High Schoolers Teach Harvick Fast Way Around Track

It was a great event in Bakersfield Wednesday as NASCAR Sprint Cup star Kevin Harvick mingled with some of the local area teens who came from several schools to test their abilities against the local racing hero. Kevin flew in late Tuesday evening for the special event held the following day to help get the Kern Youth Racing Series up and running once again in Bakersfield. Before race time Kevin was excited to see the kids back on the track.

"A lot of people in the community have put a lot of time and money into the effort and it's great to see it all come together ... to see it finally come to the race track and see the kids in the car. It's going to be a lot of fun. I'm really excited about it" Harvick said.

The resurrected High School Racing Series this time around will run Mini Stock class cars instead of the more powerful Hobby Stocks they ran on the paved 1/2 mile Mesa Marin racetrack a few years back. Mini Stocks are a four cylinder, American or import, front or rear drive, stock compact car fitted with racing safety equipment. They are an inexpensive way to go racing on Saturday nights. The high schools are responsible for building the cars which are driven by students.

During the afternoon practice sessions, Kevin was passing out helpful advice for the young racers on how to negotiate the 1/3 mile clay oval. Kevin has some experience at dirt racing having been in several of Tony Stewart's Prelude To The Dream events and, last year, making his first appearance here at Bakersfield Speedway in an IMCA Modified race car in The Inagural Run In The Dirt. Kevin, though was quick to point out he is not an expert dirt racer.

"I don't know if I'm the greatest teacher on dirt. We should have went and got Dick Shepherd or somebody to help them learn," he said. "But tonight is all about them having fun and learning what the cars are all about. I can guarantee they're going to have a good time and that's what it boils down to."

Come race time, the kids took what they learned from Harvick and headed out on the track. Porterville High Motor Sports driver Trent Carter (there at right) was the one to give Kevin some lessons in their heat race taking the checkered flag. His right front wheel disintegrated immediately after crossing the finish line and he was towed back to the pits and fitted with a new wheel. In the 20 lap main it was Carter once again pacing the field with Kevin close behind. It was a classic short track dirt race with lots of hard close racing and some beatin' and banging. Some of the econo cars could not handle the intense action and flat tires and broken wheels were the end result for many hard driving teens. Trent would fall victim to his second busted right front while leading the race with two laps to go. He again was towed to the pits while receiving a standing ovation from the packed crowd for his dominating effort. That left only two cars on the track for the final dash to the finish, Kevin Harvick and Centenial High School's Dakota Schweitzer in the red #5

(Though Carter was able to get another wheel mounted on his car and return to the track). Schweitzer and Harvick battled for the lead swapping positions several times. At the flag it was Dakota edging out Kevin for the trophy and more importantly, bragging rights for having outlasted all his competition and beating a Cup level driver.

After the race Dakota Schweitzer was ecstatic, "That was the most fun I've ever had in a car. He came into me so I went into him. I had the momentum. I want to say thank you to everyone who helped out on the race car. It's been an awesome time." Harvick had fun racing with the kids too,

"It was pretty cool," he said. "Like I said earlier, it was just a lot of fun seeing the kids. I wish you could have seen the kids working in the pits on each other's cars."

Everyone in the stands had a great time too, including me. The evening was just plain fun with some great racing by a couple of talented young drivers. Hopefully, this will become a regular feature at the speedway next year. If it does, I know I'll be spending a lot more time at my local short track on Saturday nights.. If you haven't been to a short track race - dirt or asphalt - lately or ever, do yourself, and your family, a favor and go check it out. There may not be any Sprint Cup stars there, but I guarantee you'll have a wonderful time and just maybe you'll get a chance to see the next Kevin Harvick in action.

High schoolers, Harvick put on 'a good show'

A tale of caution and GO!

Harvick To Give Driving Lessons To High School Kids.

Kevin Harvick has announced that he will be returning to his hometown of Bakersfield, Ca. to resurrect a local racing series that has been near to his heart for many years. The Kern County Youth Racing Series will have a special one night event at Bakersfield Speedway on Wednesday October 7. The incredibly popular racing series has been absent from local competition since the famous Mesa Marin Speedway closed in 2005.

The Kern County Youth Racing Series (formally know as the High School Racing Series) was the first of it's kind in the country that encouraged local high schools to build, race, and crew their own stock cars. Seniors working on the cars took turns at the wheel in the weekly racing series. At its peek in the early part of this century, more then a dozen schools were represented from around the central valley area with some traveling as far as 150 miles on race night. The talent of the young drivers, boys and girls, ranged from "scared out of their wits" to "future stars". There where rivalries developing between powerhouse teams from Mojave, Tehachapi and Kevin's alma mater, North High. I remember one Saturday night when my little brother-in-law got his chance behind the wheel of the beautiful blue Frazier Mtn. High School Chevy Nova. He decided to take the cautious approach and let the leaders battle it out. A couple of spins coming out of turn two hard on the gas left him smiling ear to ear and with a mid-pack finish. I must say I was very proud of him and very jealous at the same time.

While the series has it's roots in asphalt racing, the delay of the new Kern County Speedway has forced the high school kids off the track for far too long for Kevin's sake.

"We've been supporting the Kern County Youth Racing Series for a few years now and we want to give these kids the opportunity to race, so we're coming to the Speedway to help make that happen."

In conjunction with Bakersfield Speedway (the local 1/3 mile clay oval) and Kevin Harvick, a special one night race has been sanctioned to get the kids back to racing and show off what they can do. Along with giving the teens helpful advice, as a special incentive, these young racers will have the opportunity to whoop a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver's butt. Yes, Kevin himself will be racing a Hobby Stock class car along with the kids and hopefully not getting too embarrassed in the process. Can you imagine the ribbing he would get from Clint Bowyer and others if he was to get outrun by some snot-nosed high school brat?

This won't be the first time Kevin has taken to the clay oval at the track he grew up so close to. Last year, he made his Inaugural Run In The Dirt at the speedway in a modified race car that brought past champions and hot shots from around the western states. You can check out that story here if you missed it. It was a fun night for all, although I seem to remember a bit of a headache the next morning. I can thank the King Of Beers for that.

Kevin's duties at the speedway won't just be helping the kids get back on track. He will be kicking off the Prelude To The Nationals (where have we head that before) Hobby Stock race that is the start of the Budweiser Nationals for Late Models, Modifieds, Hobby and Street stocks. And curiously the track owner and promoter, Scott Schweitzer, has left a provisional spot open just in case. Will Kevin take to the track again against the best the junker class has to offer? That is, if there is anything left of his car after he concludes driver training with some of today's youth. I hope to bring all the details of the night's action to you following the event, providing I can elude the King Of Beers long enough to log the festivities.

Side note: It's a shame that Mesa Marin had to close because of housing developments that surrounded and engulfed the track. The new facility fell victim to the real estate collapse here in the Bakersfield area. Land sales that were to finance the project never reached close of escrow. The Collins family, who were such pioneers of the Craftsman Truck Series, the High School Racing Series, and the 911 Race For Youth where local firemen, law enforcement, DA's office and other public servants raced each other to help support the D.A.R.E. program and other local activities, are still hopeful that the new track, that is 90% complete, will be finished and the great tradition of Bakersfield racing will once again lead the country in innovative forms of racing.