VALLEY / VENTURA COUNTY SPORTS : Karvasek Getting Back On Track After Rough Start : North Hills driver is rebuilding his life after the death of his wife and unborn daughter.

T.K. Karvasek sports a new look, races on a new track and is about to begin a new life.

Karvasek of North Hills completed the points-paying season Saturday by sweeping the street stock twin 25-lap races at Irwindale Speedway, a feat he also accomplished Aug. 14. He finished second in the street stock points standings to Mike Price of San Pedro, 660-658, despite three early-season disqualifications--two for failing post-race technical inspections.

The biggest development for the Cleveland High graduate, who was known at Saugus Speedway for his wild appearance as well as his aggressive driving, occurred off of the track.

After winning the six-lap trophy dash Saturday, Karvasek proposed to Wellsley Wharf by grabbing the microphone during a postrace interview while kneeling at the finish line. Wharf, who was in the crowd, accepted.

It was an important step for Karvasek, who’s trying to rebuild his life after his wife and unborn daughter died on Nov. 24, 1997, when Kerrie had a brain aneurysm.

“It’s kind of early for me, after being 14 years with Kerrie, I’m not getting any younger,” Karvasek said. “[Wharf is] really worried about that. She says ‘You’re not ready yet,’ and I tell her ‘If I wasn’t ready, you wouldn’t be here.’ ”

After his wife’s death, Karvasek made a clean sweep. He moved out of the Acton home he and Kerrie shared, cut his long hair and trimmed his ZZ Top beard, although the tattoos that cover both arms and one leg are not going anywhere.

“I just felt I needed to clean my act up and start over,” he said. “It was the worst thing that ever happened to me.

“All I did was breathe, go to work, and work on my car.

Kerrie had been his childhood sweetheart--he met her when he was 12 and she was 13. Their love endured a seven-year separation when he moved away with his mother after his parents divorced.

He was 19 when they re-connected. They finally married in early 1997, appropriately enough when they were in Las Vegas to attend the inaugural race at Las Vegas Speedway.

“You think you know your NASCAR?” Karvasek said. “[Kerrie] was the biggest NASCAR fan you could ever meet. She knew every driver from the ASA series to the BUSCH and the Winston Cup. She knew their hometowns, their top speeds and best finishes at every track, you name it.”

Kerrie’s death came 10 days after the pair attended Mesa Marin’s season-ending awards banquet, where Karvasek collected his first-place trophy. It was his first track championship.

“At least she got to see me win a championship,” he said.

Karvasek has a patch on his driving suit in memory of his late wife and daughter.

“She rides with me every race,” he said. “I carry a picture on the dashboard.”

Karvasek competed in three super late model races at Mesa Marin in 1998, and allowed a friend to use his street stock car.

“It was really hard for me to race,” he said. “I do it because she would have wanted me to do it.”

Then in October of 1998, Karvasek met Wharf at a friend’s wedding.

“It was kind of a setup,” he said. “I was getting ready to date again, so I asked the bride if she knew anybody.”

He and Wharf went big-band dancing on their first date, and have been an item since the second date.

“She’s totally the opposite of Kerrie,” he said. “She works full time, goes to school full time. She’s getting her degree in business management in April from Phoenix University.

“She’s more of a brawling, young chick. She can stand up for herself,” he said.

Wharf, who has a 3-year-old son, Dyer, is expecting the couple’s first child in January.

Karvasek has already bonded with Dyer. The pair watch Winston Cup races together, the child chanting “T.K. race” and “Go T.K.” as they watch.

“I can’t wait to get my own,” he said. “I’m probably going to love [Dyer] even more when I get another one. I’m just getting ready for the next one.”

After Saugus closed, Karvasek raced at Kern County Raceway for the remainder of the 1995 season, then went to Mesa Marin the following year.

Karvasek finished second by 12 points for the 1996 track championship at Mesa Marin.

Now racing at Irwindale, he drives the same Keith Spangler-built Camaro that won so frequently at Saugus, although it sports the number 00 instead of 33. And the number is painted in flames instead of bones.

His faithful companion, Switchfoot--a full size skeleton with red eyes that light up, so named because Karvasek intentionally installed the feet backwards when he assembled it--still accompanies Karvasek in every race, strapped to the passenger seat.

“He doesn’t talk much or eat much, so I let him come along for the ride,” Karvasek said with a sparkle in his eye while signing autographs after a recent race.

The driving style hasn’t changed either.

Karvasek was also known for his daring in figure-8 races at Saugus--the man who would not lift his foot from the accelerator for any reason, even when there were other cars barreling through the intersection.

Ray Wilkings, the long-time general manager of Saugus Speedway who is now CEO of Irwindale Speedway, relented on his earlier statement that there would be no figure-8 races at the new one-half-mile oval, which means that fans will be able to watch Karvasek’s wild style beginning this Saturday.

“We just picked up where we left off at Saugus,” Karvasek said. “You think we’re fast now, just wait until we start running figure-8s.”