Q&A with Heath Harvey
By Danny White
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Photo courtesy of Heath Harvey |
We recently had the time to talk Heath Harvey. Heath is an up and coming Outlaw Top Sportsman racer from Clarksville in the J.P. Harvey Motor sponsored Grand Am owned by Thomas Motorsports out of Mt Pleasant. Heath is in his first year of driving a door car that is the companion to Ken Thomas’ Pro Mod.
1. How did you get started in drag racing?
I HAD A JET BOAT THAT I RACED BEFORE THE SDBA GOT POPULAR IN NORTH EAST TEXAS. ANYWAY, I HURT THE MOTOR AND WAS TOLD ADGER SMITH HAD A MOTOR FOR SALE THAT HE HAD IN A DRAGSTER. I WENT TO PURCHASE THE MOTOR AND WHEN I LEFT ADGER'S HOUSE....I LEFT WITH THE ENTIRE CAR!
2. Is it true that dabbled in fast boats?
YES I DID....FOR ABOUT 3 YEARS.
3. How many different drag racing cars have owned or driven?
I'VE HAD 2 DRAGSTERS AND NOW THE OTS GRAND PRIX.
4. Tell us about each car as far where they came from, who built them, and best elapsed times?
THE FIRST DRAGSTER, AS I SAID EARLIER, I GOT FROM ADGER SMITH IN TEXARKANA. THE BEST E.T., I RAN IN THIS CAR WAS WITH A THOMAS RACING ENGINE 565 CU, IN. MOTOR. WE WENT 4.89 AT PARIS DRAGSTRIP. THE SECOND DRAGSTER I BOUGHT FROM GLENN BOULWARE. IT WAS A NEWER CHASSIS AND A NARROWED FRONT END. I WAS WANTING TO UPGRADE THE CHASSIS A LITTLE. I RAN THIS CAR FOR LESS THAN ONE SEASON...BUT ONLY BECAUSE I COULDN'T SELL THE OLDER CAR. SO I ENDED UP SELLING THIS CAR AND GOING BACK TO THE OLD CHASSIS. THE GRAND PRIX HAS BEEN THE FASTEST CAR SO FAR. WE'VE BEEN 4.66 FOR OUR LOWEST E.T., BUT WE RAN RICK CATES AT WICHITA FALLS, KILLED 13 MPH AND RAN 4.702. I FIGURE THAT WAS A 4.60 - 4.62 PASS.
5. How many track championships have you won in bracket racing?
I WON THE TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP AT PARIS IN 2002 AND 2003.
6. Describe how Thomas Motorsports and you teamed together.
THOMAS RACING ENGINES (KEN & JEFF) HAD BEEN DOING MY ENGINES AND KEN AND I HAD BECOME PRETTY GOOD FRIENDS. I HAD ALWAYS WANTED A DOOR CAR JUST BECAUSE PEOPLE COULD RELATE THE GENERAL MOTORS CAR TO OUR BUSINESS, J P HARVEY MOTORS (CHEVROLET - PONTIAC - BUICK), BETTER THAN THEY COULD A DRAGSTER. KEN WANTED TO GET ANOTHER NITROUS MOTOR OUT ON THE CIRCUIT, ONE THING LED TO ANOTHER AND HERE WE ARE.
7. Was the transition to a suspended door car hard? Describe the difference in a car and a dragster?
THE TRANSITION WASN'T HARD AT ALL....AND THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO IS MOSTLY SEEING OUT OF THE CAR. YOU HAVE TO DRIVE THE DOOR CAR A LITTLE MORE.
8. How is the maintenance different in the two styles of cars?
THE DRAGSTER MAINTENANCE WAS TO RUN THE VALVES EVERY COUPLE OF WEEKS AND CHANGE THE OIL ONCE A MONTH. THE MAINTENANCE ON THE GRAND PRIX IS A LITTLE MORE IN DEPTH AND LOTS MORE TIME CONSUMING! THE GOOD THING IS I'VE GOT THE BEST PARTNER IN THE WORLD (JEFF THOMAS)! HE DOES 90% OF EVERYTHING EVER DONE TO THE CAR AND HE'S DANG GOOD AT IT IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF!
9. How many wins and runner up finishes have you had this year in Outlaw Top Sportsman?
WE'VE HAD 4 WINS (WICHITA FALLS, TEMPLE, RED LINE & PARIS). I'M NOT SURE BUT I THINK ONLY 1 RUNNER-UP AND THAT WAS AT WICHITA FALLS.
10. Did you think you would this competitive this fast being that it was you first door car and running an index? How does the team adjust the car to run the index or is it all out?
I'M VERY SURPRISED! I HAD NO IDEA WE WOULD BE 8 POINTS OUT OF THE LEAD WITH ONE RACE LEFT. WE HAD SO MANY PEOPLE TELL US WHEN WE STARTED PUTTING THE CAR TOGETHER THAT THERE WAS NO WAY A CONVENTIONAL HEADED, SINGLE CARBURETOR, 565 COULD RUN 4.70. I DIDN'T KNOW IF WE WOULD BE COMPETITIVE OR NOT....BUT JEFF KEPT TELLING ME "MAN, THERE'S NO WAY THIS THING CAN'T RUN 4.70!" HE WAS RIGHT. TO ADJUST FOR THE INDEX THERE'S A LONG LIST -TIMING, SHIFT POINTS, LEAVE CHIP, NITROUS PILLS, NITROUS TIMERS, FUEL PRESSURE.... IT JUST DEPENDS ON THE WEATHER, TRACK CONDITIONS AND HOW MUCH YOU NEED TO SLOW THE CAR DOWN.
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Photo By Donnie Limbock, courtesy of Heath Harvey, |
11. How did it feel to have a "bounty" on your head? Who collected the bounty?
IT MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD BECAUSE YOU KNOW SOMEBODY'S WORRIED OR THEY WOULDN'T PUT THAT INCENTIVE OUT THERE FOR EVERYONE. THE PROBLEM IS....EVERYONE GETS JUST A LITTLE MORE PUMPED TO "LOAD YOU ON THE TRAILER.” WHO COLLECTED THE BOUNTY? WOULD YOU BELIEVE A GIRL! MICHELLE WILSON....SHE WAS THE #1 QUALIFIER THAT NIGHT AND HAD RUN A STRING OF LOW 70'S, BUT SO HAD WE. NOT TAKING ANYTHING AWAY FROM MICHELLE BECAUSE SHE WAS YOUR EVENTUAL WINNER, BUT OUR DRIVER COST US THAT RACE. I STAGED, FLINCHED AND RED LIGHTED BY A BUNCH!
12. In the year that you have raced Outlaw Top Sportsman, who is your toughest opponent and your favorite one to beat?
THE TOUGHEST OPPONENT WOULD HAVE TO BE THE POINTS LEADER, H.T. WILSON, AND THE ONE YOU LOVE TO BEAT IS THE MAN ON TOP! YOU ALWAYS LIKE TO BEAT THE BEST.
13. There is one race left, does Thomas Motorsports and Heath Harvey have something up their sleeve to try win the Outlaw Top Sportsman championship?
THE ONLY THING UP MY SLEEVE IS JEFF THOMAS. IF I CAN GET ON THE TREE....I PROMISE YOU, JEFF WILL HAVE THE CAR TUNED FOR A LOW 4.70
14. Ken Thomas is in second place in the Texas Outlaw Pro Modified Association and you are second in Outlaw Top Sportsman points, do you consider 2005 a successful year?
2005 IN MY OPINION HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS YEAR FOR THOMAS MOTOR SPORTS AND THOMAS RACING ENGINES. WE HAVE A SHOT AT THE TITLE AND KEN WENT 4.14 THIS PAST WEEKEND.
15. What are the future plans of Heath Harvey and Thomas Motorsports?
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR US BUT I CAN TELL YOU HEATH HARVEY AND JEFF THOMAS WILL BE PARTNERS FOR YEARS TO COME.
16. Would you like to race Pro Mods or some other class or you happy where you are at?
JEFF AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT STEPPING UP TO THE PRO MOD...OUR ONLY PROBLEM IS $$$$$. SO, IF ANYONE WANTS TO SPONSOR A COMPETITIVE PRO MOD NITROUS CAR...GIVE US A CALL.
17. In closing is there any thing you would like to add that I have might have missed?
THE ONLY THING I'D LIKE TO ADD WOULD BE TO THANK KEN, JEFF, CHUCK AND SUSAN THOMAS FOR ALL THAT THEY'VE DONE....AND DON'T WORRY....I EXPECT YOU ALL TO DO MORE! MY DAD, J P HARVEY, AND HIS DEALERSHIP (J P HARVEY MOTORS INC) FOR THE TIME OFF WORK, THE NEW ONE TON DURAMAX TOW VEHICLE AND ALL THE OTHER LITTLE THINGS YOU DO FOR ME. AND I'D LIKE TO THANK CHRIS STEPHENS AT STEPHENS AUTOMOTIVE IN PARIS, TEXAS FOR HIS ASSOCIATE SPONSORSHIP. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST.....THE BEST CREW IN THE PRO MOD & TOP SPORTSMAN BUSINESS.... KEN THOMAS, JEFF THOMAS, CHUCK THOMAS, JOSH FREDERICK AND J D WILLIAMS.....YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!
Heath, Thank you very much for taking the time to answer our questions.