As a young boy, Joey Polewarczyk Jr. would climb into the front seat of his father's old Pro Stock Late Model car parked in the family's garage. He'd grab the helmet inside, place it on his head and make revving sounds through his pursed lips.

"Then I would put the wheel on even though I couldn't see over it," recalled Polewarczyk, who is now 19 years old and playing inside the cockpits of consumer cars but trying to find his way into the cockpit of stock cars.

“

Kevin [Harvick] asked me how old I was and said he was impressed. Who knows what could come of it, but it was nice meeting him.

”

-- JOEY POLE

Last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, 'Pole' took the first step towards making this goal a reality by making his Camping World Series East debut for Dave Davis Motorsports.

More than that, the full-time Late Model racer came away with a sixth-place finish in the Heluva Good! Fall 125, but it wasn't easy. In fact, it was a bit reminiscent of Kyle Busch's victory at Darlington this season: Pole was bouncing off the walls, literally.

"The second lap got a little hairy. I picked up a big push and hit the wall coming off of [Turn] 2 and down the backstretch. I moved the rear end of the car over a couple inches, I thought I had ruined everything; my one opportunity to prove myself," said Pole who on the next caution flag pulled in for some repairs.

"They loosened me up a bit, raised the track bar and by Lap 30 we got fuel and continued to work our way up through the field. But when I hit the wall, I thought 'oh I just messed up.'"

The crew salvaged his smashed car and in turn salvaged Pole's intent to catch the attention of the NASCAR masses at his home track; a place he grew up dreaming about and hoped he would one day race on.

"Being on the other side of things this time around was cool," he added.

So what becomes of the young racer who at age eight started racing Quarter Midgets and progressed to Mini-Cup cars and onto the American-Canadian Tour racing Late Model cars?

"I don't know the answer to that question," Pole said. "I'd love to put something together for next year with Dave Davis. I've got to get my foot in the door somehow."

As for his feet -- for now at least -- they are to be found sticking out from under cars at his family's business, Pole Automotive.

Here, Pole and his father are mechanics -- dad being the backyard mechanic type while son is the new high-tech, shiny breed in high demand around today's NASCAR garage. Since Pole graduated from high school last year, he has become certified in different areas and passed several Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) classes.

His knowledge and ability to tear apart a car has greatly benefited his Late Model career in the American-Canadian Tour, a series he began this season with a win at Lee USA Speedway in New Hampshire.

The April win was followed by a June win but it was the July event (Oxford 250) that Pole will soon not forget. It's the same event he shared the track with Sprint Cup star and Daytona 500 champ Kevin Harvick.

Harvick won the race and Pole finished third but the encounter he experienced was worthy of a Victory Lane celebration.

"After the race, we all went to the press box to talk and it was cool because Kevin mentioned me," recalled Pole. "I was running the high line, I ran four grooves up top because of the grip and he was running the bottom. He said he watched me in his rear view mirror run the high line and then went on to run it too."

Later, Pole officially met Harvick for the first time. The two exchanged pleasantries and went their separate ways.

"Kevin asked me how old I was and said he was impressed. Who knows what could come of it, but it was nice meeting him anyway," Pole said.

He looked for Harvick at New Hampshire last weekend to reintroduce himself as he is one young talent in a sea of up-and-comers looking to catch the attention of team owners like Harvick.

"I just hope he and others noticed my good run," Pole said. "That's what it will take for this to happen."