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OLEY, PA - A little bit of luck.
That's all Craig Von Dohren needs to have a spectacular 2008 season on the Pennsylvania Dual-Track circuit.
Von Dohren has passed the winter months laboring in his Oley, Pa., shop, logging the hours required to strengthen his race team, fielded again this season by Mike Harvey, a law enforcement officer from Millville, N.J.
"We're a lot better off than we were at this time last year," said Von Dohren, 44, who generates his income driving dirt Modifieds.
Above all else, Von Dohren and Co. are better prepared for '08.
For the first time, the Mike Harvey Enterprises team entered the two-night-per-week realm last year, competing at Big Diamond (Pa.) Raceway on Friday nights and Grandview (Pa.) Speedway on Saturday nights (Harvey fielded a car for Big Diamond only in '06).
While CVD garnered 11 of his 12 '07 victories with Harvey's operation, he also rode a wave of misfortune that left him mired 12th in Grandview's NASCAR Whelen All-American Series 358-Modified standings. He placed fourth at Big Diamond.
"Nobody was doing anything wrong," asserted Von Dohren, who is the all-time leading winner at Big D and Grandview with 61 victories at each venue. "It wasn't Mike or the crew or anything I was doing. It was just one of those years where we were always in the wrong place.
"It was the kind of stuff that made you think, 'Why?' on the way home from the track."
Last season is now just a memory and Von Dohren sees brighter days ahead.
"Mike has really stepped up for me," Von Dohren said of Harvey. "We've been able to build up some equipment. It's a good little team - we showed that by winning as often as we did last year when things did go right."
Von Dohren will chase his seventh NASCAR 358-Modified title at Grandview at the wheel of a brand-new 2008 Teo-Pro car with power coming from Main Engines in the form of a spec head engine.
At Big Diamond, a revamped '06 Teo-Pro car will be powered by a new Main Engines spec head engine, replacing the steel-head 9-to-1 run last year. CVD is in search of his first-ever points title at Big D.
"We'll definitely be better off at Diamond," said Von Dohren, who used his Grandview engine at Big D en route to last September's Coalcracker 100 win, worth $10,000.
"That one night proved the difference of having the power there. We were turning lap times that were as good as anyone."
Both cars will carry Von Dohren's trademark No. 1c with sponsorship support coming from Felty Farms, Henry R. Sharman Builders, Stauffer Construction, Missy's Crafts and Kauffman's Bar-B-Que Chicken.
"We don't have an unlimited budget like some of the teams we race with," offered Von Dohren, "but we've got a strong group of sponsors this year."
Again in '08, Von Dohren will take part in a limited schedule of big-block Modified events. The details of those races are being finalized.
Needless to say, Von Dohren is anxious to get his 29th season of competition underway. The last time CVD was on the track, he swept the 'Turkey Chase' big- and small-block races in November at Bridgeport (N.J.) Speedway.
"This time of year, I'm ready to get going," he said.
The first race of '08 for Mike Harvey Enterprises is set for Sat., March 29 - a $4,000-to-win big-block 40-lapper at Big Diamond Raceway.
Keep posted to the new website of Craig Von Dohren, www.craigvondohren1c.com, for updates throughout the season.
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