Harvick Wants To Stir Up Martinsville Magic

Kevin Harvick buckled in for Martinsville.

 When Kevin Harvick left Martinsville Speedway in late March he was leading the NASCAR Sprint Cup points. Twenty weeks after leaving the track he calls “home,” he’s still solidly out front in the points chase, and he’s gone from surprise leader to championship favorite.

Harvick didn’t have a great run here in the spring … he wound up 35^th, but you had better believe he’s looking forward to the TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville on October 24.

“I love racing at Martinsville because it’s only about 30 minutes and I get to sleep in my own bed,” said Harvick, who calls Martinsville Speedway his “hometown track” even though he’s from California. “We have a lot of our friends who can come out to Martinsville and it’s close for all the crew members and their families. It is like racing at home for us.”

Harvick’s spring drives back-and-forth to Martinsville on U.S. 220 were bittersweet. He captured the pole for both the Kroger 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 Sprint Cup Series race by virtue of leading the points in both series after rain wiped out qualifying for both races.

He then proceeded to go out and trounce the field to win his second truck series race for his third career Martinsville win. Two of those wins have been in the truck series and the other in the Nationwide Series’ visit here in 2006. And that means he has a huge Martinsville hole on his racing resume.

“We’ve been fortunate to win in the Nationwide (Series) and the trucks and run good in the Cup car at Martinsville,” said Harvick. “We’ve got to get that Cup win knocked out of the way, and being so close to home, obviously you’ve got a lot of friends and family who come to the race. So … for us, it basically is our home track and you always want to do good close to home.”

Harvick’s next best chance to add a Martinsville win to his accomplishments will come on October 24 with the TUMS Fast Relief 500, a race he ran 10^th in last year. The TUMS Fast Relief 500 is the sixth stop in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, and is the only short-track stop in the Chase, which makes it one of the most pivotal among the 10 in the Chase.

“The racing is tight at Martinsville. It’s usually a long, hard day with all the beating and banging,” said Harvick. “It’s hard to get a good finish without having something happen to you. Our goal is to survive, keep the fenders on it, and radiator on it. If you’re not around after 400 laps into the race, you aren’t going to have a chance of winning. We want to be there at the end.”

ANOTHER HOMETOWN DRIVER: Like Harvick, Timothy Peters also calls Martinsville Speedway his hometown track … and with good reason. The defending champion of the Kroger 200 grew up about 40 miles from the track and now lives about 15 miles East of the track.

He followed up his Martinsville victory, his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win, with a win in Daytona in February. He’s had a solid season since and remains in the top four in the points standings with a good shot at the championship. These days, though, he’s just thinking about winning races.

“I’m in the best equipment I’ve been in my entire career right now,” said Peters, who drivers for Red Horse Racing. “It’s amazing how good our stuff is. We’ve had some engine problems, but we’ve gotten that straightened out. We just keep getting better and better. “

AFFORDABLE TICKETS: Tickets for the TUMS Fast  Relief 500 begin at $25 and are on sale now.

Tickets to the Kroger 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on October 23 are $30 in advance, with children 12 and under admitted free.

Tickets for Farm Bureau Pole Day, which features practice and qualifying for both the Kroger 200 and the TUMS Fast Relief 500, are $15, children 12 and under admitted free.

Tickets may be purchased by calling 877.RACE.TIX or online by visiting www.martinsvillespeedway.com.