DRIVER TRYING TO GET BACK TO WINNING FORM.

Byline: TIM HADDOCK Motor Sports

It's safe to say Canyon Country's Dave Hessing is getting things straightened out.

Two weeks ago, Hessing finished sixth in the NASCAR Late Model race at Irwindale Speedway. It was hardly noteworthy for a driver who won the track championship in Late Models in 2001.

But it was also his best finish in nearly three years, making it a significant step is Hessing's return to the Late Model division at Irwindale Speedway.

Hessing all but skipped the 2004 season at Irwindale Speedway. He raced in 2002 and 2003, but fell short of reaching his championship level of 2001.

When preparing his car, the same one he used to win the 2001 title, he discovered a bent chassis. He remembers getting in a scrap with driver Kevin Wood during a race three years ago, one that sent his car spinning into the wall. He believes that crash bent the back part of his chassis and it has affected the performance of his car ever since.

Hessing took apart his car and rebuilt it to start this season. His efforts resulted in a sixth-place finish. More importantly, it has given Hessing and his crew some encouraging results.

``We tried to make some changes to it,'' Hessing said. ``It's coming out to be a better car. We threw some different stuff at it. It's a much different car.''

The NASCAR Late Models will race tonight at Irwindale Speedway along with the Super Stocks, Pure Stocks, Bandoleros, Super Trucks and Legend Cars. Gates open at 4:30. Races begin at 6.

Hessing said he would be happy finishing in the top five in tonight's race. But by summer, he expects to be contending for wins again.

``By midseason, I hope to be nailing it,'' Hessing said. ``I feel, as a driver, I'm there. We're happy. We got a positive outlook.''

--NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: It seems like anything related to Kevin Harvick has been winning in NASCAR lately.

Three weeks after being penalized by NASCAR, Harvick rattled off a pair of wins in the Nextel Cup and Busch series. His driver on the Craftsman Truck Series, Ron Hornaday Jr., is the latest winner on that circuit.

Both Harvick and Hornaday will be entered in today's Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway in Viginia.

Harvick, who won both the Cup and Busch series races at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee last weekend, will also race in the Nextel Cup Series race on Sunday.

``At a place like Martinsville it is nice to know that someone has got your back on the race track,'' said Hornaday, a former Saugus Speedway champ from Palmdale. ``We can work together as well, but when it gets down to it we both will be trying to win.''

Hornaday is driving the No. 6 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet Silverado and is fifth in points in the Truck Series.

Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Richard Childress Racing on the Nextel Cup Series, was docked 25 points in the standings for qualifying without a full tank of gas for the race in Las Vegas. He will be driving the No. 92 Chevy Silverado in the Truck Series race today.

``It will be fun to race against Hornaday,'' Harvick said. ``We're both hard racers and I hope he beats on me as much as I plan on beating on him. He was told when we hired him to bring back trophies or steering wheels. Hopefully we won't have two steering wheels for sale at KHI come Monday.''

Hornaday was quick to please his boss. He won the Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 18, the series-leading 27th of his career.

``We really needed that win in Atlanta,'' Hornaday said. ``This GM Goodwrench team had just been too good for us to not have one yet. In the first two races, we felt we had a chance to win but some small mishaps kept that from happening.''

In five Truck Series races at Martinsville Speedway, Hornaday has posted two top-five finishes. He best showing was a third-place in 1998.

``That race track is one of the reasons that the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has continued to grow in popularity each year,'' Hornaday said. ``The trucks grew up racing at Martinsville and the show that we put on there is always exciting.''

--NASCAR Elite Division, Southwest Series: It's been nearly 12 years since Agua Dulce's Bob Lyon has won a Southwest Series race at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield.

He will try to end that drought today.

Lyon, the series leader in starts with 272, has more than 50 races at Mesa Marin on his NASCAR resume. He would like to add another win to his impressive career.

``This is a tough series,'' Lyon said. ``We have struggled the last couple of seasons, but I feel we have what it takes to run up front again. If we run up front, then we can win.''

Lyon will join M.K. Kanke of Frazier Park and Greg Pursley of Canyon Country in the Southwest Series race at Mesa Marin.

For the first time in the history of the track, the Southwest Series and NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series, will race on the same night.

The Southwest Series HPS Mechanical/Victory Circle 150 starts at 6:30 p.m. The West Series Lucas Oil 150 is scheduled to start at 8 p.m.

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Kevin Harvick was docked 25 points in the standigns for qualifying without a full tank of gas for the race in Las Vegas. He will be driving the No. 92 Chevy Silverado in the Truck Series race today.

Alan Marler/Associated Press