Dustin Daggett

From Larry Boos: ROSSBURG, OH (June 30) -- Nothing is sweeter than the accomplishment of a goal, and that is exactly what Ed Lynch, Jr. did Saturday night at Eldora Speedway with a $10,000 victory to close out the 25th annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek. And while Lynch was celebrating his win, Shane Stewart was relishing his Speedweek title with a fantastic drive from 21st to third.

Rounding out the tripleheader program with wins were Jerry Bowersock (UMP Modifieds) and John Brooks (Advance Auto Parts Stock Cars).

Lynch had always wanted an Eldora win to show on his resume, and after his dazzling performance in his qualifying heat race it was evident that he had his game face on Saturday night.

As the green flag dropped on the 24-car starting field, Lynch lived up to his moniker of The Apollo Rocket by shooting into a commanding lead over Brock Mayes, Kenny Jacobs and Jimmy Stinson. Within one lap Jacobs got by Mayes and the chase was on.

Lynch was unfazed as he continued his torrid pace on the one-half mile clay oval. Several times Jacob would pull in close, but could never muster the horsepower to overcome Lynch. His break came with a lap 16 restart that was necessitated when Rob Chaney came to a halt on the front stretch.

When the green flag returned, Jacobs masterfully pulled off a slide job in turn three to take the lead which quickly turned into a ten-car length gap over Lynch.

All the while they were doing their battle, Dale Blaney, who entered the night eligible for a $50,000 bonus with a feature win, was inching his way forward, as was Stewart.

On the restart, Blaney was running 5th, while Stewart had moved up to 11th.

Lady Luck rose her hand to stop Jacobs on lap 20, as the driveline erupted, and the disappointed veteran coasted into the pits. That put Lynch back in command, with Mayes second and Blaney up to third.

The drama set in on lap 23 as Greg Wilson suffered a flat tire and the caution appeared to bunch up the field, with Blaney now within striking distance. Just like Jacobs, though, Lady Luck took a frown on Blaney, as a tire was going down and on the restart he failed to reach the pace he had been setting.

Mayes turned in his best-ever Eldora performance to stay on the heels of Lynch through the closing laps, but fell short at the finish, with Stewart amazing the crowd with his drive to third.

Jimmy Stinson and Phil Gressman turned in equally strong runs to round out the top five.

OHIO SPRINT SPEEDWEEK - June 30, 2007

ALL STAR SPRINTS 39 cars

Fast Time-Kenny Jacobs 13.439

Heat 1: Kenny Jacobs, Troy Little, Danny Smith, Paul May, Brock Mayes, Caleb Griffith, Robert Ballou, Bruce White, Ed Neumeister

Heat 2: Shane Stewart, Dean Jacobs, Chad Blonde, Greg Wilson, Dustin Daggett, Neil Shepherd, Bill Rose, Ron Blair, Gus Wasson

Heat 3: Ed Lynch, Jr., Phil Gressman, Jimmy Stinson, Nick Nabor, Mike Dussell, Chris Andrews, Kevin Huntley, Keith Baxter

Heat 4: Brian Paulus, Dale Blaney, Brian Ellenberger, Rob Chaney, Luke Hall, Ben Gregg, Mike Miller, Lee Stark, Greg Dalman

Dash: Shane Stewart, Paul May, Brock Mayes, Rob Chaney, Greg Wilson, Brian Paulus

B-Main: Neil Shepherd, Brandon Martin, Caleb Griffith, Bill Rose, Kevin Huntley, Jamie Miller, Chris Andrews, Robert Ballou, Keith Baxter, Ron Blair, Greg Dalman, Mike Miller, Bruce White, Lee Stark, Gus Wasson

30-lap A-Main

1)Ed Lynch, Jr 2)Brock Mayes 3)Shane Stewart 4)Jimmy Stinson 5)Phil Gressman 6)Chad Blonde 7)Dale Blaney 8)Brian Paulus 9)Danny Smith 10)Dean Jacobs 11)Rob Chaney 12)Brandon Martin 13)Bill Rose 14)Paul May 15)Greg Wilson 16)Brian Ellenberger 17)Caleb Griffith 18)Luke Hall 19)Troy Little 20)Dustin Daggett 21)Neil Shepherd 22)Kenny Jacobs 23)Mike Dussell 24)Nick Nabor