Drivers see renewed momentum for West Coast racing under Harvick

As CARS Tour West competes at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway this weekend, drivers say the former NASCAR Cup Series champion’s involvement is helping bring renewed attention towards West Coast short track racing.

In 2023, Harvick and Tim Huddleston launched the West Coast division for CARS Tour with a goal of placing a spotlight back on the region’s short track scene. 2025 Limited Late Model champion Dylan Zampa said he noticed the impact early on.

“It’s definitely great for the West Coast side of things,” Zampa said. “When Kevin came along three years ago and took over with Tim, I felt like it was really good. The Limited Late Model stuff really took off and that was kind of the main thing over here. Then Pro Late Models and Supers followed soon after, I feel it’s really good for the sport.”

Zampa noted the increased car counts, with the Super Late Model division having 16 entries ahead of Saturday’s race.

“We’re getting a lot of exposure out here, so that’s really good. It’s good for all the local guys that have been racing out here forever. I mean, there’s a lot of Supers out here, more than we had last year.”

Zampa, a veteran of the western short track scene, who previously competed in the Southwest Tour, said the competition between the two series is largely similar.

He said the biggest difference is the consistent purse structure, which helps the series stay healthy and encourages larger fields.

“$15,000 to win in every race is very nice. With Southwest Tour one weekend would be that same amount and then the next weekend it would go down to like $7,000, so it would jump all over the place. Everything is pretty similar, tech is about the same, same rules, pretty much same tires. This is just in a series that is getting a lot more exposure compared to the SRL.”

Zampa credits much of the increased exposure to Kevin and his son Keelan competing in the series.

“With them racing, everyone hears their name, so they are going to tune in. Hopefully with them being here, a lot more people are gonna recognize the series. Keelan will one day move up the ranks and race in much larger series. Hopefully when he does go there, people still watch Cars Tour West and it’s just as big as it is when they’re racing here.”

2025 Super Late Model champion Jace Hansen said Harvick’s involvement brought renewed enthusiasm back to western regional racing.

“He’s definitely brought a lot more enthusiasm back to West Coast racing,” Hansen said. “Especially for Super Late Model racing. Bigger payouts in this series make it easier for guys like us to travel a couple states away and come here every week.”

The driver from Colorado credits the series for a schedule that makes it easier for him and other out-of-state competitors to travel and compete.

“Their schedule is lenient towards people that travel. They only have one race a month, sometimes there’s a whole month off. I mean, there’s a couple times this year that there’s two races in a month, but that’s the way they planned it, they did a good job with that.”

In the season finale last October at the very same track, Hansen held off a late race charge from both Harvicks, winning the race along with the championship, giving his team more attention in the national spotlight.

“Having him a part of it helps because more people are paying attention to what’s going on. That’s good for us drivers. Like last year in October at this track, I got to race with Keelan and Kevin for the win and that got us a lot of attention.”

Gone are the days of tracks like Mesa Marin Raceway, Saugus Speedway and Irwindale Speedway, once synonymous with West Coast regional racing, where drivers like Harvick, Rick Carelli, Ron Hornaday Jr. and David Mayhew cut their teeth.

Those venues may be gone, but with the Bakersfield native now involved, drivers believe the region could produce its next generation of standouts at the tracks that carry West Coast racing today.

Bakersfield native Buddy Shepherd has seen the highs and lows of racing out West and believes Harvick, Tim and those they’ve brought in are helping the region regain its footing.

“I think it means a lot to the racer out here on the West Coast,” Shepherd said. “It seemed like West Coast and really racing in Southern California was kind of dying. Kevin’s done a great job building the cars here. Bringing on Chris Wright (as competition director) along with Tim, he’s surrounded us and himself with really good people.

Shepherd also added that the competition is stronger this season than it has on this side of the coast for quite a while.

“There’s a good like six cars, that could probably win on Saturday night. The competition level is higher than it’s ever been, everyone’s cars are so equal and everyone’s got good support from the car manufacturers.”

More importantly for Shepherd, the veteran racer feels like he’s once again having fun coming to the race track to compete.

“I am here for the racing and the quality of cars that are getting to come back to the racetrack slowly, but surely it’s more fun and more competitive again.”

Shepherd said Harvick’s involvement to the series has helped strengthen opportunities for local racers and a newfound optimism for what the future holds for the West Coast scene.

“At the end of the day, he doesn’t have to do this. He just liked racing and from being out here, he’s supporting the local West Coast racer, so that’s really cool. Everything’s just better now than the last couple years. I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens over the next couple of years.”