It sure didn’t take the venerable powerhouse duo of tuner Steve Petty and driver Tim Lynch to return to the same place they left off last season before the sale of their trusty Mustang: the winner’s circle. And the list of those who doubted they could do it would have to be incredibly short, if even existent at all. Even their competitors, who have carried a dismayed look on their faces for years, would have to hastily admit that fact. But true to form, they did it.

Images courtesy: Proline Racing Engines

Lynch and Petty made their highly anticipated debut of their brand new, Skinny Kid Race Cars built Corvette ZR1 at the Coca Cola Outlaw Doorslammer Series event in Orangeburg, SC last weekend, and virtually stole the show despite making a representative pass. A cracked boost tube plumbed through the chassis tubing ended their weekend prematurely, but vowed to have it repaired in time for this weekends NHRA Unleashed in Commerce, GA.

And that they did.  At Commerce, on just the fifth pass for the new car, Lynch laid down a stout 4.48 at 168 MPH with a track temperature soaring above 140 degrees. After qualifying seventh in the strong field Outlaw 10.5 field, Lynch disposed of Bill Futch in the opening round with low ET of the round – a 4.49 at an even faster 177 MPH. He then advanced to the semifinals to bout Rob Wells’ Mustang, again with the best run of the round at 4.51.

In the semifinals, an .061 to .082 holeshot was just enough to beat the quicker Wells, 4.52 to 4.51. In the final, Lynch streaked away from opponent Dave Cox to garner the very first NHRA Unleashed Wally and put to rest any possible doubts that it would take Lynch and Petty time to figure out their new combination.