Written by Pete McNae

Sometimes you're the bug – and sometimes you're the windscreen. In his other sporting life, Nelson streetstock driver Taylor Lynch is a nationally-graded basketball referee, calling the fouls as players swap elbows under the hoop.

He's been on the other side of the sanctions since he began pursuing his other passion, though. The 24-year-old engineering trainee at Sitewise Engineering (Lynch also has a commercial pilot's licence, but aviation jobs are as rare as a straight panel on a streetie) has had his share of trips to the tower in his brief time in the class, with a 22-day stand-down and another 8-day infringement on his licence.

Did they dim the young driver's enthusiasm for his summer sport, though? Heck, no. Lynch has quickly become a popular member of the Nelson streetstock fraternity (identified in the wild by their large black bucket hats), a teams racer for the Nelson Knights and a willing listener and learner in a class where cockiness can have immediate consequences.

Lynch, alongside best mate and co-car owner Corey Hogg (who is also a talented basketball referee, controlling games in the national league), didn't follow the traditional entry path into speedway these days, through the youth ministock ranks. Instead the Lynch family were simply longtime spectators with Taylor and Corey each entering a demolition derby at the first possible opportunity.

“We had waited and wanted so long to give it a crack,” Lynch said. “I actually had a second derby car lined up before I even did the first one. Once we had that derby under the belts, we started to look around for a cheap-as streetstock to get started in.”

That car came from Dunedin but budget buys bring issues and their cut-rate Commodore blew up on opening night. Digging a little deeper, the car had various issues so it was on-sold with a shedload of spares, Lynch and Hogg buying an EL Falcon with the funds from the Holden.

“We talked to other guys up here, honestly we were pretty clueless, but they said to go Falcon.

“This one looked like the next step forward for us; as total newcomers we were learning as we went, learning how to fix it, although breaking it seemed to come naturally.”

Around that time, Lynch and Hogg started to form friendships with others on the grid with former 2NZ Cody McCarrison becoming a firm ally. After a season with the EL, the team-mates decided to run with the pack and move to the more modern BA platform, building the car themselves.

“That's where guys like Cody and others in the class were huge – just keeping an eye on us, making sure we didn't cut out the wrong bits. We built the motor ourselves, just basic, and got the car out for the start of last season,” Lynch said. “I think I imagined I'd be up there straight away but looking back, I overdrove, tried to drive too quick too soon and still had a heap to learn.”

What was never in doubt was Lynch's willingness to have a crack. One ill-advised shot, when he tried to put an opposing car through the wall, earned that 22-day holiday – but the intent wasn't lost on the Nelson Knights selectors who added Lynch to their State of Origin lineup.

The annual meeting in Christchurch brings together teams from Nelson, Dunedin, the host track and a fourth invitation squad for three teams races per side. With his best effort a third placing as the only Nelson car left running, Lynch rates the chance to represent his club as the highlight of his fledgling career.

“I'm nervous before most races but, that meeting, I was filling my undies,” he said. “The South Island has so many hot rods, so many really experienced racers, I was just hoping not to go out there and stuff it up for the boys.

“Once it was over, it felt like I'd actually started to make a bit of progress in the class. Corey and me had tried to listen, tried to soak up as much as we could because we were absolute learners, but being on the grid for Nelson was a tick in the box.”

There have been a few race wins, too. The first came in Whanganui when McCarrison was meant to borrow the CT Racing Falcon to race the triples in Rotorua. When that meeting was rained out, Lynch and McCarrison turned around and headed back to the Heartland to race at Oceanview. With McCarrison's 2NZ on the side, he drove the first two races before Lynch hopped in for the third – and his first flag. There have been wins in Blenheim and a couple in Nelson, where Lynch jokes he is 1N as the current club champion.

The team have travelled, too, trying to qualify for the nationals in Wellington and taking on South Island title meetings. With the Richmond Exhaust and Radiator Specialists-Prokut New Zealand champs just around the corner on his home track at the Milestone Homes Top of the South Speedway, Lynch is keeping his expectations in check.

“It's a speedway cliché, but getting out of night one would be an achievement when you have 100 cars rolling in. I'd never make any big predictions or claims – you're just setting yourself up for extra attention.

“What would be great would be the opportunity to qualify and compete for a title – or have some say in who does.”

The young Richmond duo (Hogg is happy wrenching on the BA and leaving the driving to Lynch) remain realistic.

“It's a budget build … the motor has 440,000km on it and it's been given oil and gaskets. All the money we got for the EL went into the computer and wiring so we are pretty pleased to be putting up solid lap times but you're only one right turn away from an early night in streetstocks so, you know, you can plan all you want and still have it turn to crap quick.

“The best advice we have been given is that you don't win a race or a national championship in the first corner, lap one, first race – but you can lose one, so the driver needs to keep reminding himself about that and not chuck it out the window.”

• CT Racing (Corey Hogg and Taylor Lynch) are grateful for the support from Lynch's parents (Justin and Jan), crew member Blake de Vries and sponsors Lift N Shift Nelson, Richmond Aquatic Centre, Chapman Auto Surgery, Troopers Tyres, Bateman Motorsport, Sturrock and Greenwood (Hogg's employer), Sitewise Engineering (Lynch's employer), Soper Painting and Decorating and the Nelson Independent Testing Station.

• The Richmond Exhaust and Radiator Specialists New Zealand Streetstock Championships, in association with Prokut, will be run at Nelson's Milestone Homes Top of the South Speedway on Lansdowne Rd, Richmond this Friday and Saturday, January 9-10. The weekend also features the Super Saloon Super Cup.

Photos: BM Photography

Article added: Friday 02 January 2026