The 2002 Daytona 500 is remembered for two reasons.
It was the first one held since Dale Earnhardt, whose driving success and persona transcended NASCAR, died in a last-lap accident the year before.
It also was won by Ward Burton, a nine-year journeyman who made his debut in the sport’s signature, season-opening race.
Looking back:Erie-area racing great Dill dies at 89
Somewhere amid Daytona (Florida) International Speedway’s mammoth crowd that day was Bill and Patrick Lyden, a father-son duo from Erie.
Bill Lyden maintained his family’s auto racing roots as a driver in the legends division of the newly-opened Lake Erie Speedway, the 3/8-mile NASCAR-sanctioned track located south of North East.
Patrick Lyden, who was 9 years old at the time, would participate in races on that same paved oval several years later.
Each agreed Patrick, now 30, received his consistent need for speed during that Daytona race 20 years ago.
“I was like, ‘Man, it would be cool to work in NASCAR and do this for a living,’” Patrick said. “That race fueled it.”
Pun intended or not, Patrick Lyden just completed his sixth season of full-time work for a NASCAR Cup Series crew.
It was a memorable one for the 2010 Cathedral Prep graduate.
Patrick Lyden was in charge of the tires for the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet driven by Ross Chastain. The six-year NASCAR veteran, who turns 30 next Sunday, finished six points out of first place in the Cup Series standings.
The title of NASCAR’s best overall racer for 2022 wasn’t determined until its Nov. 6 finale at Phoenix Raceway. Joey Logano, who was first to the checkered flag, also received 25 decisive series points for 5,040 overall.
Chastain, hindered by a 25th place on the starting grid, weaved his way to a third-place finish.
However, his 21 series points weren’t enough for the Alva, Florida, native, Lyden and the rest of the car’s crew to deny Logano, 32, his second Cup Series title.
“We were really close this year,” Patrick Lyden said. “(Second place) fuels our fire to be one spot better in the standings and get it next year.”
Life near the fast lane
Patrick Lyden’s parents didn’t attend any Cup races in person this year.
Don’t think for a second, though, they weren’t enthusiastically along for the ride throughout the series’ 36 official events.
Bill Lyden, a director for Erie’s Burton Quinn-Scott Cremation & Funeral Services Inc., and his wife Renee followed every race on television or online.
Bill Lyden was reminded by a reporter about his comments in a 2005 Erie Times-News article.
In it, he commented that although he shared a love of auto racing with his son, he didn’t anticipate it would evolve beyond their shared laps at LES for either.
Now, Bill Lyden is elated how his son’s NASCAR job has proved him extremely wrong.
“We’ve always enjoyed racing so, yeah, this has been a fun ride,” he said. “For Patrick to be able to work in the Cup Series for six years is pretty cool. He’s put in long hours, there’s no doubt about that. Now, he’s with the number two team in NASCAR.”
Patrick Lyden’s immediate career path was largely established when he enrolled at Belmont Abbey College. The private school is located in suburban Charlotte, North Carolina, the heart of NASCAR country.
Belmont Abbey has long served as a de facto training school for those who seek to make some aspect of stock car racing their livelihood. Lyden graduated there in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in motorsports management.
The school’s status as a NASCAR feeder program paid off for Lyden, who worked with several crews ahead of his current role with Trackhouse. Most notably, he was a former employee of Wood Brothers Racing.
Founded by Leonard Wood and the late Glen Wood in 1950, their team is NASCAR’s oldest still in existence.
Patrick Lyden signed with Trackhouse Racing last November. The team, which joined the Cup circuit in 2020, is owned by former NASCAR driver Justin Marks and Armando Christian Perez, who’s known better as the…
Read More: Cathedral Prep grad Lyden crew member for Chastain