Inspired by His Hero, Garvey Drives for Snowball Derby Champ Gary Balough By Chuck Corder At 56, Mike Garvey still remembers the moment he decided to be a stock-car driver. As a kid, Garvey and his family would make annual pilgrimages from their native Michigan down to Nashville for the All-American 400. It was at the historic Fairgrounds where Garvey first caught a glance at a chromed-out, sleek, and cool look of the No. 112 of short-track icon Gary Balough. “The car was immaculate,” Garvey recalled. “That’s what always caught my eye about Gary’s cars. Not only were they the fastest, but they were always the best looking. That’s what stuck with me. 3 Joseph Meyer 9 Logan Boyett 12 Tony Dalton 12 Brandon Burks 18 Jesse Salazar 18 Jessie Reid 29 Shanna Ard 38 Chopper Stagner 40 Kody Brusso 51 Trevor Dalton 54 Grant Thompson 56 Darryl Rudd 56 Josh Hicks 64 Cale Gale 96 John Heil 97 Hunter Lambert
“That’s what I wanted to do. NASCAR was never a big deal to me. I wanted to race for a living. Guys like Gary, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Terry Senneker – those were my heroes.” Garvey will get to live out his childhood dream this Friday at Five Flags Speedway. He will team with his idol, Balough, and get behind a Senneker
2 Donnie Wilson 03 George Gorham 4 Kyle Plott 5 Dalton Armstrong 11 David Rogers 11 Logan Boyett 14 Chris Davidson 14 Connor Okrzesik 14 Austin Nason 15 Austin Thaxton 16 Lucas Jones 18 Casey Roderick 18 Trey Bayne 20 Anthony Sergi 20 Jack Dossey III 21 Jeremy Pate 21 Bronson Butcher 21 Ryan Herbert 26 Bubba Pollard 26 Travis Braden 30 Jessie Dutilly 30 Bobby Knox 33 Dustin Smith 33 Carter Stokes 47 Allen Karnes 51 Cole Rouse 51 Stephen Nasse 55 Cole Anderson 53 Boris Jurkovic 66 Logan Bearden 78 Corey Heim 79 Kyle Bryant 79 Joe Aramendia 81 Giovanni Bromante 83 Scotty Ellis 88 Roger Reuse 97 Steven Davis 98 Paul Kelley 99 Casey Smith 99 Chase Purdy 112 Augie Grill 112 Mike Garvey