Beaver Springs Dragway – Some cars scream for attention. Others just seem to attract attention just by being what they are. The “Prime Suspect” Nova of Kevin Lynch is one such car. The car, as we see it today, wasn’t the original intention of Lynch when he bought it. According to Lynch, “It’s a ‘65 Nova SS, [I] bought it as a roller,…did a lot of sheet metal work. I’ve had a Heidts Mustang two front suspension front clip in it and I kind of bought it on a whim, didn’t know what I was going to do with it and it sat for two years. I finally started following gassers online and decided that’s what it was going to be.”

As these things often go, there’s a little more to that story. From that “2010-ish” start, the car first became a street car “just for cruise nights and stuff.” It must’ve looked plenty fast then, as Lynch would say, “Everywhere I went, everybody is asking, ‘Where do you race? How fast is it? and stuff’ I saw an ad for my favorite racetrack, Beaver Springs, having the Gasser show they had years ago and they advertised racing car show/swap meet so I think, ‘Well I’ll bring the car for this car show. I watch the racing, I met the guys especially Dan Bergeron from East Coast Gassers and got talking and Dan tried to get me to join.”

That conversation started the spark that fanned the flame, as Kevin admitted, “[I] got bit by the bug. That winter we tore the car apart and put a cage in it and made a race car out of it. [It] still was legally registered, I don’t know legally, but it was registered in New York, and I’ve been racing with the East Coast Gassers ever since. The club, as you know, they’re family, they really are, corny as it sounds. Several times I’ve had problems with the car and I couldn’t even get near my own car to work on it because everybody was on top of it.”

The car’s had a few engines in its’ life, but currently a 540 cubic inch big block is under the hood with an 1150 Dominator on top. The engine was built by Andy Beal of Beal Racing Engines in North Carolina. Behind that powerful engine is a Turbo 400 transmission and a Ford 9-inch differential with 4:11 gears to get the horsepower to the ground. And what kind of times will this combination get you? As Lynch recalls, “When I started racing, I was running mid 12s. I was like ‘that’s fine that’s all I need.’ Next year wasn’t fast enough, switched the motor, down in the 11s. Wasn’t fast enough. Down in the 10s, ‘that’s all I wanted’, I told the engine builder, I don’t want to go any faster than 10. That didn’t last long and depending on the track, unfortunately not here, although I just ran a 10.01, I don’t think I’ll make it to the 9s here today, but New England was my fastest at 9.80 a couple weeks ago. I’m happy with it.”

Many of us are very familiar with how family and racing don’t always flow smoothly together, but Kevin was quick to point out he has no complaints. The car demanded attention, but family, of course, comes first with a lot of his time (and funds) going to his wife, Cheryl, and their three kids. And they had all those kids in college at the same time, so you really have to admire not only his dedication to family, but the ingenuity it takes to even have a race car along with all the family commitments. As he pointed out, “There were quite a few years where everything just sat.” In addition to this hot rod, Lynch also owns a ‘32 Ford Roadster, a 56 Chevy he’s had for 38 years, and a ‘40 Chevy coupe that’s going to be his next race car (powered by an engine built by fellow East Coast Gasser member, Bill Magliane).

This is a car that’s full of stories. Stories that define the car, all the lettering on it, and the relationships that lettering represents. And it gives a glimpse into who the driver, Kevin Lynch, actually is. It’s way more than just words, and they bring meaning and life to this hot rod. We’ll start with the story of the front doors and the speed shop. Kevin fondly relates how that came about, “Most of the work was done between myself and my buddy Bill Johnson, on the door says B & K Speed, Sherrills Ford, NC. Bill and I were buddies back from teenage years and we always said we were going to open up a speed shop then. One day we’re going to name it B and K speed. He helped me build the car, the second time, for racing and I was going back and forth to North Carolina and his shop and one time I brought it back up north I had it vinyl lettered up like that to surprise him, and it’s been B and K speed on here ever since so we finally technically have a shop. It’s not a business but his shop between that and mine which I built down there.”

Next up, we learn about how the name of the car, “Prime Suspect”, came to life. Kevin’s a retired cop, spending 30 years of duty between the local sheriffs office and police department. There’s a subtle clue to that with the Blue Lives Matter display in his back window. He was quick to point out, “I’ve never caught any flak from that but I’ve got a lot of thumbs up!” As for the name, he explained, “My buddy came up with this name. We couldn’t come up with a name for the car and he goes ‘well it’s in primer and you’re an ex-cop, so how about Prime Suspect?’ I’ve never seen another one [with that name].

If you’re behind the car, you can’t help but notice the little airplane graphic, so that moves us on to the next story of how “Flying with the Irish Pilot” came about and the meaning behind it. Yet again, a meaningful touch to this great car. Lynch explains, “My brother was a crop duster up on Long Island and most of potato farms he sprayed for were Polish farmers. Except for one guy, Mickey McBride, obviously Irish, and us being Irish, he always called my brother the Irish pilot. My brother passed away years ago, [this is] a little bit of a tribute to him. He always wanted me to learn how to fly. His crop duster was a fabric plane and I worked for him and it was like a pit crew pit stop. He’d come down and land, I’d run up, hook up the hose to the hopper, turn on the valve, the other guy’s working to turn on the pumps, I jump on by the wing, wash the windshield, every so often he’d point, and I’d have to look and sure enough he had a hole in the wing because he hit a tree branch or something. I’d have to stuff it with newspaper and then duct tape it and then at the end of the day when we’re done, I had to clean the plane and I did the repairs on the wing.” I’m sure all of this was good training for Lynch in taking care of his race car, and gives that little airplane a whole lot of respect.

Most people recall the exact person or car who got them hooked on the sport, but Kevin Lynch isn’t most people. After a moment of thought, he said, “I honestly don’t know where I got the love of cars from. My dad was a doctor, my brother was a pilot, there really wasn’t a lot of hands on stuff, but I’m pretty much a diehard Chevy guy. I’m starting to soften a little. There’s some fords that really catch my eye, especially seeing them at the track, there’s some beautiful cars. Speaking of the track, Mike McCracken and Mikey do an awesome job. I’d like to say something nice about them because they’re terrific, like family. Sometimes you feel more comfortable at a track than others. I don’t dislike any track, this just feels good. Even my wife, Cheryl, enjoys coming with me here.

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