Hansen takes CARS West win at Kern after Kevin Harvick tire issue
- Mar 20
- 4 min read
by Rence Brown
Jace Hansen held off a late charge by Keelan Harvick to win Saturday’s CARS Tour West Super Late Model feature at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in the 125 lap Kern County 160.
The defending series champion ran second for much of the race behind Kevin Harvick before the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion cut a right front tire with ten laps remaining, opening the door for Hansen to take control of the race.
The win marks Hansen’s second consecutive win at Kern after holding off another Harvick charge just like in the series finale last October.
“We had a good race car,” Hansen said. “Kevin obviously was way better, but apparently they had some tire problems. We were just able to capitalize on that and kept the track position that we needed. I was a little worried because there was some guys saving back there, but apparently our game plan worked out.”
Hansen, who started second, admitted Kevin had the faster car for much of the night as he tried to take the lead a few times to close the gap, with a couple of times he was able to race side by side with the veteran but couldn’t complete the pass.
“I did everything I could to try and keep up with him and he was driving away from us, we got lucky and sometimes you just needed a little luck.”
The driver from Colorado said his expectations have changed since winning the championship last season, joking that finishing second to a retired NASCAR Cup champion would be a tough result to swallow.
“Back in the day I used to be happy with the top 10 finish,” Hansen said. “Now I was a little bummed that I was going to lose to an ‘old Cup driver’. We’re getting there though. We just need to keep working on it and keep doing what we’re doing. I’m really looking forward to the next one at home in Colorado.”
Buddy Shepherd started from the pole and led the field of 16 cars to the green flag, leading the opening 12 laps before Kevin took over the lead.
From there, the Bakersfield native controlled the race while Hansen remained close behind waiting for an opportunity.
A scheduled competition caution at Lap 60 allowed teams to add fuel and adjust tire pressures before the race resumed at halfway, while also giving drivers a chance to reset.
On the restart, Hansen and Kevin battled for the lead, trading the lead briefly, with Hansen’s car being strong on the short run before Kevin’s long-run pace allowed him to pull away.
Another caution for debris with 25 laps remaining bunched the field back together once again, with the pair racing closely for the lead before Kevin gradually stretched the gap.
That opportunity Hansen had been waiting for came with ten laps to go when Kevin cut a right front tire, bringing out the caution and forcing him to pit. The incident handed the lead to Hansen and set up a short run to the finish.
Vito Cancilla and Las Vegas winner Taylor Mayhew lined up behind Hansen on the restart.
Mayhew briefly passed Cancilla for second but suffered the same fate as Kevin, he cut a right front tire of his own, bringing out the caution with three laps remaining and ending his night in 13th.
Kevin charged from the rear of the field after restarting deep in the pack, driving up to fifth before the caution for Mayhew.
On the final restart he dove underneath his Rackley WAR teammates of Cancilla and his son Keelan into Turn 1, momentarily making it three wide behind the leader.
Keelan Harvick used the outside lane to move into the second off Turn 2 and gave chase to Hansen in the final laps, but just like in October, the defending champion held on for the victory with the young Harvick settling for his best SLM finish of his career in second place.
“It’s really cool just to come here and just race with my dad,” Keelan Harvick said. “It was just really fun tonight.”
Kevin was left heartbroken after leading the most laps of the race before his mechanical issue.
“That was a heartbreaker,” Kevin Harvick said. “That sucked just to be leading like that and totally in control of the race, we had a super fast car and just had dumb luck we got a got a flat tire.”
Despite the disappointment, he said competing at home and giving back is meaningful.
“I love it,” Harvick said. “It’s so much fun to be able to give back to the part of racing that gave me so much. We’ll be back.”
Cancilla ran inside the top five for much of the night and finished fourth after battling through late race restarts.
“We have a really good car,” Cancilla said. “It sucks we had those bad restarts, but it was really fun running the top lane of the track during the race, it was like some dirt tracks out here. It’s good being able to move around the track and to figure out where the car works best.”
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