FORESTVILLE - The preceding week, Colt Harris had his best performance in many weeks, but last Friday's Georgie Stevenson Memorial at Big Diamond Speedway cast Harris as the poster child for the fickle nature of motorsports.
One week after placing second in the 358 modified feature, Harris last Friday placed fifth in his heat race and started the 34-lap feature in the 15th spot. That only meant Harris was caught in one of the several mishaps during the event and, not realizing a part in his steering assembly was broken, he made several attempts to rejoin the race before going to the pits for good.
Yet Harris was still smiling. His car was competitive until the crash, and the former Mahanoy City resident was enjoying the challenge of facing off against some of modified racing's big names.
"There's not a whole lot of us from around here doing it anymore," said Harris, who moved to Valley View within the past year, of his Schuylkill County roots.
That was never an issue for Harris, who counts racing as one of his lifelong pursuits. In fact, Harris,
now 28, came to his first Big Diamond program when he was only 2 weeks old.
"I started off in go-carts. Shellhammer's, Selinsgrove (Speedway), we ran all over," Harris said, adding, "At the end of the 2004 season, Keith Haring put me in a car, and we ran four sportsman races here. Then we put a modified together for (the Octoberfest at) Hagerstown (Speedway) and I've been running modifieds every year.
"This is all I know," he continued. "My dad (Bill Harris, who serves as crew chief) owned them and drove them. My uncle (Kenny Harris) owned them and drove them. My pap was Harry Harris and he ran them in '64 here."
It took some time for the family-owned team of Colt Harris, whose sponsorships are dominated by Schuylkill County businesses, to finally put a car on the track at Big Diamond.
"I was more relieved that we did it than anything," Harris, a tire technician at Ken's Tire in Frackville, said.
Harris became a regular at Big Diamond and in August 2012, Harris got his first career win on the three-eighths-mile oval. The second-place finish two weeks ago was his best finish since that victory.
"The way this year started, the second was a big confidence boost," he said. "When I'm confident, the team feeds off it and everything seems to go smoother. It was nice to start the car up there (near the front), run the car hard and see what we had. All year long, we had been starting in the back, having to come from the back to the front, and it makes it a lot tougher."
Harris drives a 2010 Bicknell that was formerly used as a big-block car by Jimmy Horton at New Egypt Speedway. He's had to adjust to it because of the 358 cubic-inch, or small block, engine.
"You've got less layover in the chassis and more forward drive in the small block," Harris said. "You've got to be more throttle-friendly with a big block."
In addition, Harris said he has learned to adjust to Big Diamond's track surface.
"It's hard not to go flat to the floor with the throttle. That's your first instinct," said Harris, a North Schuylkill High graduate. "You've got to race the race track when it started going away and gets dry. You've got to pedal the car to make sure you're not spinning the tires."
Harris has now reached a comfort level with his car and his racing career, which will include some travel to distant tracks near the end of the season if his lone car and engine hold together.
"I'm happy right where I am," he said. "But someday, I'd like to put a big block together and run the SuperDIRT series. We'll see what happens, but I've accomplished about everything I set out to do."
NOTES: Brett Deyo and Devin Karpulk will serve as announcers for tonight's program because usual announcer Tim Pitts is ill. ⦠Tonight's program features the Pro Shine Auto Detailing Roadrunner Challenge races using the point standings from the originally scheduled date of June 20. The participants will be Jeremy Becker, Chris Holland, Tim Fitzpatrick Jr., Shon Elk, Jim Kost, Terry Kramer Jr., Joey Brennan, Jared Seigfried, Jesse Krasnitsky, T.J. Fitzpatrick and Joe Kavanaugh.Today's races
Where: Big Diamond Speedway,Forestville.
When: 8:15 p.m. Gates open at 5 p.m. Warm-ups at 7:45 p.m.
Program: Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic 358 modifieds, Slifko Fabrication Services 358 late models and Savage 61 roadrunners.
Admission: $15 for adult grandstand seats; $13 for seniors, active military and students ages 13-17 with valid identification; Free for children ages 12 and under. Pit fees are $30 per member and $40 per non-member.