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Hometown salute: Harvick holds his own in first race around clay oval

BY MIKE GRIFFITH , Californian staff writer
mgriffith@bakersfield.com | Thursday, Jun 19 2008 11:33 PM

Last Updated: Thursday, Jun 19 2008 11:55 PM

Kevin Harvick didn't pull off a victory Thursday night in his very first race at Bakersfield Speedway.

But the home-grown Sprint Cup star did nothing to embarrass himself in a rare dirt-track appearance.

Driving a new Larry Shaw car built for Larry Hood, Harvick had plenty of top-notch advice in the pits, including Shaw and Minnesota driver Steve Arpin, who actually built the car for Larry Hood and was on hand to set it up for Harvick.

That effort paid off for the NASCAR Sprint Cup star with an eighth-place finish on the third-mile clay oval.

Harvick qualified fifth in the 47-car IMCA Modified field and won his heat race before starting seventh in the 30-lap feature. He ran fifth for much of the race before falling back late and finishing eighth.

Alex Sanford passed Clay Daly in the final turn to get the win.

"I've had as much fun tonighht as any time I've had in a race car," Harvick said. "I wrecked it a bit there on that first caution and had to fight hard. These guys race hard and I just hope everybody comes back, whether it's on a dirt track, a go-kart track or the new Kern County Raceway out there. We gotta just make sure we keep racing alive.

"It was pretty cool to win the heat. We had a lot of help with Larry Shaw and Steve Arpin. I want to thank the whole Hood family and Terry Henry for all the help they put in. It's fun to come back, see all your friends and get to race their car."

Harvick started his day by signing autographs at his merchandise trailer inside the front gate. After that, he stopped by the mandatory drivers meeting where chief stewart Ivan Crawford gave a handful of racers a chance to meet Harvick face to face.

"For all of you who said you were going to take him out, here he is now," Crawford said. "Go over and introduce yourself so he can see your face."

There were no takes on the offer as the meeting resumed.

At the end of the meeting, Harvick stepped forward and into the spotlight.

"Thanks to all of you guys for coming up," he said, "I grew up a mile and a half from here and this is my first time racing. It's going to be a pretty cool night. I'm not the best at this. I'm not looking to run anybody over. I'm here to enjoy myself and have fun."

Part of that fun included sitting in the middle of the pit grandstands and watching the remainder of qualifying after he took his two turns around the track. He also found time to wave the green flag to start the two Mini Dwarf feature races.

In American Stock action, Jeremiah Van Scoy took the lead with two laps to go then pulled way for his first win of the season. Tyler Johnson, who had led most of the 20-lap race, finished second. Jackie Wood placed third, followed by Mark Hogue and David Childress.