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Kevin Harvick will return to Bakersfield in CARS Tour West Super Late Model race

JHby:Jonathan Howard•01/01/25•

Jondean25

Kevin Harvick
(© Mike Dinovo, USA TODAY Sports)

Someone put on some Dwight Yoakam, Kevin Harvick is returning to the streets of Bakersfield. Well, to the race track. The Closer will race in the CARS Tour West event at Kern Raceway, which now bears his name.

Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway will host a CARS Tour West event on January 25th. The prodigal son will return to compete in the Super Late Model race. Harvick and the CARS Tour are hoping to grow the West Coast racing scene.

While he is retired from NASCAR, Harvick is still racing. He also has his son Keelan, who he is developing into a respectable racecar driver in his own right. In fact, father and son will race against each other multiple times in 2025.

Locals are going to love having Harvick at the track. He will try and show those West Coast racers why the track has his name on the sign.

Kevin Harvick is in the best part of his career. He is a co-owner of the CARS Tour, a FOX Sports broadcaster for the Cup Series, and he gets to race part-time in fun cars with his son. How does it get better than that?

Going back to Bakersfield is a big deal. West Coast stock car racing has not been thriving exactly. It needs a little bit of support. That’s where Harvick and the CARS Tour come in. Hopefully, the series is able to provide great racing and a set of rules/regulations that allows Super and Pro Late Model racing to thrive.

Kevin Harvick to compete in multiple races

Of course, from February to the start of May, Kevin Harvick is busy with broadcasting duties. Before and after that, he is going to get on the race track as much as possible. That means racing with and against his son Keelan.

It isn’t like Harvick has a shortage of races to choose from, either. Of course, there is always some kind of short track action going on around North Carolina. However, the CARS Tour schedule makes Harvick’s schedule planning a bit more simple.

The CARS Tour West is a testament to Harvick’s love for stock car racing on that side of the country. While there is no shortage of talent from California, a lot of it comes from the dirt racing ranks. Sprint cars and dirt late models.

Kevin Harvick has put his money where his mouth is. Now, he’s going to race at the track with his name on it. Bakersfield fans are going to be ready to see a legend return. What if he goes out and wins the dang thing?