By Steven Blakesley
BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA (March 30, 2024) – Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway Dirt Track will open two new eras when USCS Sprint Cars, USAC/BCRA Western Midgets, and Western Racing Association fires off on March 30th for the Dave Calderwood Memorial. The Ultimate Sprint Car Series presented by Inland Rigging will make its highly anticipated debut with a large field of non-wing 360 and 410 Sprint Cars from across the southwest, while the Kevin Harvick name graces the dirt track for the first time.
Tickets are on sale now at: https://tickets.thefoat.com/kernraceway//tickets/id-3Ly-k4RVx4sj/ Adult tickets are $25 while kids 6-12 are just $10. Kids five and under are free. Hot laps are scheduled for approx. 4:45pm followed by time trials for both divisions. Opening ceremonies will be at approx. 6:30pm. The night concludes with 30-lap features for both the Sprint Cars and Mighty Midgets.
2023 George Snider Classic West Coast 360 winner Chase Johnson of Penngrove, Calif. comes into Bakersfield with a target on his back, competing for the win in both divisions. He will be teamed with Hollister’s Ryan Bernal in another double duty effort. Bernal is a winner of 35 USAC West Coast 360 features, 10 USAC/CRA races, and four triumphs in the USAC Western Midgets.
Johnson and Bernal are part of at least half a dozen drivers who will compete for the Jimmy Sills Double Duty Bonus. Sills owed much of his career success to racing for car owner Dave Calderwood across USAC’s divisions. The Calderwood Family and Sills will award the highest combined finishing double duty driver with a $1000 bonus.
Bakersfield-area racers are ready to do battle for the checkered flags. 2023 USAC Western Midget champion Brody Fuson, age 19, is a nine-time winner on the Midget trail and a three-time USAC 360 winner. His lone Kern win came in 2022 during the Snider Classic. 17-year-old Cade Lewis of Bakersfield, son of baseball star Colby Lewis, has two career USAC Western Midget wins – including one at Kern. He finished runner-up to Fuson in the 2023 standings. Chris Ennis is an additional Bakersfield pilot who will challenge for the USCS Sprint Car win.
Race winners and champions will converge at Kern for the Dave Calderwood Memorial with former USAC/CRA champ Brody Roa, USAC West Coast 360 champ Ryan Timmons, the nation’s winningest non-wing driver in 2023 Ricky Lewis, and many more in action.
Western Racing Association brings its racing museum to the track as well for exciting exhibitions of days gone by.
For more information, visit www.KernRaceway.com Tickets are available online at the track website or on www.TheFOAT.com