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Youngster Hausler Credits Points Leader Garvey for Rookie’s Successful PLM Season

By Chuck Corder

It’s hard to find a chair at Zachary Hausler’s lunch table every Monday at Concordia Lutheran High School in Tomball, Texas.

Without fail, the 17-year-old junior always has the best stories of the weekend. Movies, schmovies. Malls, scmalls.

As his classmates engulf their paper-bag meals, Hausler regales them with tales of trading paint with some of the south’s finest short-track drivers.

He hopes he has a whopper after tonight when Hausler returns to Pensacola for his fourth Allen Turner Pro Late Model Series 100 lap race of the season at Five Flags Speedway.

“They always ask what the feeling is like,� he said of his friends. “It’s unexplainable. You have to do it yourself to get the feeling of doing it all the time.�

Sportsmen and Bombers will once again have that feeling when the gates open at 5 p.m. today.

Admission to the grandstands is as follows: $15 Adults; $14 Seniors; $12 Military/Students (12-17); $5 Children (6-11); Under 6 is Free. Passes to get into the pits are $25.

Remember, fans that retained their ticket stubs from the Demolition Derby last Friday night receive a $5 discount.

Hausler has impressed in this his rookie season aboard a late model.

The Houston-area driver has steadily improved in each of his three trips around America’s Favorite Home Track.

After posting a respectable 12th at the PLM season opener in March, Hausler has cracked the top 10 twice — a ninth and most recently a fifth at last month’s 100 lapper.

“When we came over for the first time, I had never raced at a half-mile track,� Hausler said. “The wearing of the tires, it’s a whole different animal than I’ve ever had to overcome. It’s so fast and so fun to drive. I’ve always wanted to race here. I wish it was an every week deal.�

Until then, he is completely content to make the most of the seat time he does get. While just a pup inside a late model, Hausler carries a stellar resume.

Last year while driving modifieds at his native Houston Motorsports Park, Hausler won 10 consecutive features and had a bounty on his head of an eye-popping $8,000.

Hausler still has trouble explaining the unbelievable zone he was in.

“When everything works out so well, it’s an incredible feeling,� he said. “Nothing could go wrong. It’s always in the back of your the head that something wrong is bound to happen, but it never did as we put another race down.

“(Hausler and his team) knew late models were in the cards, we just didn’t know when. When we began to win so much, we knew it was time.�

Thanks to the streak, Hausler’s humble nature is overcome by his swagger once the fire suit is zipped up.

It has also helped to have Allen Turner PLM series points leader Mike Garvey helping with the setup of the car. Hausler’s No. 91 stays at Garvey’s shop here in Pensacola.

Garvey already has won twice this year at the famed half-mile, asphalt oval in the Tracy Goodson Buddy’s Home Furnishings No. 1.

With a career that includes a stint on NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series, Garvey has been the perfect mentor and role model for Hausler.

“He’s so good to work with,� Hausler said of Garvey. “He knows a lot. He doesn’t act just like a crew chief, but a driving coach, too. He has so many laps on this track. When I’m doing wrong, he’s able to tell me to try this or try that.�

Invaluable knowledge that has helped Hausler deftly navigate the perils of Five Flags that plague most first-year drivers.

“At Five Flags, you can’t go all out every lap because of how fast the asphalt eats up the tires,� he said. “Everything about this place is different than anything I’ve ever driven on.�

School will once again be in session for the student tonight.

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