By Vincent Delforge, Staff Writer
The first race of the season, the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame 150, held on the half-mile paved oval at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in Bakersfield, CA, featured a stunning finish between Trevor Huddleston and Kyle Keller. The battle over the final ten laps was intense and fair play. A real treat for the eyes. Huddleston won by 243 thousandths of a second and took the championship lead.
But the championship fight is set to be fierce with many contenders. Tanner Reif is back with a thirst for success. Eric Johnson, Jr. has come of age after his 2024 ROTY title. Robbie Kennealy finally has a chance to play a full season. And let’s not forget the surprising young Spanish rookie Adrian Ferrer who is a fast learner and has already shown that he is a force to be reckoned with.
Complete race results: www.racing-reference.info/race-results/2025-01/AW/
The top five in the championship were the following: Trevor Huddleston (48), Kyle Keller (42), Tanner Reif (42), Robbie Kennealy (40), and Eric Johnson, Jr. (39).
Driver & owner point standings: www.racing-reference.info/standings/2025/AW/
The next race is on Friday, March 7, for the second race of the season. The first of the two races held in 2025 on the one-mile paved oval of Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, AZ, for the ARCA 150 (provisional name), a 150-mile race that will be broadcast live on FS1.
After each race, we are going to detail the statistics for each driver, embellished with the reactions collected from many of them, drivers, owners and crew chiefs.
ARCA West quick stats at Bakersfield (KHKR)
-72nd season in history.
-Race No. 1029 since the inception of the West Series in 1954.
-2025 race No. 1 of 12.
-692nd paved oval race in history.
-16th race at KHKR since 2013.
-Sixth win for Ford at KHKR. Among the manufacturers Toyota leads the dance at KHKR with nine wins ahead of Ford (6) and Chevrolet (1).
-293rd win for Ford in West Series. The all-time most successful manufacturer is Ford with 293 wins.
-Fourth win for owner Tim Huddleston.
-Win No. 4 for High Point Racing team. The all-time most successful owners in history are Bill McAnally (75), Fred Elder (45), Bob Bruncati (42) and Ernie Conn (41). The all-time most successful teams in history are Bill McAnally Racing (99), McCoy Racing (54), The Racing Farmers (47), Bruncati Racing (42) and Gene Price Motorsports (26).
-First win for owner Tim Huddleston and High Point Racing at KHKR. The most successful team at KHKR is Bill McAnally Racing with six wins.
-Sixth career win for Trevor Huddleston (78th career start) and first at KHKR Derek Kraus is the most successful pilot at KHKR with four wins. In all, 10 different drivers have won at least one race.
-First career pole position for Daniel Hemric (2nd career start), the first at KHKR. Daniel Hemric is the 213th pole winner in history.
-80th pole for Bill McAnally Racing and 53rd for owner Bill McAnally in West Series. The 7th at KHKR and the first in 2025.
-Bill McAnally Racing is the most successful teams with seven poles at KHKR. The most successful team in history is Bill McAnally Racing with 80 poles. The most successful owner in history is Bill McAnally with 53 poles.
-2nd pole for Chevrolet at KHKR. Among the manufacturers, Toyota leads with 10 poles ahead of Ford (4) and Chevrolet (2). The all-time most successful manufacturer is Chevrolet with 261.
-The pole sitter has won the race six times. Whoever started second has won four times.
-The driver who won the race from the worst starting position was Dylan Lupton with the ninth position in 2014.
-The track record is owned by Gray Gaulding at 100.514 mph achieved in 2013.
-As far as yellow flags are concerned, the record is 8 (three times). The 2015 race holds the record for the number of yellow flag laps with 43.
-The record for the fewest caution is one this year. The previous record was three (the previous four races). With just eight laps behind the pace car, the 2025 race holds the record for fewest laps under yellow flags.
-The most leader changes occurred in 2016 with 9. The fewest leader change is zero in 2019 and 2024.
-The largest starting field was in 2013 with 28 cars.
-The smallest starting field was in 2025 with 12 cars (previous smallest field in 2019 with 13 cars).
-The driver with the most races is Takuma Koga (11).
-The driver with the most wins is Derek Kraus (4)
-The driver with the most poles is Todd Gilliland (3)
-The drivers with the most top5 is Trevor Huddleston with 6.
-The driver with the most top10 are Trevor Huddleston, David Mayhew and Todd Souza with 9.
-The drivers with the most laps is Takuma Koga (1462). Trevor Huddleston is second with 1380 laps.
-The driver with the most laps lead is Derek Kraus (368).
-Four times the race has been extended by an overtime (2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019).
-First career attempt in West Series for: (3) Adrian Ferrer, Gavin Ray and Blake Lothian.
-First career start in West Series for: (4) Adrian Ferrer, Gavin Ray, Blake Lothian and Cody Dennison
-First career attempt at KHKR in West Series for (5 drivers): Adrian Ferrer, Gavin Ray, Blake Lothian, Daniel Hemric and Cody Dennison
-First career start at KHKR in West Series for (5 drivers): Adrian Ferrer, Gavin Ray, Blake Lothian, Daniel Hemric and Cody Dennison
-Best career result in West Series for Kyle Keller (2nd), Robbie Kennealy (4th) Gavin Ray (6th), Adrian Ferrer (7th), Cody Dennison (8th) and Blake Lothian (11th)
-First career Top-10 result in West Series for: Gavin Ray (6th), Adrian Ferrer (7th), Cody Dennison (8th)
-First career Top-5 result in West Series for: none
-12th win for the No. 50 in history. The first at KHKR.
-17th pole for the No. 19 in history. The 3rd at KHKR (Hailie Deegan in 2018 and Jesse Love in 2020).
-23rd career win for crew chief Jeff Schrader. The second at KHKR (2014 with Dylan Lupton)
-First career pole for crew chief Joshua Graham.
The Drivers
No. 05 David Smith (Shockwave Racing) Start: 12th – Fin: 10th
A race at his own pace rewarded by a top 10, his third in his career. That said, there is some positivity since compared to last year, Smith won by up to four tenths. Which is a nice progression. A contact with Hemric could have ruined everything but unlike the BMR driver, the Canadian’s car will hold until the end. He will even have a good time on TV since he unintentionally finds himself in the last lap in the battle between Huddleston and Keller for the victory. « Went faster than ever. It has taken a while. 4/10s quicker than ever. More to go. Still not what I want but with guys like Daniel Hemric it’s not easy. Radio went on the fritz and although I had some good runs, it wasn’t stellar. Got to hand it to all the people that come to the track and make it happen. We have the best crew, hands down. Racing drivers over half my age. Seeing Ray Elders car brought back memories as Ray called me to be his crew way way a long time ago. Best car and crew. I will work harder. Only 12 cars but all good cars and drivers. On to Phoenix” Smith said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 29 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10th (3x) | 4 starts, best result 10th |
No. 3 Adrian Ferrer (Central Coast Racing) Start: 7th – Fin: 7th
The young Spaniard produced a superb race. He proved to be among the fastest and most consistent. He even rode in second position between the 36th and 40th lap. Then he stayed on the third step of the podium until the restart of the 107th lap. But managing to keep his tires at the best temperature during the laps behind the pace was complicated. At the restart, he could not be aggressive enough and dropped to eighth position, last on the leader’s lap. Daniel Hemric’s withdrawal at the end of the race gave him seventh position. But for a rookie, starting on an oval, Ferrer was very convincing.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7th | 1 start, best result 7th |
No. 5 Eric Johnson, Jr. (Jerry Pitts Racing) Start: 5th – Fin: 5th
Johnson, Jr. has grown in stature this year, no doubt about it. He started fifth and stayed in the top 5 throughout the race except after the restart on lap 107 where he was passed by Hemric. But the latter’s retirement gives the top 5 back to the Jerry Pitts Racing driver who says it himself, this race was a good learning experience for him, to develop his relationship with his new crew chief Dustin Ash and that will be useful for the rest of the season. “First time I’ve been in a situation where I have had to save so heavily early on. The crew did an incredible job all weekend long to give me a good piece to work with. Tried to save what we could early on but unfortunately just didn’t quite save enough to have the speed we needed to capitalize at the end. Big learning experience for myself and it gave the team a great chance to build notes for when we come back. Can’t wait for the next one!” Johnson, Jr. said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 17 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 4th | 3 starts, best result 5th |
No. 7 Gavin Ray (Jerry Pitts Racing) Start: 9th – Fin: 6th
Here is a driver that we did not expect and who succeeded in his debut in the West Series. Hired at the last minute by Jerry Pitts to drive the second car of the team, Ray drove a wise race, full of intelligence. He knew how to manage his tires and was able to increase his level of play to easily stay on the leader’s lap. This consistency was rewarded by a nice sixth position.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6th | 1 start, best result 6th |
No. 9 Robbie Kennealy (Jan’s Racing Team) Start: 6th – Fin: 4th
Kennealy had a superb end to the race. Stuck in sixth position until the only caution of the race, he took full advantage of the regrouping behind the pace car to gain positions and settle into the top 5 after the restart. Although he had to give way to Hemric for the fourth position for a few laps, he recovered his position when the BMR driver joined his pit box three laps from the end and never left. This good result, his best in his career, bodes well for the future and confirms that Robbie will be a force to be reckoned with for the championship, which makes him the best rookie of the race. “Couldn’t think of a much better way to start my rookie full-time Arca west season. Qualified 6th and ended up with my career best with a P4 finish. As well as my teammate Kyle Keller finishing P2 and being so close to his first win. So proud of this team in our first start together. Everyone worked super hard and deserves this. Feels really good to put the work in the offseason and see it perform on track. Much thank you to the whole team and of course Jan Qualkenbush with Jan’s Towing, Inc. for making this possible. Onto Phoenix next » Kennealy said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 13 (2 DNS) | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4th | 2 starts, best result 4th |
No. 13 Tanner Reif (Central Coast Racing) Start: 2nd – Fin: 3rd
Good start to the race by Tanner who took control of the race from the first lap by going around the outside of the poleman. He led the first six laps before falling back into line a bit and spending most of the race in fourth position behind his teammate Ferrer by managing his tires and brakes. He overtook the latter during the restart on the 107th lap to climb onto the podium. A third position that he would momentarily lose to Hemric but that he recovered three laps from the end when the BMR driver retired. Tanner had a serious race and started his season in a good way. For those who had doubts, he will be a serious contender for the championship.
“Your focus determines your reality” – Qui-Gon Jinn (Star Wars). I’ve never been happier to get back on track and prove myself as a driver in the ARCA Menards West Series. We had a great start to our season with a top 3 finish at Bakersfield, got some long run speed to work on but were their. Can’t thank Central Coast Racing for getting the car ready for this season, gonna push till the end. Let’s go get some Wins.” Reif said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 26 | 2 | 10 | 17 | 2 | 1st (2x) | 3 starts, best result 3rd |
No. 19 Daniel Hemric (Bill McAnally Racing) Start: 1st – Fin: 9th Mechanical / Tire
Poleman for the first time in his career, Hemric took the strategic decision not to force the pace from the start. He let himself slide little by little in the pack until ninth position. At that point, he controlled the leader, Huddleston, who was behind him, ready to take a lap ahead of him. But this technique could have been a losing one without a yellow flag. Fortunately, the caution came on the 99th lap. Hemric made some chassis adjustments and at the restart, he was the fastest. He knew how to preserve his tires during the first 100 laps. He then made a comeback to third position. Victory was possible but on the 139th lap, he came into contact with David Smith while taking a lap from him. If this seemed without consequences, the BMR driver was disillusioned on the 147th lap when his right front tire punctured as a result of the contact. He returned to his pit box to retire.
“It’s a shame that tire went down. I thought we were in a good position with our NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet. I was just managing the tires for most of the race until it was go time. We had plenty of pace and drove right up to the lead and thought we had a great shot to win, but it wasn’t meant to be. It’s good to come out here and knock the rust off. This is a good group of guys here at BMR and they prepared a great racecar. Wish it turned out differently, but we’ll get ready to start our truck season strong at Daytona.” Hemric said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2nd | 1 start, brest result 9th |
No. 42 Spencer Davis (Cook Racing Technologies) Start: 8th – Fin: 12th Electrical
Davis is definitely unlucky when he rides in the West Series. During his three races he was a clear candidate for the top 5 but each time a problem blocked his path. This time it was an electrical problem that caused him to retire. His team tried to repair it but his return to the track was short-lived. He was the cause of the only yellow flag of the race. “Result was out of our control, but great speed in the 42 today at Kern. Thanks to the Cook Racing Technologies team!” Davis said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11th | 2 starts, best result 11th |
No. 50 Trevor Huddleston (High Point Racing) Start: 4th – Fin: 1st
Champion size! Huddleston and his team, led by his crew chief Jeff Schrader, had a very controlled race. Huddleston took the lead of the race on lap seven and then opened up a small gap that oscillated between six-tenths and 1.2 seconds throughout the race. He managed his tires and slipped through traffic with ease. The last ten laps were more difficult against a very pressing Kyle Keller. But Huddleston kept his cool and dodged all of Keller’s attacks to take an important victory. He got his ninth top 10 in nine races at KHKR. He led the championship for the first time and asserted himself as the driver to beat for the championship.
“Thank you so much. Thank you to all the fans for coming out. This is what we wanted: this nice beautiful weather. I know it didn’t start that way. But thank you guys, we do this for you so we’re going to have a lot of racing out here this year and going to do a lot of exciting things. Definitely just want to say hats off to Kyle Keller over here. I mean that’s how you race a race. He ran it perfect and he didn’t use me up at all. He was going for that win and he just got unlucky that car was there (David Smith). I saw that in my windshield and I knew I had to do what I had to do. He did a great job. I’m pretty sure my crew chief Jeff Shrader was a little mad at me. He thought I was pushing it a little too hard, but he kept me calm. It was all [the whole HPR team members]. They made it happen today.” Said Huddleston.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 78 | 6 | 31 | 63 | 3 | 1st (6x) | 9 starts, best result 1st |
No. 51 Blake Lothian (Strike Mamba Racing) Start: 10th – Fin: 11th
Complicated race for the rookie who had to fight with a lack of power from the start of the race. His engine was running on seven cylinders. His team tried to solve the problem during the caution. But without success. Worse still, Lothian suffered a puncture in his right front tire. This additional passage to his pit box at the end of the race definitively took away any hope of a top 10. But Lothian and his team SMR earned a lot and it will be useful to them for the rest of the championship.
“Definitely wasn’t the result we were looking for in our first race. We were battling a tight race car almost all weekend late center off that made it hard to get on the throttle, it really didn’t help our tire saving in the 150 laps we had. P11 no scratch! Lost a cylinder early then lost a RF but showed great speed at the end! Hopefully good luck comes to visit soon, really appreciate the opportunity from Strike Mamba Racing and all the sponsors that make this possible.
Regardless we got up to speed pretty quickly in practice and I think we have a pretty good shot next race and for the rest of the season! Onto Phoenix.” Lothian said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11th | 1 star, best result 11th |
No. 71 Kyle Keller (Jan’s Racing Team) Start: 3rd – Fin: 2nd
Great race by Keller, who gets the best result in his career. His end of the race was superb and he was able to make a comeback to threaten Huddleston during the last ten laps. He was able to get up to him on the inside line twice. But the first time he had to move a little off his trajectory to avoid the latecomer Smith. And during the very last corner, he started sliding a little too much during the re-acceleration. But Keller made an impression and immediately placed himself as a serious contender for the championship. In addition, he showed a superb state of mind by fighting with determination and above all fair play. He did not throw his opponent into the wall, as, unfortunately, too many young drivers have done in recent years to win. However, the story would have been nice to win his first victory on his 20th birthday. But Kyle will have many other opportunities to visit Victory Lane this season. No doubt about it.
“What a weekend. Almost had it! Was able to get my career best finish in the ARCA Menards Series with a P2! Felt like I saved enough but needed a little more time to secure that checkered flag for the whole Jans Jan’s Racing Team We were solid in Qualifying all the way throughout the race! My tires were good i think without lap traffic we had trevor. No need to wreck to win just needed 151 laps but just wasn’t in our cards. That would have not happen if it wasn’t for my entire 71 team! Thank you to all my sponsors and, of course, my awesome crew! First I want to thank Jan Qualkenbush for giving me this awesome opportunity! We will get our win together soon! Now thank you to my whole team for all their hard work this weekend! We will move on go get after it at phoenix” Keller said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 35 | 0 | 10 | 23 | 0 | 2nd | 6 starts, best result 2nd |
No. 72 Cody Dennison (Strike Mamba Racing) Start: 11th – Fin: 8th
It was a cautious race for Dennison, who lacked pace at the beginning but was able to increase it in the last third of the race. He benefited from two helping hands during the race. The first was the free pass during the only caution, and the second was when Daniel Hemric had to retire three laps from the end to gain an additional position and finish eighth. A good result for him and his SMR team, who were making their debut in the West Series. Everything that was learned at KHKR will help SMR to develop for the next races.
“Stacking up the top 10! P8 in California! Took the stickers all the way to lap 150. Learned so much. On to Daytona!» Dennison said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 1 (1 DNQ) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8th | 1 start, best result 8th |
Next race on March 7 in Phoenix, AZ. A race that will be combined with the ARCA Menards National Series.