By Vincent Delforge, Staff Writer
2025 will be the 72nd season of the ARCA Menards West Series. A series created in 1954 under the name of NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model Division. This will be the sixth season under the aegis of the ARCA sanctioning body.
The season begins this January 25, 2025, at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway located in Bakersfield, CA, for the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame 150. The last time a season started on January 25 was in 2004 in Phoenix with Ken Schrader winning ahead of Austin Cameron.
Like last two years and for the ninth time in history, the season will feature 12 races spread between January and November when Phoenix will host the final again this year.
2025 Schedule
The end of Irwindale Speedway in California at the end of December 2024 has led to some changes to the 2025 schedule. The two races held over the half-mile are replaced by the return of Tucson Speedway in Arizona and The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada. Shasta Speedway in Anderson, CA, which reappeared in 2023, also gives way to the return of Colorado National Speedway in Erie, CA. The other nine races are the same as last season.
| Date | Track (length and type) | Location | Race name | Broadcast | |
| 1 | January. 25 | Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway (.5 mile paved oval) | Bakersfield, CA | West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame 150 | FloRacing |
| 2 | March 7 | Phoenix Raceway (1 mile paved oval) | Avondale, AZ | General Tire 150 | FS1 |
| 3 | April 5 | Tucson Speedway (.375 mile paved oval) | Tucson, AZ | TBD | FloRacing |
| 4 | May 24 | Sonoma Raceway (1.990-mile road track) | Erie, CO | TBD | FloRacing |
| 5 | June 14 | Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway (.5 mile paved oval) | Bakersfield, CA | TBD | FloRacing |
| 6 | July 11 | Portland International Raceway (1.967-mile road track) | Sonoma, CA | TBD | FloRacing |
| 7 | August 9 | Tri-City Speedway (.5 mile paved oval) | West Richland, WA | TBD | FloRacing |
| 8 | August 29 | Madera Speedway (.333-mile paved oval) | Portland, OR | Portland 112 | FloRacing |
| 9 | September 13 | All American Speedway (.333 mile paved oval) | Roseville, CA | NAPA Auto Care 150 | FloRacing |
| 10 | September 27 | Madera Speedway (.333 mile paved oval) | Madera, CA | TBD | FloRacing |
| 11 | October 10 | The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (.375 mile paved oval) | Las Vegas, NV | TBD | FloRacing |
| 12 | November 1 | Phoenix Raceway (1 mile paved oval) | Avondale, AZ | TBD | FloRacing |
Sean Hingorani, the 2023 and 2024 West Series champion will not defend his double crown this season. Tyler Reif, runner-up the last two years, will not attempt to win the 2025 title as he will drive this season full-time with Sigma Performance Services in the ARCA Menards East Series. Trevor Huddleston, third in the championship in 2023 and 2024, finished last season on a high and will logically be a favorite for the championship.
Central Coast Racing will welcome young Spaniard Adrian Ferrer at the wheel of the team’s No. 3, taking one step closer to “retirement” as Todd Souza’s driver. Even if the latter is expected to do one or two races this season in a third car for the team. One Reif can hide another. Tyler is gone, it is his big brother Tanner who will succeed him in the No. 13. Full-time return of the 2022 ROTY and this with a third different team.
For the first time since 1996, the Bill McAnally Racing team, present since 1992, will not do a season with at least one full-time car. The team entered the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series under the name McAnally-Hilgemann Racing and is concentrating its efforts on this championship, where it enters no less than four full-time trucks. But BMR will be present at a few races (at least Sonoma and Portland in addition to this week at KHKR).
Jan’s Racing continues to grow and will enter two full-time cars this year for Robbie Kennealy (No. 9) and Kyle Keller (No. 71). The team plans to have another car at certain races.
Jerry Pitts Racing sees the 2024 ROTY join its ranks. Indeed Eric Johnson, Jr. will drive the No. 5 full-time. On the other hand, if the No. 6 will be entered in a few races including the two road races with Caleb Shrader, there will be no full-time No. 7. Indeed, the Japanese Takuma Koga is like Tyler Reif entered in the East Series this year.
Canadian David Smith and his Shockwave Racing team will be back for a third season.
Note that several teams and drivers are still looking for funding for a partial or full season with one or more drivers. There will also be the usual part-time drivers (Ryan Philpott, Bobby Hillis, Jr., ..) and road ringers (Davey Magras, Tim Spurgeon,..). Without forgetting the drivers and teams from the ARCA national series who will swell the ranks during the Phoenix races for example.
This will be the 16th race at Bakersfield since 2013. The first race was won at the time by Greg Pursley. Note that the most successful driver in the history of the KCRP is Derek Kraus with four consecutive victories!
The race will be 150 laps (75 miles) and all activities will be concentrated on the single day of Saturday with the single practice from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. PT. The General Tire Pole Qualifying will be from 11:00 to 11:20 a.m. PT and finally, the race will be at 3:20 p.m. PT (6:20 p.m. ET). which will be broadcast live on FloRacing.
The Race Procedure
CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame 150 is limited to 22 starters plus provisionals. This event will be run under the 2025 ARCA Menards Series West rules, procedures, regulations and specifications.
QUALIFYING: The starting position will be set by each car’s fastest recorded lap per the Timed Session qualifying procedure.
RACE PIT STOP: Break pitting procedure. Break at / or near the conclusion of lap 75. No adding or moving tires to or from pit box once race has started.
TIRE ALLOTMENT: Per the ARCA Rulebook, the maximum tire usage for this event (purchased plus from-home tires) is eight (8). The maximum number of tires allowed in pit box for use in race is two (2) for emergency use only as approved by ARCA Official.
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.
– Among the manufacturers Toyota leads the dance at KHKR with 9 wins ahead of Ford (5) and Chevrolet (1). The all-time most successful manufacturer is Ford with 292 wins.
-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).
-The most successful team at KHKR is Bill McAnally Racing with 6 wins.
-Derek Kraus is the most successful pilot at KHKR with 4 wins. In all, 9 different drivers have won at least one race.
-Bill McAnally Racing is the most successful team, with six poles at KHKR. The most successful team in history is Bill McAnally Racing with 79 poles. The most successful owner in history is Bill McAnally with 52 poles.
-Among the manufacturers, Toyota leads with 9 poles ahead of Ford (4) and Chevrolet (1). The all-time most successful manufacturer is Chevrolet with 260.
-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(thrice). The 2015 race holds the record for the number of yellow flag laps with 43.
-The record for the fewest cautions is 3 (the last four races). With just 12 laps behind the pace car, the 2022 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 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 top 5 are Derek Kraus, David Mayhew and Trevor Huddleston with 5.
-The driver with the most top 10 is Trevor Huddleston with 10 ahead of David Mayhew and Todd Souza with 9.
-The driver with the most laps is Takuma Koga (1462).
-The driver with the most laps lead is Derek Kraus (368).
-Four times the race has been extended by overtime (2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019).
The entry list is only composed of 12 drivers, which will be the smallest starting file in the history of the KHKR. The previous record dates back to 2019 with 13 cars. Among them, there are three drivers that we will see for the first time in an official race of the ARCA West, namely Adrian Ferrer, Gavin Ray and Blake Lothian.
The drivers
No. 05 David Smith (Shockwave Racing)
Last year, the second race in Bakersfield was not easy for the Canadian veteran as he finished 16th out of 20 drivers. This year the driver/owner is back with his crew chief Brandon Carlson for a third full-time season with the firm objective of fighting more often for the top 10. The team will continue to benefit from technical assistance from Naake-Klauer Motorsports as in previous seasons.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 28 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10th (2x) | 3 starts, best result 13th |
No. 3 Adrian Ferrer (Central Coast Racing)
The young 15-year-old Spaniard (he will be 16 on February 14) comes to us from Getafe, Madrid. He will be the first Spaniard to race in the West Series. Even if his compatriot Ander Vilarino, multiple champion of the NASCAR Euro Series had participated in the combination race between the West and the East at Daytona in 2013. Exhibition race, it is also through this means that Ferrer made his debut in competition with a West Series car. Indeed, he participated in the non-championship race organized as part of the farewell of the Irwindale Speedway on December 21. He had put in a solid performance by finishing fifth on the leader’s lap. Ferrer’s background includes a championship won in Spain last year in the Toyota GR Cup with two victories. Gilbert Munoz will be his crew chief.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
No. 5 Eric Johnson, Jr. (Jerry Pitts Racing)
The 2024 ROTY left Bill McAnally Racing during the offseason to join Jerry Pitts Racing. He will be driving an excellent car since it allowed Sean Hingorani to stay in the championship race in 2024, not to mention that it was at the wheel of it that Kole Raz won the Bakersfield race at the start of last season. With several major sponsors, the 2025 season is looking good for Eric Johnson, Jr. He was able to test this month in Bakersfield and Tucson. His crew chief will be Dustin Ash. Note that last October, Johnson, Jr. finished ninth here, which is his best result as of today in two starts on the Californian half-mile.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 16 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 4th | 2 starts, best result 9th |
No. 7 Gavin Ray (Jerry Pitts Racing)
The young 19-year-old driver Gavin Ray, originally from Las Vegas, NV, will start in the West Series with the advantage of knowing the KHKR since he raced there in the SRL Pro Late Model Series in 2024 for example. He will have a lot to do since he will have to tame a heavy and overpowered ARCA West-type car for the first time. To do this, he will benefit from the advice of Jerry Pitts. The team boss is also his crew chief. Note that the deal concerns this race but it would not be surprising to see him later in the season on the Las Vegas Bullring, his home track.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
No. 9 Robbie Kennealy (Jan’s Racing Team)
After a very complicated 2024 season on the track with countless mechanical problems and especially emotionally with the death of his father, it is with joy that we see Robbie get a full-time seat for this 2025 season. He will drive the No. 9 for Jan Quackenbush and, therefore, goes from part-time to full-time status. Robbie thus joins his friend Kyle Keller who will once again be his teammate like last year at KKM. Chris Greaney will be his crew chief.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 12 (2 DNS) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5th | 1 start, best result 23th (DNS) |
No. 13 Tanner Reif (Central Coast Racing)
Tanner’s last race in the West was in Portland last year where he retired due to mechanical problems. This will be his third full season after 2022 and 2023. If his 2022 season was successful with two victories and the ROTY title, his sophomore season in 2023 was more complicated. His time at CRT in 2024 is one to forget. He succeeds his little brother Tyler at the wheel of the iconic No. 13 of CCR. Michael Munoz will be his crew chief and the objective is clear, to win the championship. As for Bakersfield, Tanner has done two races there in the West, twice obtaining fourth position.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 25 | 2 | 9 | 16 | 2 | 1st (2x) | 2 starts, best result 4th (2) |
No. 19 Daniel Hemric (Bill McAnally Racing)
Daniel Hemric has only done one West Series race in his career, it was in 2019 on the Sonoma, CA road track with BMR. He will, therefore, discover Bakersfield with an ARCA-type car. But if he knows this track for having finished third in SRL during the Winter Showdown in… 2018! It is with his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team, led by Bill McAnally that he participates in this race. His crew chief will be Josh Graham.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2nd | n/a |
No. 42 Spencer Davis (Cook Racing Technologies)
After failing to reach the top 10, 11th, last year for his return to the West Series. Davis returns with the same team and the same car with the firm intention of doing much better. His crew chief will be Sean Samuels.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11th | 1 start, best result 11th |
No. 50 Trevor Huddleston (High Point Racing)
Five times in the top 5 and eight times out of eight races in the top 10. Suffice to say that the KHKR is an oval where Huddleston feels good. He only lacks the victory. His best result here is a second position. But this year, he will be one of the favorites for the victory and the championship. He finished 2024 on a high note with two victories in the last four races. He also won the exhibition race at Irwindale on December 21. Proof that he still has an excellent car on the half-miles. Jeff Schrader will be his crew chief as in the previous two seasons.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 77 | 5 | 30 | 62 | 3 | 1st (5x) | 8 starts, best result 2nd |
No. 51 Blake Lothian (Strike Mamba Racing)
The 22-year-old driver from Wellesley, MA will make his West Series debut with a new team. Indeed, Strike Mamba Racing is a new organization run by the Reaume family. Under the name Reaume Brothers Racing, the team is well known in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series where it has been operating since 2018 despite a chronic lack of results. The team was supposed to make its debut at the 2024 finale in Phoenix with Jonathan Reaume behind the wheel but ultimately withdrew. John Reaume will be its crew chief. The team is committed full-time to the West Series with Lothian. The latter will discover the KHKR. He has three starts in the Craftsman Truck Series between 2022 and last year.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
No. 71 Kyle Keller (Jan’s Racing Team)
It was here last year that Keller did his first race with Jan Qualkenbush’s team. Victim of a broken right front suspension. This year he will aim to win both his first victory and the first for his team. A team that in just over a season will have grown a lot. His friend and crew chief Brian Kizer is following him in this new adventure. He knows Bakersfield well and intends to improve on his best result obtained here in 2020, a sixth position, by finishing in Victory Lane.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 34 | 0 | 9 | 22 | 0 | 4th (3x) | 5 starts, best result 6th |
No. 72 Cody Dennison (Strike Mamba Racing) DNQ
Dennison will attempt for the second time to take the start of a West Series race. Last year in Phoenix at the season opener, he failed in qualifying with Wayne Peterson’s team. This time he will drive the second car of the new Strike Mamba Racing team. Dennison will also drive part-time in the Craftsman Truck Series for Reaume Brothers Racing inn a car that will be entered in a maximum of races with probably several different drivers but this remains to be confirmed. The Canadian Al Lebert will be his crew chief.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Bakersfield |
| 0 (1 DNQ) | – | – | – | – | – | n/a |
Final notes
-Kennealy-Keller Motorsports, will not be engaged full-time this season. The team offers its car for rental.
-Bobby Hillis, Jr. and his team, Fearce Creature Racing, are currently only considering road races and those on bullrings like Las Vegas or Roseville.
-Sigma Performance Services, Joe Farré’s team, is considering entering the No. 23 driven by Tyler Reif in Phoenix #1 and Sonoma. Regarding the No. 24, the team will be present at the two Phoenix races as well as in Sonoma and Portland. But plans to increase this number of races.
-Nascimento-Joiner Motorsports will offer its No. 21 for rental as last year. As for the No. 4, it will be driven by Eric Nascimento, Jr. at least in Sonoma.
-Naake-Klauer Motorsports and Performance P-1 Motorsports are planning participation in several races depending on the budgets provided by different drivers.