On Saturday night, Kole Raz wins an epic battle for his first ARCA West Series victory at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in the MMI Oil Workers 150
BAKERSFIELD, CA. — For most of the second half in Saturday’s MMI Oil Workers 150 at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway, Trevor Huddleston appeared poised to pick up a victory in the first year of his family leasing the facility.
Kole Raz Wins an Epic Battle for His First ARCA West Series Victory at Kern
Kole Raz had different plans.
In his third career ARCA Menards Series West start, Raz chased down Huddleston in the closing laps engaging him in an intense, side-by-side duel. Both drivers refused to pull any punches, with Raz narrowly pulling off the victory after slightly nudging Huddleston out of the groove in the last turn coming to the checkered flag.
Raz did everything possible to fiercely but cleanly race Huddleston to the MMI Oil Workers 150 checkered flag. He admitted being overly aggressive but was thrilled with an ARCA West Series victory so early in his career.
“That was a little bit more rubbing than I obviously wanted,” Raz said. “I hope Trevor knows with how we’ve raced in the past, it’s always been clean. I was just trying to get it there and I was trying to put on a show for the fans.”
Joining Jerry Pitts Racing in 2023 is the Key to Success for Raz
A standout competitor in Super Late Model racing around the West Coast, Raz’s natural talent behind the wheel earned him the chance to drive for Jerry Pitts Racing last year.
Raz has been showcasing maturity and composure In his two appearances behind the wheel of Pitts’ No. 5 Toyota. He kept the car out of trouble at Shasta Speedway and Evergreen Speedway to tally two consecutive third-place finishes.
Raz carries his confidence and experience from 2023 to his first West Series start of the 2024 season. After qualifying in third, Raz patiently bided his time until he gradually started erasing Huddleston’s lead.
The Jerry Pitts Racing car had better drive-off in each set of turns. Yet Huddleston used the high line repeatedly to edge the young driver back to the start-finish line. The advantage for Huddleston ended up being used against him by Raz, who muscled the veteran enough out of the racing line to pull ahead by a race-winning margin of 0.058 seconds.
Trevor Huddleston is Frustrated but Happy that Fans Enjoy the Thrilling Finish
Unhappy with how Raz raced him at the end of the MMI Oil Workers 150, Huddleston expressed his feelings during the cooldown lap. Instead of calling out Raz in his post-race interview, Huddleston found gratification in seeing the loyal crowd at Kern Raceway be entertained by the thrilling battle for the win.
“I’m pretty pissed off, but as long as everyone in the grandstands is happy, I’m happy,” Huddleston said. “We were the car to beat tonight, but we’ll go get them here in Portland and go win this championship.”
Despite being frustrated over how Saturday’s race got away from him, the performance was still Huddleston’s career-best at Kern Raceway. The finish exceeds a third he obtained there in 2023. Huddleston will now use the momentum from Kern Raceway to put together a bid for the West Series title.
The MMI Oil Workers 150 Results
It was exhilarating for Raz to bring home a victory for a long-standing, successful ARCA West Series operation like Jerry Pitts Racing. No matter how many more opportunities he gets with Pitts’ team, Raz intends to make the most of them while gaining the necessary experience to thrive in NASCAR’s top levels.
“It was just really good, hard racing,” Raz said. “I don’t get opportunities like this very much, but I had to capitalize this for Jerry Pitts and Dustin Ash. They haven’t won a race in such a long time and work hard at the shop to bring good quality cars.”
Polesitter Tyler Reif came home in the third position with Sean Hingorani and Nick Joanides rounding out the top five. Eric Nascimento, Kyle Keller, P.J. Pedroncelli, Todd Souza, and Eric Johnson Jr. finish out the top ten.
The ARCA West Series Point Standings
Up Next
Before racing the first road course of the season, the ARCA Menards Series West will take a month-long break. Teams will race at Portland International Raceway on May 31st. FloRacing will carry live coverage of the on-track action.