Laying Groundwork

Home : Stories by Zippit : The K. D. Harvey Show : Laying Groundwork

Summary: So much dirt, so little time.

AUTHOR: Zippit
EMAIL: zippit@cryptoffic.com
RATING: PG-13
SERIES: The K. D. Harvey Show
CHARACTER: Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Kevin POV
COMPLETED: February 24, 2009
WORD COUNT: 1,035
DISCLAIMER: If you recognize anyone in this piece, I am in no way affiliated with or know them personally. I am neither making a profit nor plan to do so. This is nothing more than an exercise in fiction. This is a result of an overactive imagination and I claim no truth to these words.
BETA: Thanks to Catw00man for the beta. All other errors are mine.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hee, I think I finally have a Bowyer voice!
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Pre-Production – Week 4

Harvick Household - Kernersville, North Carolina – January 27th, 2009

I’ve got Bowyer on the BF Goodrich Tires hotline or whatever they called it on Stewart’s show. It’s really just the house line routed through the radio show set up so we can put them on air. “Hey Harvick, I thought you’d be tired of me by now. Didn’t we spend the past two days all up in each other’s business?” 

Two days testing at Rockingham with nothing but our teams for company, he might have a point. But I'm bored and I need someone to run this stuff by. Pull up the race reports for the Rolex since Mears was out there and hardly notice as he blabs on about his dirt team test and how he needs to find more time to get out there. “Bowyer, shut up and listen to this. Johnson slices finger during Rolex 24 race and oh hell, he had to have surgery today to repair a cut tendon.”

“WHAT? You’re pulling my leg. How’d the hell he do that?”

“I’m looking, I’m looking.” Scan through the article quickly. I thought nothing could top his golf cart incident but this just might have. “…sliced above the knuckle and happened while…attempting to cut a small hole in his firesuit.” There’s nothing but silence until the line dissolves into laughter.

“You’ve gotta be shitting me. Hendrick must be considering an insurance policy on the idiot. I know I would be.”

“That’s why you’re just a driver, Clint.”

“Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey. I know a certain someone who likes to be just as chaos prone as Johnson. You’ve just never needed medical attention.”

“That GPS D threw at my head about did it.”

“Man, I would’ve loved to have had a front row seat to that.”

“Shut it.”

“Bet you’d followed the directions wrong.”

“Can it, Bowyer or I’ll make you sound weird the first time you’re on KDH.”

“Yeah, you and what technological army? I know you had Earnhardt over helping you out.”

“How the hell?”

“You’re you. It was easy enough to guess and about the GPS thing? I’ll just have to ask D the next time I see her. I’m sure she has plenty to tell about everything that went on up there in Maine.” He does know me too well though he’s still one of the easiest to pull something over on. I need to think up something good to pull before the start of the season and now that he’s back around here it should be easy enough to do.

Still can’t keep the grin off my face about Johnson. He must really like braces or something. Maybe he’s trying to keep that hand soft for his wife. Snort softly and close the article to see what else is making the news.

“You hear what they’re saying about Ron?” Clint breaks into my thoughts and I don’t even know what he’s been rambling about now.

“Uh…no. Should I be worried?” Season hasn’t even started and I’m already getting heat from the media? That’s just perfect.

“Well, they’re saying the proven veterans like him had no business being in the All Star Showdown. That it wasn’t really a showcase for up and coming talent.”

“That’s fucking bull. They can’t pull that. Everyone does the exact same thing with the Nationwi-”

“Heard that Ron caused a crash that took out some good cars.” Now I remember why I don’t often read articles about our sport. They’re all full of crap and this shit about Ron is exactly that.

“Most of the drivers there were probably glad to be racing against people they’d never have a chance to. Media needs to stop being assholes.”

I can almost see him shrug over the phone line. “Depends on the point of view don’t it?”

“Sounds like you know what you’re talking about. So who you feeding information to? You getting chummy with some of those writers? I know! You’ve been reading press clippings during the offseason.” Ooooh if he has been, that gives me the perfect opportunity. Need to talk to Burton and see if he wants in on it but oh yeah, Bowyer’s gonna have something coming to him. 

“What? NO! I’m just saying.”

“Saying what?”

“That it doesn’t all hafta be crap.”

“Uh huh.”

“Oh lay off,” he pauses then says, “Hey, I’m off to Minneapolis tomorrow. You been up there before? Know what the weather’s like or anything?”

“How should I know? You’re the one from the Midwest. I was all the way out in California before I moved here. Just know it’s cold and someplace not for me.”

“I had my head in the dirt. You expect me to know something about geography?”

“What’re you headed up there for anyway? Being the new Cheerios boy?”

“Yup. Want me to bring you back a few boxes?”

“Don’t eat that sort of thing for breakfast.”

“How do you keep from starving?”

“I’m gonna tell D you said that!”

“Don’t you dare!”

“Or what?”

“I’ll-I’ll think of something.”

Laugh and lean back in my chair, swiveling side to side because I have no doubt he will. I just hope he’s ready for the war he’ll be starting. “Bring it on, Bowyer.”

“Oh I will. So you’re really gonna do this thing huh?”

“Yup, we’re good to go for the most part. Plan is to have our first show the Tuesday after the Shootout.”

“Have to make sure and listen. Sure it’s gonna be full of laughs. You got a set time yet?”

“Probably 9 p.m. like all the other radio shows have been.”

“Alright, guess I’ll need to carve out 9 p.m. on Tuesdays as primetime listening.”

“Go eat a bowl of Cheerios.” His laughter sounds in my ears and I roll my eyes.

“Talk to you later, Harvick.”

“Don’t hurt yourself, Bowyer.”

“Same to you,” he says before hanging up. Lean back in the chair and gaze up at the ceiling with a smile on my face. This feels like it’s gonna be a good year. KDH is off to a good start and it won’t be long now ‘til we’re back racing. It felt good being in the car again and Daytona’s just around the corner. Yeah, it’s time to go racing.

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Zippit - zippit@cryptoffic.com