After what looked to be a race dominated by one driver and team, it came down to a photo finish as Kole Raz took home the checkered flag for Jerry Pitts Racing in the No. 5 machine at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway. This marks the first career win for the 21-year-old.
The first half was dominated by Tyler Reif, but after the halfway break, a duel broke out between Raz’s Toyota and Trevor Huddleston‘s No. 50 Ford Mustang.
Running the last ten laps side by side and having the closest finish in the ARCA Menards Series West since March of 2019 at Irwindale, one where Huddleston won.
“I don’t get opportunities like this very much. I just had to capitalize on it for Jerry Pitts and Dustin Ash. They haven’t won a race in such a long time. They’ve worked so hard in the shop to bring good quality racecars,” the Lake Oswego, OR native said post-race about the chance to drive the car.
“That was a little more rubbing than I wanted. I hope Trevor knows how we raced in the past. It’s always been clean. I was trying to put on a show for the fans,” he added after some tough side-by-side racing with Huddleston, who didn’t seem too happy with the winner, and spoke to Raz post-race in victory lane.
An instant classic finish for the @ARCA_Racing West at Kern Raceway.
Tough racing between @KoleRaz27 and @TrevorHudd50
— Ben Branscum (The New/Real One) (@benbranscum) April 21, 2024
“That was wild stuff, man. All we do is put on a show for you (the fans). I’m pretty pissed off, but as long as everyone in the grandstands is happy, I’m happy,” the High Point Racing driver said after coming home with the bridesmaid.
Coming home just short in third after having dominated the first half of the race was Tyler Reif who sat on the pole and led practice.
“It’s definitely a heartbreak. Led the first 75, and then we missed it. That’s racing,” the Henderson, NV native said.
New ARCA Menards Series West points leader Sean Hingorani came home fourth driving the No. 24 machine, and Nick Joanides came home fifth, picking up his second career top-five in the West.
Looking at the points, Hingorani leads by two points over Reif, with Huddleston just nine points back. Jack Wood and Kyle Keller round out the top five after round two.
Up next, the ARCA Menards Series West heads to Portland International Raceway on May 31st at 8 PM E.T.
Official Results for the MMI Oil Workers 150 at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway
| Pos | Car | Driver | Laps | Total Time | Behind | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Kole Raz * | 150 | 00:20:277 | --:--:-- | 00:19:469 |
| 2 | 50 | Trevor Huddleston | 150 | 00:20:388 | 00:00:058 | 00:19:315 |
| 3 | 13 | Tyler Reif | 150 | 00:20:394 | 00:02:522 | 00:19:032 |
| 4 | 24 | Sean Hingorani | 150 | 00:20:096 | 00:07:802 | 00:19:499 |
| 5 | 71 | Nick Joanides | 150 | 00:20:207 | 00:10:434 | 00:19:592 |
| 6 | 4 | Eric Nascimento | 150 | 00:20:339 | 00:10:737 | 00:19:574 |
| 7 | 12 | Kyle Keller | 150 | 00:20:383 | 00:11:300 | 00:19:737 |
| 8 | 33 | PJ Pedroncelli | 149 | 00:20:318 | 1 lap | 00:19:797 |
| 9 | 3 | Todd Souza | 149 | 00:20:669 | 1 lap | 00:19:814 |
| 10 | 19 | Eric Jonhson Jr. * | 149 | 00:20:663 | 1 lap | 00:19:875 |
| 11 | 41 | John Borneman III | 147 | 00:20:926 | 3 laps | 00:19:704 |
| 12 | 16 | Jack Wood | 146 | 00:26:946 | 4 laps | 00:19:379 |
| 13 | 88 | John Moore | 146 | 00:20:810 | 4 laps | 00:19:710 |
| 14 | 52 | Ryan Philpott | 146 | 00:20:713 | 4 laps | 00:20:022 |
| 15 | 7 | Takuma Koga | 145 | 00:21:062 | 5 laps | 00:19:857 |
| 16 | 05 | David Smith | 138 | 00:22:715 | 12 laps | 00:20:904 |
| 17 | 27 | Bobby Hillis Jr. | 137 | 00:23:496 | 13 laps | 00:20:500 |
| 18 | 23 | Mason Mitchell | 58 | 00:20:457 | 92 laps | 00:19:632 |
| 19 | 77 | Cody Kiemele * | 36 | 00:27:206 | 114 laps | 00:20:008 |
| 20 | 21 | Henry Barton * | 2 | --:--:-- | 148 laps | 00:21:970 |
| 21 | 0 | Tony Huffman * | 0 | --:--:-- | 150 laps | 00:00:000 |
| 22 | 11 | Danica Dart * | 0 | --:--:-- | 150 laps | 00:00:000 |
| 23 | 1 | Robbie Kennealy * | 0 | --:--:-- | 150 laps | 00:00:000 |
