Spears CARS Tour Southwest PLM Event Preview: Mission Bank 125 at Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway
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BROADCAST INFO: FloRacing (5:30 p.m. PT / 8:30 p.m. ET Saturday, May 16, 2026)
Mission Bank Military Appreciation Night at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway Schedule
Track: Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway
Location: Bakersfield, Calif.
Length: .500-mile paved oval
Laps: 125 (PLM), 75 (LLM), 30 (Legend)
The Spears CARS Tour Southwest division unloads at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway for Saturday’s Mission Bank Military Appreciation Night, featuring Pro Late Model, Limited Late Model and Legend Car action. FloRacing will have live coverage of the event beginning at 5:30 p.m. PT (8:30 p.m. ET) on Saturday, May 16.
The PLMs make their first stop at Kern in the fourth race of the season with 125 laps set to decide a $7,500 pay day. Las Vegas native Kyle Keller hopes to further cushion his 17-point advantage in the championship battle over Robby Sawyer. However, several strong contenders are already on the entry list, including Jeffrey Petterson, who’ll be competing in both PLM and LLM at Kern. Taylor Mayhew, the SLM division’s most recent winner at Colorado National Speedway, is entered, as is 13-year-old Keelan Harvick, who makes his West Coast return after a week spent running PLMs back east.
The LLM division will officially reach the halfway point of its season when it takes the green flag for 75 laps and a $4,000 purse at Kern Raceway. It also marks the second event of the LLM season at the facility and sees Loomis, California’s Kenna Mitchell return to the site of her historic victory earlier this year.
Mitchell became the first female driver to win a Spears CARS Tour West event with her March 14 triumph.
Mitchell’s consistency has allowed her to expand her point lead by 21 markers. But for Skyler Schoppe, Tanner Huddleston, Christian Bazen, Brenden Ruzbarsky - occupying second through fifth in points - it’s all up for grabs, as the group is separated by only eight points.
The Legend Car (LEG) division is scheduled for its fifth race of the season Saturday night with a 30-lap INEX/CTW points race and its return to Kern Raceway. Daniel O’Donnell is the defending winner but it’s Logan Chambers who comes in with the hot hand after scoring the division’s most recent win at Stockton 99 Speedway and leading in the title hunt.
NOTES:
PLM POINTS BATTLE: Kyle Keller took over the top spot in the SW PLM points battle following his first CTW win at Stockton 99 Speedway on April 18. The 21-year-old Keller enters this weekend with a 17-point lead over Robby Sawyer and 25-point advantage over Oregon City’s James Hamlin.
DOUBLE DUTY: Grand Terrace, California’s Jeffrey Peterson, already a two-time winner in LLMs in 2026 at The Bullring, is entered in both the 75-lap LLM event and the 125-lap PLM headliner. He’ll be joined by fellow double-duty driver and Fallbrook, California native Nash Youngren.
BACK TO WHERE IT STARTED: Keelan Harvick returns to the site of the first PLM victory of his young career at Kern Raceway. Harvick outdueled his NASCAR champion father, Kevin, at Kern last May in what was the inaugural Harvick Showdown event.
BAKERSFIELD RUNDOWN: Taylor Mayhew, fresh off his second SLM win of 2026 at Colorado National two weeks ago, finished runner up in the PLM finale at Kern last fall. Robby Sawyer finished ninth in the same event. Buddy Shephered rounds out the Bakersfield contingent scheduled for the 125-lap PLM race.
KERN RECAP: Kenna Mitchell enters the weekend as Kern Raceway’s defending winner (March 14). Title contenders Skyler Schoppe, Brenden Ruzbarsky and Christian Bazen also turned in strong runs at the Bakersfield facility last time around. Each driver tallied a top-four finish in that event.
LLM SHAKEDOWN: In four starts, Kenna Mitchell has been on a tear, finishing no worse than fourth. She stands as the only fulltime driver to earn a top-five effort in each race this season, accumulating a series-leading average finish of 2.5.
EBBS AND FLOWS: Tanner Huddleston moved ahead of Christian Bazen and into third in points following the Stockton 99 Speedway event. Huddleston recorded a strong fourth-place finish, while Bazen’s solid showing derailed after getting swept up in a pair of incidents.
SPEARS CARS TOUR SOUTHWEST PLM SCHEDULE: The 2026 PLM schedule continues at Evergreen Raceway (SW/NW Rivalry Race; June 27), Colorado National Speedway (SW/NW Rivalry Race; Aug. 1), All American Raceway (Aug. 29), Orange Show Speedway (Sept. 12), Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Oct. 2), Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway (Oct. 17).
LIMITED LATE MODEL 2026 SCHEDULE: The division’s remaining schedule includes races at All-American Speedway (Aug. 29), Orange Show Speedway (Sept. 12), The Bullring (Oct. 2), Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway (Oct. 17), The Bullring (Nov. 14).
LEGEND CAR 2026 SCHEDULE: The division’s remaining schedule includes races at Colorado National Speedway (July 31-Aug. 2), All-American Speedway (Aug. 29), Orange Show Speedway (Sept. 12), The Bullring (Oct. 2), Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway (Oct. 17), The Bullring (Nov. 14).
Spears CARS Tour Southwest PLM race: 4 of 10
PLM Entry List: #5J James Hamlin, #7 Robby Sawyer, #8 Bristol Borneman, #12 Kyle Keller, #17 Taylor Mayhew, #22 Buddy Shepherd, #23 Jaron Giannini, #24 Nash Youngren, #54 Jaiden Reyna, #55 Jeffrey Petterson, #62 Keelan Harvick, #71 Kyle Gottula
2026 PLM winners: #29 Kevin Harvick (1), Keelan Harvick (1), Kyle Keller (1)
PLM 2026 Driver Points:
Kyle Keller 119
Robby Sawyer -17
James Hamlin -25
Keelan Harvick -27
Jaron Giannini -33
Spears CARS Tour West LLM race: 5 of 10
LLM Entry List (17 cars): #7 Kenna Mitchell, 7 Skyler Schoppe, #11 Chris Monez, #13 Mia Wright, #16 Freddy Irvin, # 20 Donald Witkowski, #22 Aaron Coonfield, #22 Nash Youngren, #31 Ryan Pannone, #43 Christian Bazen, #43 Brian Pannone, #45 Scott Youngren, #51 Brenden Ruzbarsky, #51 Jeffrey Peterson, #56 Tanner Huddleston, #77 Michael Nicks, #98 Byron Borneman
LLM 2026 Driver Points:
Kenna Mitchell 168
Skyler Schoppe -21
Tanner Huddleston -23
Christian Bazen -26
Brenden Ruzbarsky -29
Spears CARS Tour West Legend race: 5 of 11
Be sure to stay active and social with the tour by following @CarsTourWest on Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) and liking Spears CARS Tour West on Facebook.
Founded in 2024, the Spears CARS Tour West is the premier stock car series of the West Coast. Under the ownership of California natives Tim Huddleston and Kevin Harvick, the series aims to create an organized, structured, and competitive place for racers on the West Coast. Competing at the best tracks on the West Coast, the Spears CARS Tour West provides the space and platform to crown champions and elevate West Coast racing to the top levels of motorsports. For more information, please visit www.carstourwest.com.
