This site is currently used as a storage of historical racing news from the West Michigan race scene. Due to other priorities at this time updated news is on hold. Please feel free to use the Search feature to look for news about drivers and tracks.
Thank you,
Mark Jalovec
Monday, September 12, 2016
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Root Wins at Berlin
http://www.mlive.com/autoracing/index.ssf/2016/04/berlin_raceways_mike_root_need.html
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Muskegon's Mike Garvey Turns the Page in his Career
Short Track Veteran Garvey: ‘It’s just time to stop driving’
February 25, 2015
There comes a time in everyone’s life when they decide they need to do something different. Some times that changes comes out of necessity, other times it’s by choice. For veteran Super Late Model driver Mike Garvey, it’s a mixture of both.
Garvey, a two-time All-American 400 winner, has decided that the time to switch gears is now. The Muskegon, Michigan native will be stepping away from the driver’s seat and focusing on his role as a driver coach during the 2015 season.
“You can’t race forever,” Garvey told Speed51.com powered by JEGS. “Things keep changing with the way racing evolves. It’s just time. I’m 52 years old. I’ve got to start building a business for the future. You can’t just keep racing for the fun of it. I’ve got to take care of things and it’s just time to switch gears.”
While this decision may come as a shock to many, it was one that his car owner, Tracy Goodson, expected.
“His heart is just not in it (anymore),” said Goodson. “He’s had his time.”
Garvey and Goodson have decided to go the driver development route, with Garvey serving as a driver coach, as well as the crew chief for Goodson’s cars.
“He enjoys crew chiefing more than he enjoys driving and making cars go fast, and he enjoys working with the young guys,” Goodson said. “So that’s the direction we’re going to go. He’s going to crew chief the deal and we are going to lease the cars out.”
This isn’t the first time Garvey has stepped out of the car. He actually did it a few years ago before Goodson convinced him to hop back in.
“I quit racing for about four or five years,” said Garvey. “I had multiple cars going back and forth but then Tracy convinced me to get back into racing. I had a good consulting business going and I was working on cars and building cars for people and going with them to the races. I had a really strong business going and I kind of let that go when I started racing again.”
Garvey said things are already going well and a number of drivers are already interested. He’s at the Inaugural Winter Showdown at Kern County Raceway Park (CA) with southern Late Model driver Chris Davidson this weekend.
“We’re actually pulling into the pit area as we speak,” said Garvey. “I’m going to be helping him out on the CARS Tour a lot, so we’ve got some things working already.”
When asked if race fans would see Garvey behind the wheel of a race car anytime soon, Garvey said, “I’d rather not,” but said it is a possibility.
“I raced for four years with Tracy and it is just time,” Garvey said. “You can tell when it’s time. It’s just time to get back to that and build a business for the future and try to help people out and build cars.
“But it doesn’t mean I won’t ever race again. You never say never.”
-By Rob Blount, Speed51.com Northeast Editor -Twitter: @RobBlount
-Photo Credit: Bruce Nuttleman/Speed51.com
-Photo Credit: Bruce Nuttleman/Speed51.com
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Mike Garvey Breaks the Streak, Johanna Long Takes Title
Mike Garvey Breaks the Streak, Johanna Long Takes Title
Pensacola, Florida – To say that Senoia, Georgia’s Bubba Pollard has been dominant in Pro Late Model competition this year would be an understatement. A perfect eight-for-eight dating back to March in PLM races, Pollard had a birds-eye view, from second, as that streak came to an end Saturday at Florida’s Five Flags Speedway in the Allen Turner Tune-Up 100.
When the checkered flag flew, it was veteran Mike Garvey who found himself back on top as he captured his third win in the annual event, after a year that has provided more downs than ups.
“We’ve been working and working and working at it,” said Garvey. “For the last year we’ve been terrible so about a month ago we just changed everything completely. We made wholesale changes.”
Behind the race leaders, the battle for the 2014 Champion came to a thrilling conclusion as Garrett Jones came up just one spot short of securing his second-consecutive Pro Late Model title at Five Flags.
Former track champion Johanna Long used a model of consistency to capture the Pro Late Model title which was her second of her career, and third overall counting her Blizzard title in the Super Late Models.
“This feels good. It’s finally over with,” said Long. “Garrett Jones had an awesome year. He was tough to beat. We were way to tight at the end of the race, I definitely thought I was gonna lose the Championship.”
Long and Jones swapped the point lead during the race as they each gained and lost positions along the way. In the end Jones’ fifth wasn’t enough to overcome Long’s seventh-place run.
“We had a really good car,” said Jones. “We just had to go a little bit harder than we wanted to at the beginning just to get to Johanna. I was trying not to think about the Championship. We were trying to save as much of the tires as we could. We just missed it a little bit.”
Garvey took the lead on a lap 41 restart and his only competition the rest of the way came from Pollard, who set fast-time in qualifying, but would start sixth after the invert.
“I knew we were good but you never know how good Bubba is. He just runs so good here.” said Garvey.
A lap 67 restart was as close as Pollard would get and he held the lead briefly before Garvey showed his hand.
“You don’t ever know how much each of us are saving until it’s time to throw it down there,” added Garvey. “I know I was saving a little, I know he was trying to save. It was time to just throw down there at the end and we just both went after it. Luckily we had enough this time.”
Johanna Long won her second Pro Late Model track title at Five Flags. (Speed51.com photo)
“The car would run for a couple of laps (on restarts) and then it was done,” explained Pollard. “We started the race tight, we finished tight.”
Pollard was not as disappointed as one might think after seeing and impressive 2014 Pro Late Model streak coming to an end.
“We had a good run there but you get into that comfort zone,” said Pollard. “You get into a box and you don’t wanna change it. These guys have all caught up now and we gotta go to work.”
The next time the Pro Late Models hit the track will be for the annual Snowflake 100 as part of the 47th Annual Snowball Derby. After a trying year for Garvey, he feels like his program is right where it needs to be heading into the year-end event.
“I don’t know how I could make the car any better than it was right there. That package right there, that’s what we’re coming to the Snowflake with.” Garvey added with a big smile, “We finally got that little bit we need.”
As for Pollard, it looks like it will be a busy eight weeks in preparation of the Snowflake, “We’ve got a lot of work to do. We just gotta do our homework.”
“We’re fighting the same thing in the Super (Late Model) that we’re fighting in the Pro (Late Model). I think it’s our front-end geometry, the whole front-end package. The shock and bump stop package. But we’ll figure it out and we’ll be back.”
By Mark Keeler – Speed51.com / Speed51.com photos
Allen Turner Tune-Up 100
Five Flags Speedway (FL)
Official Results
Five Flags Speedway (FL)
Official Results
- #1 Mike Garvey
- #26 Bubba Pollard
- #43 Justin South
- #99 Wayne Niedecken Jr
- #88 Garrett Jones
- #18 Korey Ruble
- #11 Johanna Long
- #14 Ryan Luza
- #51 Perry Patino
- #21 Riley Thornton
- #30 Bobby Knox Jr
- #66 Ryan Redmon
- #89 Bobby Reuse
- #55 Ronnie Osmer
- #5 Bret Holmes
- #4 Elliott Massey
- #05 Bayley Currey
- #42 Steven Davis
- #11 Willie Allen
- #30 Rusty Sanford
- #91 Madison Schneider
- #3 Brennan Willard
- #41 Troy Grisaffi
- #21 Larry Blount
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