Derek Lynch started his career racing karts in eastern Ontario, where he won four championships. In 1986, at 14-years-old, he made the jump to Late Model Sportsman racing at Peterborough Speedway, where he won five features and the track championship in 1987.

Lynch raced in the ACT Pro Stock Series from 1988 to 1995, where he recorded a pair of top-five points finishes and three wins, including a victory in the prestigious Oxford 250. Away from the driver’s seat, he worked as a fabricator for NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Truck Series teams in the late 1990s, including Darrell Waltrip Motorsports and Bobby Allison Motorsports.

Lynch raced in a variety of late model series over the last two decades. He made 30 starts in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series between 2007 and 2016, winning at Cayuga Speedway in 2007. He also worked as manager/promoter of Kawartha Speedway from 2004 to 2012.