News and Notes “Masellis Drilling – Salute to America 100” at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway

Event: The Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series will visit Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway (CA) for the 27th time in series history on June 29th. The traditional June date will also feature the Spears Pro Late Model Series, Spears Modified Series, Drag-a-Boat Destruction Race, Monster Truck Demo, and an Independence Day Fireworks Show. The “Masellis Drilling – Salute to America 100” will pay $7,776 to the winner and $500 to start. For teams on the Spears Frequent Flyer Program (three consecutive starts) it will pay $1,000 to start. There will be a break on or around lap 50 to service the cars. This is a four tire race.

Pro Late Models: The Spears Pro Late Models will race for $2,500-to-win in the “LIUNA 50 presented by Motor City Buick GMC” There will be a Competition Yellow after 25 laps of consecutive green-flag action, but not in the last 15 laps. The event will pay $400 to start for those who raced in the “All-Star Showdown”.

Modifieds: The Spears Modified Series will also race for a $2,500 winner’s purse in the “Spears Manufacturing 50 presented by FRYTON Software”. As with the Pro Late Models, there will be a Competition Yellow after 25 laps of consecutive green-flag action, but not in the last 15 laps. The event will pay $500 to start for those who raced in the “All-Star Showdown”.

SRL Championship Standings: Three-time series champion Jacob Gomes leads the Super Late Model standings after the “All-Star Showdown” with 180 points. 2023 Summer Showdown winner Kole Raz (170), 2021 SRL Rookie-of-the-Year Buddy Shepherd (165), 2023 ARCA Menards Pro Series West champion Sean Hingorani (160), and 2022 Kulwicki Driver Development Program champion Dylan Zampa (155) make up the top-five. Blaine Rocha (150), Nickolas Cooper (146), Austin Herzog (142), Cale Kanke (138), and John Dillon (134) round out the top-10.

Rookie Standings: Sean Hingorani was the highest finishing rookie at the season opening Irwindale Speedway “All-Star Showdown 125”. He leads the Rookie-of-the-Year chase with 160 points. Tyler Reif has 127 points followed by Ethan Myers with 115 points.

Pro Late Model Standings: Christian Bazen leads the championship standings with 425 points after three events. Nash Youngren sits second in the standings with 330 points followed by Justin Philpott (314), Seth Wise, (302), and Andrew Chapman (293).

Modified Standings: Kyle Jacks leads the championship standings with 180 points for the Spears Modified Series after the “All-Star Showdown” at Irwindale Speedway. Utah’s Jeff Longman finished behind Jacks to rank second with 170 points. Holly Clark (165), Aaron McMorran (160), and Kevin Vossen (155) round out the top-five.

SRL Series Winners: Four drivers on the current entry have won in the Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series. Buddy Shepherd has three victories followed by Blaine Rocha (2), Dylan Zampa (2), and Dan Holtz (1). Shepherd, and Rocha have both won at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.

Kulwicki Champion: Dylan Zampa was the Kulwicki Driver Development Program champion in 2022 and backed it up with the Rookie-of-the-Year title for the SRL in 2023, with two series wins. Zampa grabbed checkered flags at Irwindale Speedway (CA) and The New Stockton 99 Speedway (CA) on his way to three top-five and five top-10 efforts. He opened the 2024 season with a fifth in the “All-Star Showdown” and has his sights set on a win this weekend, if they can get the car a little better on the short runs.

“We are heading into the 29th with the mindset of going out there and winning”, Zampa stated. “I feel like the #29 Sierra Speed / Zampa Motorsports machine just needs to be a little better on the short runs. But after a great “All Star Showdown”, I feel like we are really close to grabbing that checkered flag.”

Sentimental Favorite: This weekend, 2021 Spears Southwest Tour Rookie-of-the-Year Buddy Shepherd will be racing for more than just his fourth series victory. He will be racing in the memory of long-time supporter Harvey L. Hall and for the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) Foundation. Hall passed away in 2018 from this disease and the Shepherd Racing team will auction off their hood to raise money to fight this ailment. Both Buddy and his father Dick, a two-time Mesa Marin Raceway (CA) and 11-time Bakersfield Speedway (CA) champion will sign the hood for the winner. Buddy recalls the families support from the founder of Hall Ambulance Services and the mayor of Bakersfield for 25 years.

“The Hall Family has been an instrumental part of mine and my dad’s racing career for many years”, the younger Shepherd stated. “Their support gave my dad the opportunity to move from dirt to asphalt racing, including some Spears Super Late Model racing. For me, they’ve been so supportive in my racing career, beginning as far back as my Micro Sprint dirt racing days, asphalt Pro Late Models, and today in asphalt Super Late Model racing.”

Rocha Revenge: Blaine Rocha came within six laps of his third Spears Southwest Tour Series victory in last year’s “October Classic” at Kern. Rocha pulled out of the racing groove in Turn 2 after experiencing a flat tire, relinquishing a comfortable lead. Rocha led twice for 66 laps but ended up with a 12th-place finish for his efforts.

“That one really stung”, Rocha recalled. “To dominate the race like that, when we have already had bad luck throughout last year, to only being six laps away from the checkered flag with a half-track lead, it almost didn’t seem real. It felt like I was punched in the gut. Until I get back into Victory Lane, that one will linger, especially going back to Kern this weekend. I just have to shake this. We had a good run going at Irwindale. We qualified on the Pole, but we lost power steering during the race. Ron (Strmiska Jr.) and Duane (Sharp) have been bringing me fast cars every race, I just have to be on the right side of the luck.”

Schedule:

4:00 PM SPECTATOR GATES OFFICIALLY OPEN

5:10 PM SPEARS SRL Pro Late Model Series Qualifying

5:30 PM Spears Manufacturing Modified Series Qualifying

6:00 PM SPEARS Southwest Tour Series Qualifying

6:15-6:45 PM Autograph Session

7:00 PM Opening Ceremonies

SPEARS SRL Pro Late Model

Monster Truck Demo #1

Spears Manufacturing Modifieds

Monster Truck Demo #2

SPEARS Southwest Tour Series

Drag-a-Boat Destruction Race

Monster Truck Demo #3

INDEPENDENCE DAY FIREWORKS

Broadcast: The event will be shown LIVE on SpearsRacing.TV and on a delayed basis on MAVTV.

Celebrating its twenty fourth season in 2024, the SPEARS Southwest Tour Series is a regional stock car series competing on paved ovals in the southwestern portion of the U.S. “The SPEARS Southwest Tour Series…Where the Champions Race”.

Story: K. Peters, SRL Media

PC: Sal Sigala Jr.