From Richie Murray
BAKERSFIELD, CA (February 21, 2026) — Forty-three thousandths of a second made all the difference for Jett Yantis on the final lap of Saturday’s USAC Avanti Windows & Doors Western States Midget season opener at Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in California.
Starting seventh, Yantis (Bakersfield, California) took over the race lead with two circuits remaining after leader Brody Fuson flipped wildly on the back straightaway while holding a commanding lead with the white flag just within sight.
After the red flag, fast qualifier Broedy Graham pressured Yantis high and low during the final two laps around the 1/3-mile dirt oval. However, Yantis was able beat Graham to the stripe by about a wheel for his third career series victory in his Rusty Carlile owned No. 4.
Series Rookie Drake Cardey held the top spot for the initial 12 laps before Fuson ripped around the outside to gain the lead on lap 13. Fuson appeared headed for a comfortable victory until lap 24 of 25 when he became entangled with a car he was attempting to put a lap down. Fuson climbed out and walked away with a 10th place result.
Yantis then led the final two laps to secure a tight victory over Graham in second, with Jake Andreotti third, Cardey fourth and Dane Culver rounding out the top-five. Cardey and Culver were victorious in each of the two heat races.
Only one other incident occurred during the feature with Connor Speir getting upside down between turns one and two while running seventh on the 10th lap. He walked away without injury.
USAC AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE RESULTS: February 21, 2026 – Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, California
QUALIFYING: 1. Broedy Graham, 66, BGR-16.242; 2. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-16.362; 3. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-16.458; 4. Caden Sarale, 14T, Streeter/Graunstadt-16.554; 5. Drake Cardey, 17, Dunkel-16.557; 6. Dane Culver, 50, Knuckles Up-16.634; 7. Jett Yantis, 4, Carlile-16.712; 8. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-16.807; 9. Connor Speir, 14JR, Streeter/Graunstadt-17.065; 10. Terry Nichols, 2ND, Nichols/Peckfelder-17.521; 11. Kyle Hawse, 20x, Hawse-17.569; 12. Hailey Lambert, 55, Lambert-17.650; 13. Adam Weisberg, 15, Weisberg-18.208; 14. Marvin Mitchell, 78, Mitchell-18.745; 15. Ron Hazelton, 15x, Hazelton-19.329.
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses, all transfer to the feature) 1. Drake Cardey (4), 2. Jett Yantis (3), 3. Brody Fuson (5), 4. Broedy Graham (6), 5. Connor Speir (2), 6. Kyle Hawse (1), 7. Adam Weisberg (7), 8. Ron Hazelton (8). N
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses, all transfer to the feature) 1. Dane Culver (4), 2. Jake Andreotti (6), 3. Caden Sarale (5), 4. C.J. Sarna (3), 5. Hailey Lambert (1), 6. Terry Nichols (2), 7. Marvin Mitchell. NT
FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jett Yantis (7), 2. Broedy Graham (6), 3. Jake Andreotti (5), 4. Drake Cardey (2), 5. Dane Culver (1), 6. Caden Sarale (3), 7. C.J. Sarna (8), 8. Hailey Lambert (11), 9. Adam Weisberg (12), 10. Brody Fuson (4), 11. Terry Nichols (15), 12. Marvin Mitchell (13), 13. Ron Hazelton (14), 14. Connor Speir (9), 15. Kyle Hawse (10). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-12 Drake Cardey, Laps 13-23 Brody Fuson, Laps 24-25 Jett Yantis.
**Connor Speir flipped on lap 10 of the feature. Brody Fuson flipped on lap 24 of the feature.
USAC AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINTS: 1-Broedy Graham-78, 2-Jett Yantis-77, 3-Jake Andreotti-76, 4-Drake Cardey-71, 5-Dane Culver-67, 6-Caden Sarale-64, 7-C.J. Sarna-57, 8-Hailey Lambert-53, 9-Brody Fuson-53, 10-Adam Weisberg-48.
NEXT USAC AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACES: March 13-14, 2026 – Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, California