Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway (formerly Kern County Raceway Park) is a oval

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located on CA 43 (Enos Lane) just off Interstate 5 in

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

, Kern County,

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. Opened in 2013, it was built as a replacement for Mesa Marin Raceway. Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway hosts events with

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along with an ARCA Menards Series West race since 2013. The track has banks of 8° in the straightaways, with 14° paved corners. The track has 15,000 seats for fans, and room to expand to 17,000 seats for various events. It also contains 21 suites in the grandstand along with 18 concession stands. The property also contains a asymmetrical clay oval track, just north of the paved oval with a seating capacity of 4,000 seats. Turns 1-2 are tighter than turns 3-4. The first event for this track was September 4, 2015. The clay oval track hosts rounds of the NARC King of the West Sprints and the USAC West Coast Sprints and Midgets. Northwest of the track is also a motocross motorcycle track.

History

The Collins family joined the DeStefani family in planning the new half-mile D-oval that replaced Mesa Marin Raceway. The track, located at the crossroads of Interstate 5 and State Route 43 (Enos Lane) along the

Kern River The Kern River, previously Rio de San Felipe, later La Porciuncula, is an Endangered, Wild and Scenic river in the U.S. state of California, approximately long. It drains an area of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Bakersfiel ...

, broke ground in February 2007. The track features a progressively banked track, similar to its neighbor in the south, Irwindale Speedway, starting at 12 degrees on the bottom and rising to 14 degrees at the top. Turns 1-2 have an uphill climb to the backstretch, ten feet higher than the pit straight, for spectator visibility. Turns 3-4 feature a ten-foot descent. A 1/8-mile dragstrip and a 1/4-mile infield oval are slated. The track, completed in March 2013, had its first NASCAR–sanctioned race on October 26, 2013, with the K&N Pro Series West. The track held a Fan Appreciation Day on May 4, 2013 and announced the first race to be held at Kern County Raceway Park would be a 100-lap

race on the main track. Bandoleros also competed that day on the track within the main course. Mini dwarf cars also ran on May 18, competing on the track. In 2023, the track was given new ownership to Tim and Lisa Huddleston. With the new ownership, the track was renamed as Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway, in honor of

2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 66th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 43rd modern-era Cup season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway, with the Sprint Unlimited, followed by the Da ...

champion and Bakersfield native, Kevin Harvick.

Kern Raceway Divisions

Kern Raceway features local racing in 8 different divisions. These divisions include Pro Late Models, CITGO Late Model, Spec-Mods, Street Stock, Mini Stock, Legends car racing, Bandolero racing and Mini-Dwarfs. During the 2013 season, Kern County Raceway also hosted a drifting exhibition, Super Trucks and Thunder Roadsters.

2013 season

The 2013 Season at Kern Raceway included the return of the SRL Southwest Tour to Kern County for the first time in 8 years. On October 26, 2013, Kern County Raceway also hosted the K&N Pro Series West race named the "NAPA Auto Parts 150."

2014 season

In addition to racing, Kern Raceway also hosted its First Annual Car Show on March 22, 2014. The track also hosted the SRL Southwest Tour for 2 races including the DC's RV Center 100 on April 5 and for the CITGO Lubricants Fall Shootout on November 1. The K&N Pro Series West also made two stops with the second one being nationally televised by

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. In addition, it will host the first pavement sprint car national championship as the King Of The Wing series will be at the track on November 23.

Track Champions

References

External links

Kern County Raceway Park
{{coord, 35, 17, 34, N, 119, 15, 23, W, region:US_type:landmark, display=title NASCAR tracks Motorsport venues in California History of Bakersfield, California Sports venues in Bakersfield, California