Trevor Huddleston delivered a commanding performance to clinch his sixth victory in the ARCA Menards Series West, successfully holding off a last-lap challenge from Kyle Keller to kick off the 2025 campaign with a win.
? @TrevorHudd50 wins at @KernRaceway! pic.twitter.com/0nXsgMg8Gf
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) January 26, 2025
2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Daniel Hemric would lead the field to green, but immediately began losing touch with the race leaders, with Tanner Reif taking over the lead on the opening lap.
However, Trevor Huddleston began putting the pressure on the No. 13 Central Coast Cabinets Toyota instantly, driving up from fourth place to quickly battle for the lead of the season-opener.
Daniel Hemric, driving the No. 19 for Bill McAnally Racing, would battle some handling issues for the majority of the event, before making a late-race run.
Reif led the opening six circuits of the event, before Huddleston in the No. 50 High Point Racing Ford jumped to the lead, and stayed there, leading the remainder of the 150-lap contest in Bakersfield, California.
Waiting in the wings, though, was Kyle Keller, driving the No. 71 Jan’s Towing Racing Ford, who managed to keep Huddleston in check for the remainder of the race, and even mounted a late-race challenge.
The first and only caution of the event came on Lap 98 for Spencer Davis, who dropped fluid into the first set of corners that put the No. 42 Chevrolet SS behind the wall for several laps.
That caution played a huge role for some competitors, including Hemric, who was about to be lapped by the race leader just prior to the caution being displayed.
As the race got back underway, Hemric restarted from seventh and began his drive back through the field while Huddleston, Keller, and Reif all filed in for the top three spots respectively.
With the laps winding down, Keller began to reel in the No. 50 of Huddleston, with lap traffic beginning to play a tremendous role in the race, with the No. 05 of David Smith causing issues for Hemric, who suffered a late-race issue, knocking him down to ninth.
As the white flag flew, Keller had finally moved Huddleston up the racetrack into the first corner, as they ended up going three-wide into the corner with David Smith being lapped on the bottom.
Heading into turn three, both Fords were side-by-side into turn four as Keller got loose on the bottom of the racetrack, Huddleston was able to clear the No. 71 and would drive to win in a thrilling finish.
“Definitely just wanted to say, hats off to Kyle Keller over here,” said race winner Huddleston. “I mean that’s how you race a race, and he didn’t use me up at all and he was going for that win and he just got unlucky that that car was there (Smith). I saw that in my mirror and I knew I had to do what I had to do.”
Second-place finisher Kyle Keller spoke upon racing the No. 50 in the cleanest way possible: “It was either I stuff them in the fence, or we just try to dog it at the end, so I decided to dog it to the end.” “I’m never going to race Trevor dirty, we’ve always raced clean and I’m glad that you guys (Huddleston) got the win, and we’re going to race good all year against each other.”
Tanner Reif brought home a third-place result in his first race with Central Coast Racing, while Robbie Kennealy, a teammate to second-place finisher Kyle Keller, finished in fourth-place.
Eric Johnson, Jr. in his debut race with Jerry Pitts Racing finished in fifth, while his JPR teammate Gavin Ray came home in seventh.
ARCA West debutant Adrian Ferrer drove to as high as third-place during the middle portion of the event, before fading on a late-race restart and coming home in seventh. Cody Dennison, Daniel Hemric, and David Smith completed the top-10.
Huddleston starts off the season with a six-point lead over both Kyle Keller and Tanner Reif heading into the next race of the ARCA Menards Series West season at Phoenix Raceway on March 7.
Race Results:
| Fin | Start | # | Driver | Team | Laps | Diff | Status | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 50 | Trevor Huddleston | High Point Racing High Racecar Factory Ford | 150 | Running | 48 | |
| 2 | 3 | 71 | Kyle Keller | Jan's Towing Racing Jan's Towing Ford | 150 | 0.243 | Running | 42 |
| 3 | 2 | 13 | Tanner Reif | Central Coast Racing Central Coast Cabinets Toyota | 150 | 7.112 | Running | 42 |
| 4 | 6 | 9 | Robbie Kennealy | Jan's Towing Racing Jan's Towing Ford | 150 | 7.673 | Running | 40 |
| 5 | 5 | 5 | Eric Johnson, Jr. | Jerry Pitts Racing Sherwin Williams Toyota | 150 | 8.113 | Running | 39 |
| 6 | 9 | 7 | Gavin Ray | Jerry Pitts Racing Toyota | 150 | 15.036 | Running | 38 |
| 7 | 7 | 3 | Adrian Ferrer | Central Coast Racing Central Coast Cabinets Toyota | 149 | 1 Lap | Running | 37 |
| 8 | 11 | 72 | Cody Dennison | Strike Mamba Racing Timcast Chevrolet | 148 | 2 Laps | Running | 36 |
| 9 | 1 | 19 | Daniel Hemric | Bill McAnally Racing NAPA AUTO CARE Chevrolet | 147 | 3 Laps | Running | 36 |
| 10 | 12 | 05 | David Smith | Shockwave Motorsports Shockwave Marine Suspension Seating Toyota | 139 | 11 Laps | Running | 34 |
| 11 | 10 | 51 | Blake Lothian | Strike Mamba Racing The Texas Longbook Chevrolet | 138 | 12 Laps | Running | 33 |
| 12 | 8 | 42 | Spencer Davis | Cook Racing Technologies MMI-Sunwest Construction Chevrolet | 104 | 46 Laps | Running | 32 |
Point Standings:
The #ARCA points graphic has returned…
After a close finish, Trevor Huddleston leaves Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway with the ARCA Menards Seris West points lead.
Up next… DAYTONA (02/15)! pic.twitter.com/kpEN2Y3tug
— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) January 26, 2025
