Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Las Vegas’ Lynch back on top of West series

Tuesday, May 3, 2005 | 9:35 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

Scott Lynch set out this season to prove his 2003 NASCAR West Series championship was not a fluke.

So far, so good.

Lynch, a Las Vegas resident, earned his second West Series victory of the season in dominating fashion Saturday at Stockton 99 Speedway. Lynch qualified on the pole and led all 159 laps on the quarter-mile paved oval en route to his eighth career victory in the series.

"We definitely had an awesome run," said Lynch, who leads the West Series standings by 61 points over Steve Portenga. "It was one of those races where everything just clicked perfectly and being first across the board is a great feeling. I couldn't have scripted it any better if I tried."

Lynch's victory was his fourth top-10 finish in as many races in 2005. He posted a runner-up finish at Phoenix International Raceway a week earlier and a win the race before at Mesa Marin Raceway. Lynch opened the season with a 10th-place showing at Phoenix.

After winning the 2003 West Series title, Lynch struggled to a fifth-place finish in the final series standings last year despite winning two races and posting nine top-10 finishes in 13 starts. Lynch said he likes the way the 2005 season has begun.

"We've now earned a win at both Bakersfield and Stockton and narrowly missed taking the victory at Phoenix," Lynch said. "The next race up is Yakima (Wash.) and we will definitely be going for that one, too. We plan to once again bring home the championship for Dodge."

PIT WORK A SNAP: Chris Massey, a long snapper for the St. Louis Rams, worked the pits for Brendan Gaughan and the No. 77 Jasper Engines Dodge during Saturday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Gateway International Raceway.

Massey worked Gaughan's pit board for the entire race and caught tires during Gaughan's first pit stop.

"I love NASCAR and to be in the pits with Brendan and the team was great," Massey said. "I got to be a part of the team and I had a lot of fun doing my jobs. I look forward to getting out with the team again in the future."

Gaughan was headed for a potential top-10 finish in the race when he was forced to pit late in the race because of a broken upper control arm. Gaughan finished 22nd.

JACKMAN INJURED: Josh Yost, the jackman on the No. 31 NASCAR Nextel Cup Chevrolet driven by Jeff Burton, was scheduled to undergo surgery today to repair injuries he suffered when he was hit by Rusty Wallace's car during a pit stop Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.

Yost suffered a cut and torn ligaments in his right ankle and a laceration that required 13 stitches to close, according to a release provided by Richard Childress Racing. Yost was scheduled to have surgery this morning at Wake Forest University/Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, N.C., to repair the ligaments and verify the extent of his injuries.

AT THE BULLRING: Thane Alderman scored his first Super Late Models victory of the season during Saturday night's NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series event at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Dustin Ash (Late Models), Stoney Gray (IMCA Modifieds), Matt Ross (Thunder Roadsters) and John Davis (Bandoleros) also won main events.