Local sprint car racer Ed Lynch Jr. is referred to as "The Apollo Rocket," and rightfully so.

Lynch, of Apollo, reached a career milestone June 23 when he picked up his 200th sprint car feature win at Sharon Speedway. He then went on to win No. 201, the $10,000-to-win Ohio Sprint Car Speed Week finale June 30 at Tony Stewart's Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.

That win was even more gratifying for Lynch because it came at Eldora. He had been the among the fastest cars at the famed half-mile to never have made a trip to victory lane.

"[No.] 201, that tops it. We finally conquered what we'd set out to do when I was way young," Lynch said of winning at Eldora.

He battled Kenny Jacobs, the all-time leader in All Star wins, for the lead throughout the 30-lap feature before Jacobs had a mechanical problem. Jacobs also injured a foot, but it is not believed to be serious enough to keep him out of the upcoming King's Royal.

"Kenny [Jacobs] has a first- class car there," Lynch said. "I knew he was going to be tough there because of all the laps he has run at Eldora. I owed Kenny one since he passed me in Turn 4 at Eldora for Ohio Speed Week win a few years ago.

Mission accomplished at Eldora, finally.

Lynch, 51, has won at every track in the area that has had multiple sprint car races since he started racing sprint cars in 1983. His career high for wins in a season is 23.

He holds records by having the most wins of all sprint car drivers at Lernerville (86), Sharon Speedway (47), PPMS (12) and Challenger (13). Other track wins include Tri-City (24), Mercer Raceway Park (12), Jennerstown (3 dirt surface), Hickory (1), Marion Center (1) and Eldora Speedway.

Lynch continues to win while conducting ongoing research to improve his performance.

"Naturally, you try to go for the next win," Lynch said. "Around here we know the tracks a little better, we try to experiment to look for that extra edge to make it work for the bigger races."

While Lynch has newer equipment, he enjoys making an older car work for the local weekly races.

"We don't take our Knoxville [Nationals] car and run it weekly at a local show," Lynch said. "We take an older car and try to make it work [at local races]. We try to put a winning combination together for the bigger races."

Lynch will have his best equipment on the track for the biggest sprint car race in the area with the upcoming Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup World of Outlaws Sprint Car race July 17 at Lernerville.

Lugnuts

Not only did Scott Bloomquist win the inaugural Firecracker 100 at Lernerville, but this Mooresburg, Tenn., racer also won the $5,0000-to-win Yankee Doodle 50 Tuesday at Central PA Speedway. Bloomquist lapped the entire field except for second-place finisher Jared Miley of South Park. ... Dale Blaney of Fowler, Ohio, won the All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars portion of the Freedom 50 at Tri-City Speedway Tuesday in Franklin. Greg Wilson was second followed by Rod George of Kittanning, who qualified fastest of the 29-car field despite having mechanical problems. Blaney has won four of the past seven All Star races. ... Pittsburgh Raceway Park is host to the IHRA Pro-AM Tour today through Sunday. The 150 mph National Speed Association Pro Stock Snowmobiles also will be in action Sunday at the quarter-mile drag strip in New Alexandria. ... Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., won the 53-lap Red Miley Memorial at PPMS. ... Mercer Raceway Park's FASTRAK Northeast Late Model Tour race was won by Dick Barton from Ashville, N.Y. ... Jennerstown Speedway has the ISMA Super Modified Tour tomorrow night. ... Sharon Speedway holds it's midseason championships for all divisions Saturday.