BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The 2025 racing season kicks off at the revamped Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway, promising an exciting experience for motorsports fans.
- Bakersfield Speedway's inaugural race at Kern Raceway kicks off on March 8, marking a new era in local dirt track racing.
- Raceway partners Scott Sweitzer and Tim Huddleston aim to make the venue a premier destination for motorsports fans in California.
- Upgrades to the dirt track include a 3,000-seat grandstand and improved conditions on the track for racers, however, both Huddleston and Sweitzer say they have more plans for the future.
- The IMCA Season opener kicks off on Saturday, March 7. The gates at the raceway open at 4 PM with opening ceremonies starting at 6 PM on opening day.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
For the first time in 80 years, racers will be revving their engines at a new Bakersfield Speedway, that being Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway, I'm Sam Hoyle, your neighborhood reporter, the inaugural race set to kick off on Saturday at 6 p.m.
"I feel great. I am extremely happy. The family is happy to be partnered with Tim [Huddleston] and Kevin Harvick, and we were able to move the operation from Oildale out here to this state-of-the-art facility and able to grow and bring new things to the dirt world," said Scott Sweitzer.
For 79 seasons, under multiple owners and even multiple names, the clay of Bakersfield Speedway was a proving ground for racers. Now, those racers will still come through Bakersfield, just about 45 minutes to the southwest.
"We love motorsports, it's what we've been doing. I know Scott's family and my family, for the last 35 years, we've been in racing, and we're going to try to make this literally the hub for California," said Tim Huddleston. "Central Coast people, from the north can come down in a day's drive, and people from LA can come over that hill in a day's drive. And we're going to be -- for a motorsports fan, this is going to be your place to be."
March 1st was the first time racers got a chance to test out the new and improved oval, but the track's ownership group hopes to beef up the fan experience one step at a time to become a one-stop shop for race fans.
"I think the biggest thing we've done is put this 3000-seat grandstand in. We've rose it — It's 36 inches off the ground now, so there's not a bad seat in the house," said Huddleston.
"We've done a lot to the track. Turn one and two's crash wall was removed. Turn two was widened. We have new poles, new cabling, new fencing, change the configuration of the infield, just the things for the dirt racers to make the racing exciting for the fans that are sitting here to see a great night, and they more than get their money's worth when they come through and visit us for the night," said Scott Sweitzer.
"Scott and I have got a lot of big plans for this place. We're going to treat it like Disneyland. It'll never be finished, because the second we get done with something, we're going to start fixing or making something else," said Huddleston.
The new season and new era of Bakersfield Speedway revs up on Saturday, the gates open at 4 p.m. and opening ceremonies start at 6 p.m.
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