By Vincent Delforge, Staff Writer
The fifth race of the 2025 ARCA Menards West Series season took place at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in Bakersfield, CA. The NAPA Auto Parts 150 was won by championship leader Trevor Huddleston. The High Point Racing driver made the sweep, having already won the first race held on this half-mile oval on January 25th. And just like in the first race of the season, he took the checkered flag ahead of Kyle Keller. With this second victory this season in five races, Huddleston solidified his championship lead, extending his lead to nine points over Tanner Reif and 11 points over Keller.
There will now be almost a month without racing, as the West Series drivers will meet again on July 11th in Sonoma, CA for the first of two road course races of the year.
ARCA West Practice/Qualifying
Tanner Reif (Central Coast Racing) was the fastest during practice. Jan’s Racing Team teammates Kyle Keller and Robbie Kennealy followed behind. The most recent winner, Jake Bollman (Bill McAnally Racing), was eighth, but he had completed the most laps with 53. Huddleston had brake issues and completed only six laps. He wasn’t the only one experiencing mechanical problems, as Eric Johnson, Jr. (Jerry Pitts Racing) was experiencing vibration in his right rear.
The qualifying session, which took place 20 minutes after the end of practice, was won by Kyle Keller, who earned his first career pole position. He finished 0.194 seconds ahead of Bollman. The second row was occupied by Reif and Robbie Kennealy. Buddy Shepherd (Jerry Pitts Racing) and P.J. Pedroncelli, Jr. (Rodd Racing) were fifth and sixth. Eric Johnson, Jr. is ninth, but he lost a right rear axle seal, and his team will have to repair it. He’ll start from the back of the pack for the race. He’s not alone. Huddleston wasn’t able to complete a single lap as his team was changing his brakes. His HPIR teammate, rookie Andrew Chapman (12th), spun, and his team will have to make adjustments. Joey Kennealy, driving the third Jan’s Racing car, is eighth.
Green, Green, Green !!!
Pace car driver Chuck Welch stepped aside to let the 15 drivers start the race in front of an enthusiastic crowd. Keller managed to hold onto first place but was heavily threatened by Bollman, who was on the outside line. Huddleston, along with the various drivers penalized before the start, started tenth but was already ninth by the end of the first lap. His comeback was only just beginning.
Bollman managed to take the lead before the start of the second lap. The battle between young Joey Kennealy and veteran Todd Souza (Central Coast Racing) began and would last the entire race. On lap four, Huddleston was eighth when the first yellow flag was raised for debris in turn 2. There was no free pass.
The restart was given on lap nine, and Bollman retained the lead. Behind him, Huddleston took seventh place from rookie Blake Lothian (Strike Mamba Racing), while Shepherd took third from Reif. Huddleston passed Robbie Kennealy for sixth place the following lap. He then passed P.J. Pedroncelli, Jr. and Shepherd to move into fourth place by lap 13. Reif picked up speed and passed Shepherd and Keller in quick succession and is now second, less than a second behind Bollman.
Huddleston continued his comeback and passed Keller for third place on lap 16. Robbie Kennealy was conserving his tires and had slipped to eighth. While the top six remained unchanged for the next 30 laps, the same could not be said for the bottom of the top 10, which saw its rankings change almost every lap. Robbie Kennealy, Souza, Johnson, Jr., Chapman, Jaron Giannini (Clark Racing), and Lothian were riding in close formation.
Yellow flag !
The second yellow came on lap 45 following debris in the front stretch. Jonathan Reaume (Strike Mamba Racing), 14th, received the free pass. The restart was given on lap 51 and Bollman maintained his lead against Reif who put a lot of pressure on him side-by-side and managed to overtake at the end of the lap by exiting better from turn 4. One thing has been clear since the beginning of the race, the outside line is preferential during restarts. Keller put a lot of pressure on Huddleston and took back third position on lap 66. There would be no more notable changes until the third yellow flag waved on lap 77 and indicating the midway break. Red flag on lap 78 for five minutes, allowing the teams to make adjustments and change two tires. The free pass was awarded for the second time to Reaume (14th).
The mid-race standings are as follows: Reif leads, ahead of Bollman, Keller, Huddleston, Robbie Kennealy, Shepherd, Pedroncelli, Jr., Chapman, Johnson, Jr., and Souza for the top 10. The rest of the standings are composed of Giannini, Lothian, Joey Kennealy, Reaume, and David Smith (Shockwave Motorsports), three laps behind the leader.
Bollman stuck in the pit lane!
Catastrophe for Bill McAnally Racing and its driver Jake Bollman. The No. 19 Chevrolet has a major problem with the right rear axle. Cayden Lapcevich, the crew chief, and his mechanics have to replace this part.
The restart is therefore given on lap 81 without Bollman. Reif maintains the lead ahead of Keller and Robbie Kennealy, who manages to get the better of Huddleston. But this was only temporary, as Huddleston overtook both Jan’s Racing drivers in quick succession to take second place on lap 83.
On lap 85, another yellow flag was issued for debris in the frontstretch. These were pieces of the cars that had rubbed against each other at the restart. David Smith benefited from the free pass and dropped from four to three laps behind the leaders. This yellow flag was beneficial to Bollman, who lost less time in his pit box while his team continued repairs.
Huddleston takes the lead!
On lap 89, the restart is given, and Huddleston, on the outside line, manages to get out of turn 4 better and takes first place from Tanner Reif. On lap 90, Bollman returns to the track 10 laps down. He is the fastest on the track for the following laps.
On lap 100, the standings are as follows: Huddleston leads, ahead of Reif, Keller, Shepherd, Robbie Kennealy, Johnson, Jr., Pedroncelli, Jr., Chapman, Giannini, Souza, Joey Kennealy, Lothian, Reaume, Smith (-3), and Bollman (-10).
Disaster for Shepherd, who has to return to the pit lane on lap 102 due to an engine problem. He is forced to retire while running fourth. His misfortune is the blessing of his teammate Eric Johnson, Jr., who thus moves into the top five. Behind, Joey Kennealy has found his pace and re-entered the top 10 while putting pressure on Todd Souza. The early battle continues in full swing!
Crash turn 3 !
While Souza appeared to be in trouble by sliding out of turn 2 on lap 130, he unintentionally opened the door for Joey Kennealy, who dove onto the inside line entering turn 3. But the No. 9’s rear brakes failed, and the rookie went sideways, taking Souza with him to the outside wall. Both drivers hit the wall and came to a stop in turn 4. Todd Souza even reversed to catch up with Joey Kennealy to show his displeasure. Unfortunately, both drivers retired. Reaume received a free pass for the third time in the race.
At the restart on lap 139, Huddleston couldn’t have dreamed of a better thing. Robbie Kennealy passed Keller for second place. This created a small gap that Keller wouldn’t be able to recover after taking second place from his teammate. After running the entire race between sixth and eighth position, P.J. Pedroncelli, Jr., whose front bumper was dented following contact during the previous restart, suddenly experienced electrical problems and had to return to his pit box. Fortunately, he was five laps from the end and would ultimately finish 10th.
Trevor Huddleston took the checkered flag first, earning his second win of the season and his seventh career victory. Kyle Keller finished second for the third time this season, while Robbie Kennealy rounded out the podium. This third place was the best result of his career. The rest of the standings were as follows: Tanner Reif in fourth, ahead of Eric Johnson, Jr., Andrew Champan, Jaron Giannini, Jonathan Reaume, Blake Lothian (-1), P.J. Pedroncelli, Jr. (out / -5), David Smith (-7), Jake Bollman (-10), Todd Souza (out / -21), Joey Kennealy (out / -22), and Buddy Shepherd (out / -48).
“What an amazing race, thank you all for coming out. I’m out of breath, I’ve been holding it for the past 100 laps,” Huddleston said in Victory Lane.
Second Kyle Keller says: “My car took too long to fire off. No excuses, we’ll work harder in the shop. We’ve got three second-place finishes this year.”
In the championship, Trevor Huddleston now has 259 points, nine more than Tanner Reif. (250). Kyller Keller is third with 248 points ahead of Eric Johnson, Jr. (244) and Robbie Kennealy (241).
The next race is on July 11 for the General Tire 200 at Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, CA.