Martinsville, Va – Oct 23, 2005 -- While the No. 62 team’s finishing position at Martinsville Speedway may not have been much to write home about Scott Lynch’s overall performance in his first outing in the No. 62 Orleans Racing Dodge has the team fired up and ready to go for the last four races of the season.
With the tight confines of the 0.526-mile speedway making it so hard to pass, Lynch had his work cut out for him from the first lap after a 32nd place qualifying effort put him deep in the starting grid.
Still, Lynch, who was competing in just his fifth series start, maneuvered his way through traffic like a veteran as he fought to keep contact with his fellow competitors to a minimum. Unfortunately, he had no control over what happened just past the halfway point of the 200-lap race.
Lynch was scored 24th in the running order when he was punted into a spin that brought out the fifth caution of the day. Though he managed to stay on the lead lap at the time, his troubles were far from over.
On lap 154, and just as NASCAR spotters were investigating the possibility of oil on the racing surface, Lynch’s No. 62 Dodge was swept up in a three-truck wreck that ultimately ended his day with heavy suspension damage and a 30th place finish.
“It was just one of those bummer deals – it’s just so difficult to pass here,” Lynch said after parking the Orleans Dodge. “They talk about it on TV but I didn’t realize how bad it really is. Qualifying is real important here and I should have hustled the truck a little more. We were able to work up though the field and get into the top-20 by the first pit stop. We lost a little bit of ground there and started working our way back up.
“I’m not sure what happened with the accident,” Lynch added. “The guys busted it hard to get it back out there. The truck wasn’t safe afterwards and we didn’t want to cause any problems for the leaders so we decided to bring it in for the day.”
Despite the disappointing result, crew chief Charlie Wilson liked what he saw behind the scenes during the getting-to-know-you phase with his new driver.
“I think this is one of the best trucks we’ve brought to Martinsville since I’ve been with Orleans Racing,” said Wilson after the 200-lap event. “Scott did a heck of a job. Some of our laps were some of the fastest on the track today --- even compared to when the leaders were running in the clear. We were as fast if not faster than the leaders were several times today.”
Smiling wide Wilson added, “I think the guys are really pumped up now and you’ll see a little different attitude just with a different face in the seat. They really worked their butts off.
“Scotty’s looking forward to Atlanta and I am, too.”
