the two diced with lapped cars, Sodeman chose the high groove and Ed would pull equal on the inside in the turns, but Sodeman would come off turn #2 and turn #4 and lead at the flag stand on laps nine and ten.
On lap 11, Ed made his inside move work coming off turn #4 and nosed ahead down the front stretch. In turn one, it was decision time as a lapped carfigured into the equation. The two split the lapped car with Ed on the inside and from that point, he went on to build on his margin of victory. At the end, Sodeman faded and Ed finished 1/2 lap ahead of Quarterson, Hill and Sodeman.
In victory circle, track announcer Jim Pollock informed Ed of the new Sharon rule - "if a driver wins two consecutive times, he starts 12th the following week". Ed told the crowd that would make a great race for the fans, because he still has Sharon's all-time record as a goal for 2003.
Ed has a "Grand Slam" - 5/2/03
Combinations of four have been used over time to describe an elusive "Grand Slam" in the world of sports.
Walt Wimer, well-known announcer, writer, statistician and historian, pointed out Friday night that Ed has a "Grand Slam" this year because he has won features at all four area tracks that run Sprints - Lernerville, Mercer, Sharon and Tri City.
Ed is 2nd on Friday at Lernerville - 5/2/03
One of Ed's long-time fans at Lernerville Speedway, his barber - Les Bonner, thinks he should play 222 on the Lottery tomorrow because for the third time this year, Ed has been second in the feature.
A field of 26 Sprints was on hand for action Friday night at Lernerville Speedway. The rotation of events had the Sprint cars running first all night long. Ed was in the first heat starting in the 5th spot and he finished third behind Kevin Schaeffer and Jamie Smith. Rod George and Roger Bennett won the other heats.
The re-draw had Ed starting 4th in the 24-car field for the 20-lap event. The first of 1/2 a dozen yellow flags was on the original start and on the next attempt Ed decided to try the high side of the track. During the next two laps he stayed out there in never-never land and was back to 6th on the next caution two laps later.
After two more cautions, he finally gave up on that high groove and came down to the bottom, where he started to pass cars. He finally made his way up to 3rd behind Bennett and George and was working the inside against Bennett, finally making the pass only to have it erased by the red flag on lap 17. On the restart, he tried the same tactic and got by Bennett again with two laps to go, but George was long gone and won by five car lengths.
June
Ed is 5th at Tri City after avoiding disaster -6/28/03
Ed and the whole crew felt very lucky to be able to finish the race and load the car in the trailer Sunday night at Tri City Speedway.
The start of the 20-lap Sprint feature had already been delayed more than 1-1/2 hours because of a 15-minute shower that hit the track at 7:30PM. The inversion drawn by a young fan was six and that started Scotty Priester and Rod George on the front row with Brian Ellenberger and Jason Jacoby in row two. Ed and Daryl Stimeling were in the third row.
It was Priester who led the first three laps over George. Ed passed Jacoby down the back stretch on the inside on lap one. The next time around, Ed passed Ellenberger on the outside in turn two. With George getting inside Priester on lap four, Ed made his move inside Priester in turn three and was 2nd at the flagstand.
A yellow for Gary Rankin who stopped near the entrance to pit road in turn #3 occurred on lap nine as George led Ed and Brian Ellenberger.
Ed's close call came on lap 14. He had pressured George for several laps and as the two were setting lightning fast laps, they came into lapped traffic. They came upon the #9 sprinter of Mel Straley off turn four to put him down a second lap. Just after George blew by Straley coming out of turn four, with Ed on his tail, Straley didn't hold his line and put his wheel into Ed's left rear.
No one knows why Ed didn't start flipping or barrel-rolling down the front stretch past the flagstand and into turn one! But, the #2L spun and spun and never dug in. The rest of the field managed to miss him and he was able to set sail around the high groove on the restart and salvaged a fifth place finish behind George, Stimeling, Priester and Jacoby.
Once again, speedway officials said "no hot laps" and the show started promptly at 6:00PM with Modified heats. The 15 sprints ran two heats with Stimeling winning the first and Ed winning the second one over Ellenberger, Priester, Scott Barris and Scott Bonnell.
Ed gets win #3 at The New Sharon Speedway - 6/28/03
After starting 11th and 12th the last two times at Sharon, it was great to get a "lucky" draw for a change on Saturday night when the #1 pill came out of the bottle for the #2L. Ed capitalized on that draw and turned it into win number three for the year at Sharon.
Three heats were run for the 26 Sprint cars and Ed started 7th in the 2nd heat and finished 2nd to Mike Kekich while Gary Edwards and Daryl Stimeling won the other heats.
Ed and Deana Barbara made up the front row for the 25-lap Sprint feature on Fireworks night with Daryl Stimeling and Jarod Larson in row two. But, at the drop of the green it was Larson on the move in the high groove and he blew by both Ed and Barbara by turn two and led down the back chute. It was kind of a rough beginning with the caution coming out for Jason Jacoby and Andrew Palker when Chad Hill spun, but kept going. With one lap in the books, Barbara caused the second caution with the score-board showing Larson, Lynch and Hill. The same thing happened again on the next round.
By lap five with Larson still next to the rail and sailing on the 1/3 mile oval, he got caught up in lapped traffic and flipped over a tangle involving Donny Minor and C.W. Harshman, bringing out the red flag. The next 13 laps were all green and Ed had Mike Kekich mounting a challenge followed by Stimeling when the final caution flag waved on lap 18 for Keith Taylor.
From that point on, Ed rode the high groove to an 8-car- length victory over Kekich for his 28th career checkered flag at Sharon. The win moves him ahead of Dave Blaney (who has 27 wins) and into sole possession of second place on the All Time Sprint Winners' List just two wins behind record holder George Bischoff who has 30 total wins. Ed now has 13 wins this season.
Ed salvages a 5th place finish at Lernerville - 6/27/03
Another start from way back in the 20-lap Sprint car feature field was in store for Ed, after he damaged a front axle while running 2nd in his heat. With three heats on tap for the 30 Sprint cars Friday night at Lernerville Speedway, Ed had started 7th in the second heat and was up to 2nd when he hit an inside furrow in turn one and broke the shock tower and torsion arm and had to replace the front end on his #2L Sprinter. The heat winners were Ralph Spithaler, Kevin Schaeffer and Rod George.
Meanwhile, five heats were on tap for the 52 MACS Late Models on hand. Ed's crew had their work completed long before he was called to report for the Sprint B-Main, where he started 5th and won over Charlie Holben and Scott Beasley.
The win slotted him in 19th starting spot and for the 3rd week in a row, Ed found himself deep in the pack. There was a caution on the start and again on lap 18, but there wasn't much passing and Ed did the most, coming from 19th to finish 5th.
The first four cars at the checkered flag all started in the first four
spots. Earning a career-first win was Chad Hill, followed by Scott
Bonnell, Schaeffer, Scott Barris and then Ed in 5th.
Ed gets his 4th Tri City win of the year - 6/21/03
Sunday night at Tri City Speedway, it was a guessing game in the heat races because of no hot laps. Ed did not win his heat. But given time to study the track and make changes to his J&J chassis, he was able to return to victory lane after a one month absence here.
Because of the early starting time (6:00PM) and bright sun baking the surface all day long, Tri City officials cancelled hot laps and went straight to heat races. For the 19 Sprints there were two heats and Ed lined up 9th and was up to 4th when Jarod Larson brought out a yellow on lap two when he spun in turn four. After one more caution on lap four, 5th starting Rod George went on to win over Ed, Jason Jacoby and Scott Barris. Bobby Clark made a rare appearance and won the 2nd heat from the outside pole position.
With the inversion being six for the 20-lap feature, Andy McKisson and Jason Jacoby made up the front row with Scott Priester and Ed in row two.
At the drop of the green, it was Jacoby surging ahead and holding that spot for four rounds. Ed stayed in the outside groove and coming off turn two on lap four he passed Jacoby to then lead lap five.
As the laps ticked away, Ed began to put lapped cars behind him for a cushion while Clark closed in on Jacoby for second. When Curt Stroup hit the turn two wall, that brought out the only caution of the feature on lap 13. The restart line-up had Ed, then two lapped cars and Clark. Ed immediately went to the top again and Clark made fast work of the lapped cars. However, Clark was not able to become a threat and Ed's margin of victory was about four car-lengths.
Mike Graham, co-owner of the track was on the stage to say, "Welcome back," to Ed and the crew. Track announcer, Brian Spaid conducted the interview as Ed told the fans, "This is a lot better than last week when we broke a Jacob's ladder and spun twice."
The win is number 12 for the year and makes it 19 career wins at Tri City Speedway.
Two Lynch's finish 2nd on Saturday....Ed comes from 12th to 2nd
at The New Sharon Speedway.....and Sye finishes 2nd in his first bike race
of the year - 6/21/03
After winning the first Sprint heat Saturday night at The New Sharon Speedway, Ed was eligible for the re-draw to determine the line-up for the 25-lap Mid-Season Championship. The results put him in 12th starting hole and he hooked up well enough to just about pull off a win, but fell short by one spot.
The 21 Sprints on hand were slated to run last in everything - hot laps, heats and features tonight which made for a long evening. In the first heat Ed won over Kevin Andrusky, Jason Jacoby, C.W. Harshman and Leonard Ripper, Jr. The second heat went to Jarod Larson over Andrew Paulker, Mike Kekich, Jimmy Hawley, Ricky Ferkel and Deana Barbara.
Following Consey races, Sharon had their first bike races of the year and Ed's youngest son, Sye, was 2nd on his new bike in the 4-5-6 year old group. He received a $5.00 certificate to spend at the Novelty Stand and he selected a Steve Kinser car.
Larson and Jacoby brought the field down for Mike Henshaw's initial green flag with Kekich and Ripper in row two for the double-point event. Harshman and Hawley made up row three.
Despite starting on pole, Larson immediately moved to his preferred top groove and went around the track like he was on a rail. While Ed tried the low groove and methodically picked up positions until the first yellow came out on lap 10.
Ironically, Andrusky was the next car that Ed would do battle with and just as they were in turn four, Jimmy Hawley got out of shape and he was nailed by Andrusky who had no place to go. Ed managed to squeeze between the two cars and would now line up fifth behind Larson, Jason Jacoby, Mike Kekich and C.W. Harshman.
Another caution came out two laps later for Shawn Minor who spun in turn three. The front four lined up for the restart behind the pace truck, this time with no lapped cars between them.
Larson continued to lead by using the top groove, followed by Jacoby, Kekich and Ed.
This time, Ed switched to the high lane and set sail to the end by passing Kekich on the outside down the backstretch going into turn three. Next he sorted through lapped cars until he got Jacoby and once past him, Ed was able to reel in Larson a little bit.
The leader, Larson never hesitated in lapped traffic and Ed could close to within two or three car-lengths, but once in the open, Larson would stretch it out to five or six car-lengths. The laps were ticking away and at the end, it was Larson then Ed, Chad Hill, up from 16th, Jacoby, Kekich, Ferkel, Paulker, Deana Barbara, Gary Edwards and Harshmen.
From 24th Ed finishes 3rd at Lernerville - 6/20/03
For the second week in a row, Lernerville Speedway made Ed start last (24th) because of winning four straight Sprint features.
It had been a night of many restarts, spins and crashes in all the divisions, so it was apparent on the original start that Ed was not going to charge through the pack until he saw that the field could make it through the first couple of turns. It turned out to be a wise decision as two cars crashed coming out of turn four before they could complete a lap.
There were 29 Sprints which ran three heats. Ed started third in the first heat and won over Mike Shearer, Gary Rankin, Bob Altmeyer and Ricky Ferkel. The second heat went to Chad Hill over Scott Bonnell, Ralphie Spithaler and Brian Woodhull. In the third heat it was Gary Kriess then Eric Smith, Dan Shetler, Kevin Schaeffer and Rod George. Butch Beasley won the B-Main ahead of Davey Jones and Scott Priester.
The 20-lap feature showed Altmeyer and Shearer in the front row ahead of Shetler and Kriess. Hill and Schaeffer made up row three. Although one lap was on the scoreboard, it was explained that 50% of the field did not pass the flagstand when Shetler and Bonnell crashed in turn four, bringing out the red flag.
There was a complete restart and from that point Shearer led over Kriess. Ed made quick work of the back nine cars within two laps, then set about the task of trying to make his way to the front. By lap five he was by Tim Hunter and Altmeyer. Next he worked on Woodhull. Around the half-way mark, he had George in his sights and after trying the inside and outside, he finally got by George on the inside coming out of turn four.
Lapped traffic was making it impossible to get a groove and rhythm going as many times they were running two and three-wide. Ed passed Ferkel around lap 15 and was ahead of Spithaler on lap 16, but coming out of turn four, Ed was slowed by lapped traffic on the inside and Spithaler, using the outside lane, nosed ahead at the line on lap 17 just before the only yellow came out for Schaeffer.
The lap 17 restart line-up showed Shearer followed by eight lapped cars than Kriess, Hill, Spithaler and Ed. He got by Spithaler on the inside in turn two coming for the white flag and then was inside Hill on the back stretch on the final lap and was three feet ahead of him at the line.
Ed was able to pass using the inside and outside lanes, however, he ran out of time and had to settle for third behind Shearer and Kriess. For Shearer, it was his first-ever win at Lernerville. The good news is that Ed will not be forced to start last next week and hopefully will qualify for the feature re-draw like everyone else.
Ed's FoxSportsNet-TV Interview Taped - 6/17/03
Tuesday night Ed and his crew headed for The Rhythm House Cafe where 12 members of the FoxSportsNet-TV crew were set up to tape an interview in front of a packed crowd for their newest program, "We're Going Racing." Dealing with an all-day rain, the Fox crew set up a tent in the parking lot and a brand new #2L Sprint car (finished at 11:30PM the night before) was rolled out of the hauler and placed under a tent with lights and camera running. Don Gamble opened the show welcoming Ed as the first guest on this new series of 11 shows to be run weekly on Sunday mornings.
Then, inside the restaurant, Ed Schafer and Deana Barbara set the scene for highlights of racing action at area tracks. The cameras then switched back to Ed and Don Gamble where they talked about Ed's last-to-first run in the Bill Steinbach Memorial race at Lernerville, the World of Outlaws Silver Cup win and his season thus far.
With preparations by the TV crew and talent beginning around 3:00PM, the final wrap-up came just before 9:30PM. The audience was enthusiastic with applause and cheers on cue, regardless if it took five "takes" to get it right.
Don't forget to watch "We're Going Racing" Sunday, June 22 at 9:30AM.
Tri City Speedway 6/15/03
Ed celebrated Father's Day with Ed Lynch, Sr., his sons Ed III and Sye at Tri City Speedway on Sunday. Despite wanting to give his Dad a feature win for Father's Day, it just didn't work out that way.
The fourteen Sprints ran second on the program and Ed was lined up 6th in the 2nd heat. Rod George won that event and Ed was second with Jarod Larson third. Andy McKisson won the other heat followed by Jason Jacoby and Butch Beasley.
In preparing for the 20-lap feature, Ed made a bunch of changes, all of which proved to be wrong for the slick surface of Tri City's 1/2 mile. With 12 cars inverted for the race, Ed started 9th and began moving up through the field.
Scott Barris led from the start and by lap 10 George had moved into second with Ed third. That's when the trouble started for the #2L with a spin on the inside of turn two. For those who missed it, just four laps later, he spun again on the high side of turn two.
One more yellow flag occurred on lap 16 with George now leading. Jacoby held off Larson for second at the finish with McKisson stealing fourth from Barris just before they crossed the line. Gary Rankin, Chris Matthews and Brent Matus all finished ahead of Ed who ended up 9th.
Ed settles for 3rd at The New Sharon Speedway - 6/14/03
Results of storms caused Lernerville to cancel Friday's races so the team spent extra garage time preparing for Saturday's events at The New Sharon Speedway.
It was a late night with a full moon and too many caution flags in the 25-lap Sprint feature. The 20 cars on hand had run two heats and Ed had started outside polesitter Gary Edwards in the first head. In a real crowd pleaser, the two put on a side-by-side duel for most of the eight laps but it was Edwards winning in the outside groove and Ed finishing second using the inside lane. Jarod Larson was next, followed by Chad Hill, Andrew Palker, Deana Barbara and Kevin Andrusky. Mike Kekich won the second heat over Marty Line and C.W. Harshman.
With the Sprints running third tonight, it was about 12:25AM when they were pushed off to start their feature race. Whether it was the late night, full moon or just too many laps on the track, the feature had at least nine yellow flags.
Barbara and Shawn Minor were in row one for the start with Larson and Hill next. Kekich and Scott Groves were in row three with Ed back in row six, starting 11th. Larson and Leo O'Malley tangled right away in turn one, causing the first yellow and kEd was 9th on the restart.
Hill led the first 13 rounds with Ed up to 6th by a lap five caution. More yellows came out on laps 7, 8 and 10 while Ed was running third. Then a rash of yellows on lap 13 and one on lap 15 showed Ed still in third but now behind Kekich and Edwards.
At last, there was a short period where laps could tick away. Ed set his sights on second running Edwards (who still liked the outside) and Ed was able to pass him near lap 20 and set sail for Kekich.
Two laps later, Ed caught Kekich and tried him on the outside, but Kekich came high on the backstretch. As the two came upon lapped traffic, Ed switched to the inside as they approached turns three and four. Ed was under Kekich when Kekich decided to use the inside groove. The two came together inside turn four and Ed ended up spinning, but not stopping and recovered to finish 3rd. Larson came on strong to finish 2nd while Edwards collected 4th.
Live Audience for Ed's FoxSportsNet-TV Interview on 6/17/03
If you would like to show your support for racing and be part of a live audience during Ed's TV interview for a new program titled "We're Going Racing," join him at The Rhythm House Cafe in Bridgeville PA on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 at 7:00PM.
Ed and his #2L Sprint Car will be at the restaurant Tuesday for the FoxSportsNet-TV taping of this new racing show in front of a LIVE audience. The show "We're Going Racing," will then be aired on Sunday, June 22nd at 9:30AM just prior to Fox's popular "TOTALLY NASCAR" show.
Radio personality and track announcer, Don Gamble has been contacted by the same TV crew that has produced interviews with Steeler-Running Back Jerome Bettis, Steeler-Head Coach Bill Cower, several DIRT Motorsports personalities and other sports related figures. Gamble and the crew will also involve KDKA's Ed Shaffer and female Sprint driver Deana Barbara.
In order to have unique coverage of short track racing, the camera crew has already shot footage at local tracks, Lernerville, Mercer, Tri City and Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway.
The Rhythm House Cafe features entertainment, great food, a banquet room and catering. Their lunch menu features appetizers, soup, chicken sandwiches, burgers and salads while dinners (served until 10:00PM) include pasta, beef, seafood, grinders, chicken, ribs and pizza. There is also a children's menu.
Located just off the Bridgeville exit of Interstate 79 at 3029 Washington Pike, directions with a map and a complete menu are available on their website www.rhythmhousecafe.com.
Rain after heats at Tri City Speedway - 6/8/03
The York Triathlon Sprint Car Series was set to start Sunday night at Tri City Speedway, however, rain halted the action after the heat races. With 14 Sprints signed in, two heats were run with Ed starting and finishing third in the 2nd heat behind Gary Kriess, Jr. and Rod George. Jason Jacoby won the first heat.
When the sky darkened and the wind picked up, crews rushed to load their cars as the first rain drops started to fall. Fifteen minutes after that first light shower ended, the crews went out in push trucks to start running the track in hopes to continue the show. But, ten minutes later a heavy rain came and officials were forced to cancel. The York Series was rescheduled for July 6.
Ed comes from last to win Bill Steinbach Memorial - 6/6/03
Lernerville Speedway has a rule requiring anyone who wins three straight features to start last in their next feature. Friday night that rule applied to Ed, therefore his starting spot in the 20-lap Bill Steinbach Memorial Race was 24th.
In preparation for this challenge, Ed and the crew spent many hours in the garage going over every inch of the car. "About the only thing I could do was to make sure I had the car as close to perfect as I could get it, then try not to hit anything prior to the feature," Ed explained. "I knew it was a long shot, but I wanted to at least come close to pulling it off." With 33 cars signed in, three heats were run and Ed was slated to start 5th in the second heat. He led all eight laps over "Doc" Altmeyer, Jody Keegan and Charlie Holben. Rod George and Scott Priester won the other heats. A make-up feature for Pure Stocks was run before the qualifying heats and with Sprint cars third on the agenda, it was a late night and it was around 11:30PM when the Sprints pushed off to start their feature.
The original line-up had Gary Kriess, Jr. and Holben in the front row with Chad Hill and Jamie Smith in row two. Priester and Davey Jones were in row three. Ed was way back there in 24th spot. The green was displayed and the field made it into turn one but trouble at the front happened in turn two with the cars of Kriess, Hill, Priester and Gary Rankin involved bringing out a red.
With no laps in and the field down to 21 cars, the restart showed Holben and Smith now in the front row and it was Smith who led from the start. From that point the event went non-stop and Ed was on his mission. By lap three, he was 10th and at the half-way mark, he was 7th.
When 15 laps were completed the front four were listed as Smith, Holben, Scott Bonnell and Ed. With two lap to go, Ed passed Holben and trailed Smith and Bonnell who were in tight competition. On the white flag lap, using an inside move, Ed got by Bonnell and set his sights on Smith.
As the two came out of turn four headed for Kent Michaels' checkered flag, Ed described what he saw. "I thought Jamie would pick the inside, but he didn't. I stayed inside and found a sweet spot on the racetrack and beat him to the finish line."
Bonnell finished third ahead of Holben, Brent Matus, George, Brian Woodhull, Jones, Dan Shetler and Ricky Ferkel.
The checkered waved at 12:06AM and ironically, now that it was past midnight, his win could be celebrated on what would have been Bill Steinbach's 68th birthday. Bill's widow Pat and her family joined Ed in victory lane. In his interview by on-track announcer Darin Gamble, Ed recalled how many years he had listened to Bill's memorable voice behind the mic at Lernerville and reminded fans how much Bill loved racing. For Ed it was his 5th win this year at Lernerville and brought his total to 61 here. He now has 11 wins this season.
Ed finishes 4th at Tri City Speedway - 6/1/03
After all the area shows were washed out on Saturday, Ed and the crew headed two hours north to Tri City Speedway on Sunday.
There had been problems with the water truck, so management scratched all hot lap sessions and the 16 sprints were divided into two heats by luck of the draw.
Ed's youngest son, Sye, drew a #1 pill for his dad and Ed started the first heat from the pole with Jason Jacoby on the outside. Rod George and Jarod Larson were in row two. Ed led all laps with George, Jacoby and Larson crossing in that order. Deana Barbara won the second heat over Andy Mckisson and Brian Ellenberger.
The inversion for the 20-lap feature was six with Larson and Ellenberger leading the field. Jacoby and Mckisson were in row two and George and Ed made up row three.
Flagman Greg Wheeling didn't like the initial start and waved the yellow for the field to try it again. This time everything was perfect and for the 2nd week in a row, the Sprint feature went non-stop. Larson led the first 12 laps until George went by leaving Larson in a duel for second spot with Jacoby which ended on lap 17 when the two made contact. Larson spun, but kept going and Ed was able to get by him.
George gave the competition a lesson on how to run the inside groove and had no problems chalking up the win over Jacoby, Ellenberger and Ed. Larson, McKisson, Rob Eyler, Brent Matus, Butch Beasley and Paul Kish finished in the top ten.
July
World of Outlaw Show at Sharon Speedway - 7/30/03
Ed was off to a great start in the 30-lap World of Outlaw feature on Wednesday night at Sharon Speedway until lap nine when the rear-end broke while he was running third.
With 37 Sprints signed in, Ed's pill draw for time trials had him going out 12th and his two laps were the most consistent of anyone with 13.267 and 13.263 on the clock. His time slotted him in 13th overall and gave him a starting spot of third in the first eight-lap heat.
Danny Lasoski set a new track record tonight of 12.844 and started sixth in Ed's heat. Craig Keel and Tyler Walker were on the front row and Steve Kinser started outside Ed in row two. Only the top five finishers qualified and Ed finished fifth behind the winner Walker, then Kinser, Lasoski, Keel and Ed. The other heats were won by Jarod Larson, Tim Shaffer and Ryan Coniam.
The top 16 in time trials that qualify through their heats then make up the two Dashes. Ed started on pole of the 2nd Dash with Joey Saldana beside him. The Dashes are five laps and Saldana beat Ed up the the cushion in turn one and that's the way they ran to the checkered with Dale Blaney finishing third followed by Mark Kinser. The first Dash was won by Jason Meyers.
Thus, the feature was set with Meyers and Saldana in row one and Steve Kinser and Ed in row two. Chad Kemenah and Dale Blaney made up row three while Danny Lasoski and Mark Kinser came next.
With the drop of Mike Henshaw's green flag, Saldana took off from his outside lane and Ed followed in that same top groove. They ran like that until lap four, when just as they were catching the back of the pack, Tyler Walker hit the outside backstretch wall and flipped bringing out the red flag.
On the restart, both Ed and Steve Kinser went inside Joey, but Saldana had the momentum and came off turn two still in front, with Kinser just slipping by Ed on the inside. Now with Ed in third the trio set a fast pace until lap nine when the rear on Ed's car failed going past the flagstand and he coasted to a halt at the top of the track coming out of turn two, bringing out the yellow. His night ended when the wrecker picked up the back end and towed him to the pits. Lasoski got a flat tire at the same time.
The lead changed several times between Saldana and Kinser with Steve taking the lead for good on lap 27 and Greg Hodnett coming up from ninth to take second away from Saldana with Dale Blaney finishing fourth. Ed was credited with 24th finishing position out of 26 starters.
Ed takes the lead with two laps to go at Sharon - 7/26/03
After starting 7th in the 25-lap A-Main at The New Sharon Speedway Saturday night, Ed used 23 of those laps to get to the front and earn his 29th career Sprint feature win here and ranking him just one away from tying George Bischoff's record 30 wins.
"It was a very demanding race and the lapped traffic didn't always go my way, but we came out of it with a win," Ed explained in his on track interview.
There had been two heats for the 17 Sprints on hand and Ed started 3rd in the first heat and finished second to Chad Hill. The other heat went to Kevin Andrusky over Goob Schuler.
Mike Kekich and Hill made up the front row for the Sprint feature which staged first of the four divisions on the 1/3 mile oval. Jarod Larson and Leonard Ripper, Jr. were in the second row, while Leo O'Malley and Todd Bauer started in row three.
Fans were treated to a non-stop event as Hill took the lead and set sail for all but the last two laps. Ed had been in hot pursuit making his way through lapped traffic, sometimes splitting two lapped cars.
Trying the high groove, then the low groove, depending on lapped traffic, Ed worked hard for seven laps on 2nd place Larson, finally passing him on the inside coming off turn four on lap nine.
For the next 14 laps, Ed chased Hill and was beside him on several occasions as the two diced through lapped traffic, until finally making the winning move coming off turn four with the flagman showing two laps to go. An attempt by Hill to retake the lead on the outside in turn two fell short and Ed was on his way to his 18th win of the season.
Ed starts 14th and wins at Lernerville - 7/25/03
There were 25 Sprints at Lernerville Speedway on Friday night and almost everyone had the same feelings about the beautiful weather all day long. Those feelings were....why couldn't we have had some of this sunshine for Tuesday or Wednesday's World of Outlaw show?
Ed was scheduled to start 8th in the 2nd heat and right from the drop of the green flag, he was in trouble. The #2L was not running right and he struggled to finish 5th behind winner Eric Smith. Rod George and Scott Bonnell won the other heats.
Guessing that it might be the mag or the tach, the crew replaced it and hoped for the best, knowing they had to start in 14th hole for the 20-lap feature.
Smith and Bonnell, two heat winners, started on the front row and the field was led by Smith for the first two rounds before the first yellow with Ed up to 8th. Then just two laps later there was another yellow with Ed up to 5th behind Smith, Bonnell, Chris Schaeffer and Chad Hill.
The race went all green for the next 11 laps and Ed got into a nice rhythm taking a position at a time and playing the lapped traffic to his advantage. He was outside the leader Smith on the front stretch on lap 13 and then went inside him in turn two and Ed pulled ahead down the back stretch to lead lap 14. Coming through turns 3&4 Smith got wide and glanced off the outside wall and slowed considerably, eventually stopping and bringing out the final yellow flag on lap 15.
The restart showed Ed followed by two lapped cars then Schaeffer, but Ed pulled away on every lap. Schaeffer faded and Bonnell came on to take 2nd at the finish ahead of Hill and Rod George.
Standing beside his car in victory lane for the 7th time this year at Lernerville, Ed told on-track announcer Don Gamble his name for tonight's car was "Everyday" because it sits in the corner of the garage and everyday it's ready to race. "It's our oldest car with our oldest engine, but it got the job done tonight," said Ed after bringing his career total here to 63.
WoO Don Martin Silver Cup Memorial at Lernerville -7/23/03
Originally set for Tuesday, rain caused a one-day delay for the 12th Annual Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup Memorial Race, then rain again on Wednesday washed out the entire program after time trials were completed, denying Ed an opportunity to defend his Silver Cup win of last year.
Hot laps for the 37 cars signed in had just completed and a shower hit the track around 7:15PM. As the rain continued, some teams put tarps over their cars, while some trailered theirs and even three teams loaded up and parked near the pit exit. But Ouchie Roenigk kept his track packers close-by and as soon as the rain stopped, he had his crew run the track in and soon it was ready for another session of hot laps.
According to Ed, Jr., "We made a bunch of changes on the car all night long. At first, the early sessions had the track a little dusty. The next set of hot laps came after the rain and the track was tacky. But we were able to keep up with it and my pill draw had us going out 17th for time trials."
As time trials unfolded, Ed was fast time until Danny Lasoski went out four cars later and just squeeked ahead of Ed. Ironically, both Ed and Danny had identical first laps up to 1/1000th at 12.740. On Ed's second lap, he turned a 12.696, while Danny's second lap was 12.674.
Ed was interviewed and awarded beautiful matching men's and woman's Citizen watches from Edmund's Jewelers in Century III Mall for being the fastest local qualifier.
Behind Danny and Ed in the top ten qualifiers it was Joey Saldana, Dale Blaney, Tyler Walker, Johnny Herrera, Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz, Paul McMahan and Jason Sides.
The heat line-ups were set and the first heat was in the staging lane when the rain drops started again. Track officials did push off that heat, but they were motioned back off the track as the light shower increased. Everyone was told that after this 10-minute shower, there was a big window of clear skies. But 25 minutes later with rain still falling, Lernerville was forced to cancel the event.
Tri-City 7-20-03
After re-grouping from the flip last night at Sharon, Ed was on a mission today at Tri-City. He was scheduled to start 5th in the second heat race but due to a false start, he re-started in the 4th position. When the green flag flew, Ed quickly took the lead and went on to win the heat race by a large margin. The winner of the first heat was Rob Eyler.
Tri-City has recently put a "Bounty" on Ed and Rod George. This means Tri-City is offering $100.00 extra to anyone who wins other than Ed or Rod. The stipulation being that both Ed and Rod must finish the race or no extra money will be given to the winner. The "Bounty" will continue to increase by $100.00 per week until someone else wins.
By luck of the draw, Ed started the feature second and by lap 5 had a straight-a-way lead over Rod George. Ed led every lap and went on to win his sixth feature at Tri-City this season. The victory was not an easy one though. Ed explained to the fans in his victory lane interview that half-way through the race his brake pedal fell off; therefore, the car was taken to the trailer while Ed made his way to victory lane on a 4-wheeler.
Ed is now tied with Johnny Beaber for 4th on the "All-Time" victory list at Tri-City Speedway.
Ed is OK after bad crash at Sharon - 7/19/03
After starting 11th Saturday night in Sharon Speedway's 25-lap feature, Ed had his set-up nearly perfect on the #2L and was up to fifth, going for fourth on lap four when he nearly flipped out of the "ball park."
Using the inside groove, he had passed Jarod Larson in turn #4 coming for lap three and then got by Gary Edwards in turns #1 and 2. Switching to the high groove, he was outside 4th place runner Chad Hill in turns #3 and 4. Ed was committed to the outside lane and just about the flagstand, Ed was attempting to pass Hill, when Hill's car took a right and Ed rode over Hill's right rear wheel, sending Ed's car - cage first- up on the outside guardrail showering sparks a good 50 to 60 feet, turning over and then hitting the turn #1 wheel fence about 6 feet up, before falling back down on the track landing on all four wheels.
Fortunately, Ed was able to climb out and walk away. The car, however, was damaged extensively and the crew will have to strip it down to see if anything is salvageable. All the suspension parts are bent, all four shocks are broken, the top and front wings are destroyed, the fuel tank is lodged sideways within the back bumper because all the mounting brackets were ripped loose. (By now it's 3:30 AM and they will evaluate more tomorrow) Mike Kekich went on to win the feature followed by Jason Jacoby, Edwards, Chris McGuire and Hill. Edwards beat Larson in the first heat, while Kekich and McGuire finished ahead of Ed in the 2nd heat. When he came in, it seems the airpressure was only 2-1/2 Lbs in the left rear tire, so the crew checked the bleeders, but instead, they found a hole in the tire.
Ed finishes 4th at Lernerville - 7/18/03
Even though the Sprints were to be the second feature at Lernerville on Friday night, there wasn't much bite left by the time all four divisions ran heats and B-Mains and the BRP Modified Tour ran their 30-lap feature.
Ed had to start 12th and did a good job on a very slick track to come up to finish fourth at the end of the 20-lap feature. Gary Kriess, Jr. started on pole and won while Eric Smith started second and finished there. Chad Hill started fourth and finished third.
On the original start, Scott Bonnell, who started one row in front of Ed in 10th spot, went wide in between turns three and four and slipped over the edge and sat there. Ed managed to miss Bonnell's stalled car by going around him on the outside.
The restart then had Ed starting 11th and just three laps later another yellow showed Ed up to eighth. The leaders had clear sailing and it was green flag up to lap 18 when Ed was up to fourth. There was no change at the checkered flag showing Kriess, Smith, Hill, Ed's #2L, Rod George, Charlie Holben, Craig McGuire, Roger Bennett and Ralphie Spithaler. Smith won the first heat over Bonnell and Spithaler, while George won the 2nd heat over Hill and Ed up from fifth. The crew worked on the throttle linkage after the heat and that problem was better for the feature.
Ed changes and wins at Tri City - 7/13/03
After getting heat in the engine Sunday night at Tri City Speedway, Ed discovered a problem with the engine in the #2L and had the crew had to make a hasty engine change.
The results were rewarding and after starting eighth in the 20-lap feature, according to PR Director Brian Spaid's press release, "Ed put on another driving clinic as he passed race-long leader Brent Matus on lap 14 to score his fifth win at Tri City."
Matus, Andy McKisson and Scott Bonnell were in an early battle, dodging in and out of lapped traffic and sticking to the inside groove as much as they could. Ed used the outside lane to work into second. A spin by Joey Sanger on lap 13 set up the restart and Ed used the same outside groove to ride around Matus and take the lead coming off turn four.
For Ed it was his 20th career win at Tri City and he was followed by Matus, Bonnell Rob Eyler and Jason Jacoby to the flagstand. Heat races went to Ed and Rod George.
Ed comes from last to 2nd at Sharon - 7/12/03
Ed managed a second place finish Saturday night at The New Sharon Speedway, but it wasn't easy.
After starting 4th in the 25 lap feature behind Gary Edwards, Jarod Larson and Shawn Minor, Ed was up to 2nd behind Larson on lap 8 when the pair went into #1 turn. The #57X of Andrew Palker spun to the high side as he was being lapped. The leader, Larson narrowly missed him, but Ed had nowhere to go and threw his #2L sideways to keep from T-boning Palker.
Ed's damages were a bent top wing and skid bar and he was forced to restart last. There were two or three more cautions for minor spins as Ed gradually made his way up through the field to finish second to Dale Blaney in the Andrews #72. Larson came home third.
The first heat went to Mike Kekich with Edwards second, while the second heat was won by Larson, then Ed up from 4th and Blaney.
Ed's new J&J is a winner out of the box at Lernerville - 7/11/03
Ed and the crew had been working extra hours in the garage during May and June trying to put a new J&J car together with plans to debut it at Lernerville the first week-end in July. A rainout post-poned that maiden voyage until tonight, but the outcome was worth the wait as he picked up win number six here, boosting his all-time record to 62.
Ed started 9th in the 24-car field that showed Scott Bonnell and Rod George in the front row and Kevin Schaeffer and Roger Bennett in row two. The start was delayed by six laps when last place starter Glenn Noland slipped off turn two and needed assistance to get back in the field.
At the drop of Kent Michael's green flag, Bonnell took the lead and one lap later the yellow came out for Bob Walters with Ed up to 7th. With Bonnell leading, Noland was in trouble again on lap five, bringing out another yellow and Ed was up to fifth running the inside.
Things were hairy when George tried a slide job on Bonnell and the two tangled with Bonnell getting the worst of the deal sitting sideways in turn four with George doing a 360 and taking the lead. Ed was now fourth behind George, Schaeffer and Bennett on the restart. By lap nine Ed switched to the top groove and started to reel in Bennett and Schaeffer.
"I had the advantage of running second to Rod (George) and caught him in lapped traffic," Ed explained in victory lane. The pass came on lap 15 as the two encountered heavy lapped traffic. Just after the pass was made at the flagstand, Gary Rankin's car came to a halt on the backstretch with heavy smoke from the engine department.
On the start, Ed chose the high line and George went low, but Ed pulled to a six car-length advantage exiting turn two and went on to claim the win followed by George, Schaeffer, Bennett and Dan Shetler.
Ed finished third behind Mike Shearer in the third qualifying heat with Brian Woodhall and Bennett winning the other heats.
Also, Ed's 5-year old son, Sye, drove his way to victory in his age group testing a new type of wheels for his bike with a radical flame paint scheme.
Holiday weekend - July 4, 5 and 6 - 2003
Friday, July 4th started early for Ed, Jr., Ed, Sr. and Ed III because of the Saxonburg baseball tournament. The alarm went off at 5:45AM so that everyone could shower, eat breakfast, and drive to a complex just north of Lernerville Speedway in time for 7:00AM practice and an 8:00AM game. It was well worth the early rise, because everyone got to witness 'Lil Ed's first-ever home run over the center field fence. Later, when Lernerville suddenly had a down-pour that cancelled their racing program that night, there was special "Home Run Cake" that everyone enjoyed eating with ice cream.
Saturday, Sharon had AMA motorcycles and Mercer had a 360 show and Portsmouth was too far. And of course, there was a baseball game that entered into the mix.
Sunday, July 6, there were tournament games starting at 8:00AM again and then a race at Tri City Speedway. But, shortly after the crew started their two-hour tow to the track, they encountered heavy rains which lasted until the town of Franklin. From that point to the track, it was a steady light shower.
When Ed arrived at Tri City, he found out the storm had hit the track about 1//2 hour after the pits opened at 4:00PM, but they were determined to race. The weather caused a one-and-a-half hour program delay. Then as the 25-lap York Triathalon Sprint feature pushed off, fog rolled in, further delaying the program by one hour.
Brian Ellenberger and Rod George started on the front row field of 18 cars and Ed started eighth. By lap two he was up to 4th and then by lap eight he was 3rd behind Ellenberger and George.
The climax of the race came on the 18th circuit when George passed Ellenberger for the lead. On the next circuit, Brent Matus spun in front of the leaders in turn four. Deana Barbara could not avoid him and suffered front end damage, she then broke her steering and hit Ellenberger. Ed spun to avoid the mess, but track officials ruled that the spin was after the caution had appeared and put Ed back in third spot. On the restart, with a clear track in front of the leader George, then Ellenberger and Lynch, they finished in that order. Heats went to George and Lynch.
August
Tri City - 8-31-03
Twenty-three cars signed in at Tri-City Speedway for the Triathlon Race. Ed was scheduled to start 5th in the first of three heat races. The #8 of Bobby Clark started on the pole and led every lap while Jarod Larson (#47) and Ed battled for the second position. By the end of the 8-lap heat race, Jarod beat Ed to the finish line by a car length leaving Ed to settle for 3rd.
The top 4 drivers in each heat race did a re-draw to determine their positions for the 25 lap feature. Ed drew the #2 pill putting him on outside pole. At about the same time the feature started, so did the rain.
It took some time to get the first lap in due to a red flag brought out by Curt Shoup (#26). On the second try the caution was brought out by Scott Groves (#54)for spinning.. Ed took an early lead once racing got underway;however, Rod George closed in quickly and would soon take the lead from Ed. By the time the last caution came out on lap 12, Rod George was leading by a large margin and Ed was hanging onto 2nd.
Battling through lapped traffic, Ed seemed to get slower each lap giving Jarod Larson the chance to get by him coming for the checkered flag. Rod George won , Jarod Larson finished second and Ed finished third.
The weather held off long enough to get the 25 lap Sprint feature in, but shortly after the race was over, Tri-City settled into a rain delay, during which time we headed for home.
23rd Annual Sharon Nationals - 8/30/03
After starting 8th in the 30-lap Sharon Nationals, Ed managed to finish third behind Dale Blaney and Erin Crocker.
There were 28 sprints on hand that ran three heats and the top four in each heat were eligible for the pill draw for the first 12 starting spots in the A-Main.
Ed started 9th in the 2nd heat and finished 2nd to polesitter Andy McKisson. Blaney started 2nd in the first heat and won it over Crocker. Jarod Larson made a daring inside move on Gary Kriess, Jr. in turn four of the final lap to win the third heat.
Craig Keel and Blaney made up the front row of the feature with McKisson and Chad Hill in row two. Marty Ling and Crocker made up row three while Rod George and Ed were in row four.
Ed got a great start on the initial green and was up to 4th, but what appeared to be a completed lap was called back when Jamie Smith stopped almost in the infield inside turn three.
After a complete restart, Ed was not able to get by Ling for several laps. Meanwhile, Blaney who had clear sailing, caught the back-markers and was a straightaway ahead of Keel by tap two when Hill made his successful bid for second spot.
When the yellow came out for Daryl Stimeling who lost power high in turn two on lap 16, there was a cushion of seven lapped cars behind Blaney. Although Ed was 5th on the restart, there were three or more lapped cars behind second through fourth (Hill, Keel and Crocker) before Ed's #2L.
When Mike Henshaw's green flag waved, Ed worked hard in the next four laps to get the lapped cars behind him. He accomplished that and so on lap 20 when the red came out for Ling's flip at the end of the backstretch, Ed was still 5th, but on Keel's bumper. Crocker had advanced past HIll and was now second.
For the final 10 laps, Ed worked on Keel and took the spot around lap 25. With Hill in his sights, Ed made an inside move work on the final lap and finished 3rd behind Blaney and Crocker.
Rain Forces Lernerville to Reschedule All Star A-Main - 8/29/03
Fighting the threat of rain all day, Lernerville Speedway squeezed hot laps, time trials, heat races and the B-Main in for the All Star Circuit of Champions sprint cars in between frequent light showers that continued to hit the track. A cloudburst over the track prior to the Earl and David Bauman Memorial 35-lap A-Main forced track officials to postpone the feature to a date to be named in the near future.
With 36 cars on hand, Ed's high pill-draw had him going out 33rd and setting 2nd quick time of 13.306 behind fast qualifier Chad Kemenah whose time was 13.220.
Ed started 6th in the second heat and with the top five qualifying for the A-Main, he finished 4th behind Eric Smith, Jeremy Campbell and Jason Johnson. The other heats went to Kenny Jacobs, Dean Jacobs and Shane Stewart. The B-Main sent Jeff Shepard, Chad Hill, Jamie Smith and Scott Bonnell to the back of the A-Main.
Fans were told to hold on to their tickets and use them on the make-up date to be announced for the A-Main only. The rained out feature will be Friday, September 19, 2003 at 7:30PM.
Ed is second at Tri City Speedway - 8/24/03
Sunday night was Tri City Speedway's final point race for all divisions, but next Sunday will be the final Sprint Car event of the season. Ed started 8th in the 20 lap feature and was third when the only yellow flag came out on lap five for Butch Beasley's spin in turn four. The restart lineup had Rod George leading with Jarod Larson in second and Ed in third ahead of Jason Jacoby.
Ed spent the next couple of laps trying to get by Larson and finally got the job done, but could not get reel in George who ran the tight inside groove.Ed settled for second in the feature with Andy McKisson, Larson and Jason Jacoby trailing him.
The Sprint Point Championship was decided tonight, also and despite leading the points prior to going to Knoxville, Ed was not able to overcome the lead that George got the Sunday night the #2L missed because of the Knoxville Nationals. Thus, George won the title and Ed came in second in the standings.
Ed's win at Sharon ties him for all-time wins here - 8/23/03
Saturday night served as the final point race of the season at Sharon Speedway and the 2003 Track Championship was going to be decided between Ed and Jarod Larson in the 25-lap feature. Ed had been leading, but fell 31 points behind Larson when Ed was away running the Knoxville Nationala. Ed got an important win which tied him with George Bishoff's All-Time Sprint Feature win record of 30, but the points earned were not enough to overtake Larson, who finished 2nd. The deficit was 27 points and Ed congratulated Larson on his 5th Sharon Speedway Championship.
There were 20 Sprints on hand that ran two heats and Ed started 7th in the first heat and finished third behind Kevin Andrusky and Larson. Infrequent visitor, Craig Keel, took the honors in the second heat ahead of Marty Ling and Mike Kekich.
With Daryl Stimeling and Andrusky in the front row and Ed starting 3rd, it was Stimeling who turned a few heads and led the first two laps. When the red flag came out on lap two for a flip by Kekich who went over the spun car of Marty Ling in turn two, Ed was in second, pressuring Stimeling.
On the restart, Ed dove low in turn one under Stimeling and took the lead coming out of turn two. After the yellow on lap four, for a tire problem on Andrusky's sprinter, there was debris on the track on lap eight.
Keith Taylor caused the next yellows. One was on lap 11 and the final was on lap 21. With every restart situation, Larson would stick his nose under Ed in turn one, but to no avail. Ed held on for his 5th Sharon win and his 20th of the season. Larson was a distant second followed by Keel, Stimeling and Jason Jacoby.
Ed is Lernerville's 2003 Sprint Champion - 8/22/03
Even if Ed didn't win the 20-lap Sprint Car feature Friday night at Lernerville Speedway, he knew he was to be on the front straight-away to accept a special fan award and to pose for pictures as the 2003 Sprint Car Champion. After starting 12th in the feature he ended up one spot short at the checkered flag.
There were 25 Sprints signed in and Ed started third in the second heat and he used the inside to take the lead early and won over Chad Hill. Rod George won the first heat and Gary Kriess, Jr. won the last heat.
Starting with the heat race and for the evening, Jeff Waller's camera-man from Racevision-TV installed an in-car camera just above Ed's left shoulder and just behind Ed's helmet on the car's frame. The footage will be inserted when Racevision records and tape delays next Friday's All Star Circuit of Champions Memorial Race for Earl and Dave Bauman race.
The Sprints were third on the schedule and Hill and Eric Smith made up the first row of the feature while Kevin Schaeffer and Butch Beasley were in row two. Hill led the first 17 non-stop laps and had a commanding lead over Schaeffer when a tumble by Rick Kozminski between turns three and four brought out the red flag. Driver was OK. Ed was third at the time, but seven lapped cars were between the #2L and second place Schaeffer.
Before a lap could be completed on the restart, Roger Bennett slipped off turn one and caused a yellow. A lap was completed, but with the white flag in sight, the leader Hill had ring-gear and pinion problems and had to be pushed to the pits.
The final restart with green-white-checkered coming up, showed Schaeffer then four lapped cars and Ed. With the only fast lane being the top groove, Ed got by three lapped cars, but could not catch Schaeffer. George, Charlie Holben and Arnie Ken rounded out the top five.
Ed pulled on the front stretch as instructed and was interviewed by on-track announcer Don Gamble and was presented with a beautiful etched mirror framed in gold. Across the top it read "Ed Lynch, Jr. Lernerville's Sprint Car Champion" and centered below was a #2L Sprint car. The bottom of the mirror read "Thank you for a great season 2003 - from your fans."
Tilly Radvansky made the one-of-a-kind presentation which was designed by Lisa of Holesellers Graphics and Junior Automotive and Truck Accessaries in Creighton PA.
We will have a picture of the etching on the website soon and if you would like to have something etched, Lisa's phone number will be under the photo.
Knoxville and Tri City Speedway Results - 8/16 and 8/17/03
In case you have not experienced the Knoxville Nationals yet, let us set the picture for you. Saturday starts with brilliant sunshine and not a cloud in the sky. By the time the Annual Parade starts to file past the judges' stand at Second and Robinson Streets at 10:00AM sharp, the mercury is at 82 degrees.
The theme for the parade is "50 years of racing at Knoxville" and many past and present racing personalities including Steve and Dana Kinser, are riding in convertibles. There are old cars, new cars, tractors, horses, a Wells Fargo wagon and team, $1M in John Deere equipment, floats, bands, Shriners in special 3-wheel cars, motorcycles, clowns and lots of candy thrown to the hundreds of people lining both sides of the streets around town square.
The parade lasts one hour and by now it's 90 degrees. There is no breeze and the humidity is high.
The crew is hard at work in the garage of our Knoxville hosts,(Charlie and Nancy) making last minute adjustments and then loading everything in the trailer. Ed, Jr. takes his shower and Charlie gives him a ride up to an autograph session that he will do from 1:00PM until 2:00PM at the PA Posse Booth.
After that Ed takes his boys through the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum. There is time for a pork chop sandwich and corn-on-the-cob. The crew unloads the trailer in the infield and sets up the tent for shade. There will be an E, D, C, B and A-Main tonight and each car is assigned a numbered pit area according to their starting spot in their Main event. Everyone tries to relax and find shade until the evening's program starts around 7:30PM.
The progression of features starts and the way Knoxville does things, the cars and drivers that advance to the higher feature always have to start at the rear.
Because Ed had qualified for the A-Main, he only gets hot laps and then lines up for the 30-lap feature. At the drop of the green flag, he looked good. However, that didn't last and he pretty much had to run the top of the track and he gradually lost positions.
The B-Main cars had many crashes and it was thought the A-Main would be similar. But, the Nationals nearly went non-stop with Donny Schatz, the early race leader, followed by leader and eventual leader and winner Danny Lasoski, who led from lap eight.
Kenny Jacobs was a strong contender and across third. Sammy was a strong fourth while Greg Hodnette was fifth. Ed, Jr. was ranked 22nd overall. There is to be a re-run of the SPEED Channel broadcast on Friday. As soon as things could be loaded the rig headed for Interstate -80 East.
Tri City Speedway
It was a long ride to Tri City Speedway, but we made it in time to run our heat. However, the best Ed could do was to start 7th and finish 2nd behind Rod George. Jarad Larson won the other heat. Butch Beasley and Andy McKisson had brought the field for the green flag with Ed starting fifth. McKisson led early, but it was Jason Jacoby who shot to the lead after that and was never headed.
After the overnight trip from Knoxville, the team was running on empty and although Ed moved into second by lap six he couldn't catch Jacoby. There were 22 Sprints on hand.
Knoxville Nationals - Wednesday Qualifying Night - 8/13/03
With 50 cars on hand for the first of two qualifying nights for the 43rd Annual Knoxville Nationals, Ed drew a number 30 pill which put him 22nd in the time-trial order. He ranked 10th overall behind Sammy Swindell, Paul McMahan, Donny Schatz, Danny Lasoski, Erin Crocker, Joey Saldana, Kraig Kinser, Greg Hodnett and Chad Kemenah.
The heat races were completely inverted and Ed started eighth of nine cars in the 4th heat and only the top four would advance to the A-Main. He brought the #2L up to a second place finish behind Jason Sides but had engine problems on the last lap and was forced to change engines before moving to the A-Main. Greg Hodnett, Shane Stewart, Kasey Kahne and Lasoski won the other heats.
The 25-lap feature had Kemenah and Hodnett in the front row followed by Saldana and Crocker in row two. Lasoski and Schatz made up row three while McMahan and Swindell were in row four. Ed started inside row five with Shane Stewart outside. Ed only felt comfortable for the first two laps, then he tried every groove but the car was not handling as well as earlier and he had his hands full. The first yellow flag was for Kahne who lost power on the front stretch on lap nine and Ed was back to 14th.
On lap 21, Saldana, who was running 2nd behind Schatz, brought out the yellow when he blew his right rear, changed it and came back to race again.
The final yellow two laps later was for Kemenah who clipped the front wall near the flagstand and sat backwards on the track with front-end damage.
In the final rundown, it was Schatz, Lasoski, Hodnett, Stewart and McMahan in the top five. Swindell, Saldana, Mark Kinser, Brooke Tatnell and Jason Meyers were in the top 10. Jaymie Moyle, Jason Sides, Skip Jackson, Jeremy Campbell, Erin Crocker, Ed Lynch, Jr., Kraig Kinser, Eric Vander Ploeg, Lance Dewease, Calvin Landis, Kevin Frey, Kemenah, Jesse Hockett and Kahne.
Ed is 11th in points after Wednesday night. Only the top 20 make the A-Main from the Wednesday and Thursday total points.
Sharon Rains Out & #2L Team Prepares for Knoxville -8/9/03
Saturday night there was rain all around The New Sharon Speedway, but not at the track. The drivers' meeting and hot laps were on time and the two heats for the 20 Sprint cars were staged first.
It began to spit rain as the first heat was pushed off and Craig Keel took the checkered flag ahead of Jarod Larson, Deana Barbara, Marty Ling, Jason Jacoby, C.W. Harshman and Mike Kekich.
Ed started outside Larry McPeak in the front row of the second heat and set a fast pace, winning over Kevin Andrusky, McPeak and Daryl Stimeling. The Modifieds ran their heats and the first Pure Stock was on the track when the rain fall caused the yellow flag to come out and the cars were sent to the pits. After a 25 minute delay, the races were cancelled. Ed and the crew headed for home and proceeded to scrub the mud off everything in the trailer and take an engine out of a car to be a spare for Knoxville where Ed is scheduled to qualify on Wednesday.
Ed wins from the pole at Lernerville - 8/8/03
Friday night, Ed was able to give his youngest son, Sye, the perfect birthday present....a feature win! Sye was born at 5:50PM six years ago today and had spent most of the day celebrating and then capped the evening off by joining his Dad, Mom (Heather) and Brother (Ed III) in victory lane at Lernerville Speedway, Friday night.
For the first time this year, the pill draw came Ed's way and he started the 20-lap feature on the pole with Rod George on the outside. Roger Bennett and Scott Priester were in row two. At the drop of the green, however, Ed led into turn one with George and Bennett following. Three laps were in the books when Arnie Kent got hung up on the infield banking in turn four and Chad Hill lost a drive line in turn one. The restart showed Lynch, George and Bennett and another five laps were completed before the #00 of Engle caused the yellow to come out once again.
The #17 of Dehner lost power for the third and final caution period on lap 12. Shortly after several laps were run, Ed was into lapped traffic and George was able to hound him the remainder of the laps, but fell short and had to settle for second. Kevin Schaeffer had a fine run, starting 14th and finishing 3rd ahead of Dan Shetler and Bennett.
The first heat for the 23 Sprint cars was won in the last 90 feet by Engle who had followed pole sitter Priester from the start while Hill won the 2nd heat from the pole and Ed came from fifth to finish second.
This was the eighth win here this year, bringing Ed's total career wins at Lernerville to 64 and his feature wins for 2003 to 19.
SprintCar & Midget Magazine - August 2003 issue
The latest issue (August) of Doug Auld's SprintCar & Midget Magazine with the packed main grandstand at Knoxville on the cover features an 11-page KNOXVILLE PREVIEW story contains Bruce Ellis' annual predictions for the Knoxville Nationals.
The various categories are Contenders, Candidates, Show Makers, and Possibilities where Ed Lynch, Jr. is listed. Bruce writes, "Last year's qualifying effort was textbook for a show maker. Timed eighth, transferred through his heat and ran 12th in the feature, accumulating a sufficient amount of points to start his second A-Main. Still the scourge of Western Pennsylvania, Lynch should come to Knoxville with plenty of confidence again this year."
Tri City Speedway Rained Out - 8/3/03
After two straight rain-outs, Tri City's remaining schedule for Sprint Cars shows races on Sunday the 10th, the 17th and the point races in all divisions end on the 24th which is fan appreciation night holding the grandstand admission price at $5.00. Sye will be competing in the bike race that night, also.
Ed's plans to race at Tri City are going to depend on his Knoxville schedule.
TV Interview and a 2nd place finish at Sharon - 8/2/03
FOX Sports Net - Youngstown OH had their crew interview Ed Saturday night in anticipation of him tying George Bischoff for the most all-time Sprint feature wins at the Hartford Ohio dirt track.
Unfortunately, the feat was not completed tonight as Ed chased pole-sitter Jarod Larson the entire 25-lap distance, and had to settle for second. Larson, the once track champion here, rode the fast, high groove to victory and was clearly the fastest car in the feature.
With 23 cars on hand, three heats were run to qualify the cars for tonight's re-draw for the feature. Goob Schuller, Craig Keel and Ed won their respective heats. So, when the field was set, Larson and Schuller made up the front row while Gary Edwards and Kevin Andrusky were in row three. Ed got one of his best starting positions with a 5th and Deana Barbara lined up outside him in row three.
Flagman Mike Henshaw just got things going with his initial green flag, when, coming out of turn two, Goob spun and collected his team-mate Gary Edwards. Ed was running 3rd behind Larson and Kevin Andrusky. A red flag was displayed for Keith Tayler on lap eight when he hit the outside wall and tipped over.
From that point on, it was green flag racing with the restart lineup showing Larson then the lapped car of Leo O'Malley, then Ed in second. The two front-runners set a fast pace around the top and the lapped cars were a
challenge for both.
Behind Larson and Ed at the checkered it was Chad Hill, Kevin Andrusky and Mike Kekich in the top five.
Ed is 3rd after starting 12th at Lernerville - 8/1/03
Seven yellow flags and one red flag in the 20-lap feature at Lernerville Friday made for a late night of racing. Because he won the feature last week, Ed was set to start 12th and had his work cut out for him.
There were 23 Sprints signed in that ran two heat races. Ed started 10th in the first heat and finished second behind pole-sitter Roger Bennett. In the second heat, it was Eric Smith winning over Chad Hill.
The re-draw for the feature put Davey Jones and Kevin Schaeffer on the front row and Hill and Gary Kriess in row two. Jones spun on the front stretch on lap two bringing out the first caution with Ed up to ninth. One lap later, debris caused another yellow and Ed was in eighth.
As Schaeffer continued to lead, Kriess slipped off the track coming out of turn two on the next lap with Ed now 7th. Rick Kozminski lost the handle in turn one two laps later to slow the field and Ed was in 6th. Arnie Kent lost power on the back stretch on lap eight and Ed was up 4th behind Schaeffer, Hill and Dan Shetler.
At the half-way Mark Kozminski again brought out the yellow with Ed still in 4th. The final caution was thrown on lap 11 for Jeremy Cook and Bob Altmeyer who tangled in turn four. Simultaneously, the red flag was needed because Eric Smith flipped in turn one involving Brent Matus, Bennett and Gary Rankin. All drivers were OK.
After a 20-minute delay, the restart showed Schaeffer, Hill, Rod George, Shetler and Ed. The remaining laps went all green and Ed was able to get Shetler on the inside in turn two and George went past Hill into second when Hill went high in turn three on lap 18. Ed passed Hill for third using the inside groove in turn two.
With Schaeffer making no mistakes, George was less than a car-length back and Ed was a car-length back of George as the three circled the high groove on the final lap giving the fans a thrilling finish.
September
Ed wins the All Star race at Mercer - 9/20/03
It took some luck and all 40 laps of the A-Main for Ed to win the 7th Annual Chuck Marsh Memorial for the third time at Mercer Raceway Park, Saturday night. The victory was worth $5,000 and it was Ed's sixth All Star Circuit of Champions career win, giving him a total of 22 checkered flags this season.
There were four lead changes among three drivers and although Ed led twice for the most laps, it was Dale Blaney's misfortune of a flat tire that turned into a win for Ed. The race had long stretches of green flag racing with plenty of lapped traffic thrown into the mix on the 3/8 mile oval which produced action-packed laps all around the track for most of the race.
There were 34 All Stars on hand for the show and Ed's pill draw had him going out 13th. He was disappointed with his time of 13.309 which slotted him 9th overall at the end of qualifications where Erin Crocker blistered the track record, timing four-tenths under the old record with a time of 12.886.
Ed started 5th in the 4th Heat and finished second to Dale Blaney, thus advancing him to the A-Main. The other heats