Buddy Shepherd Drives to Emotional Victory at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway

Bakersfield, CA – It was an emotional weekend for Buddy Shepherd and the Shepherd Racing Team. The Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series was visiting his home track, Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway (CA), and Shepherd was set to honor long-time supporter Harvey L. Hall with a special autographed hood auction to benefit the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) Foundation. As the checkered flag flew over the field Saturday night, Shepherd claimed his fourth series victory worth $7,776 from the purse. But just as importantly, the family raised $4,000 for the hood on their Super Late Model, in honor of Harvey Hall, and for the CJD Foundation.

Shepherd led every lap of Saturday night’s Round #2 of the Spears SRL Southwest Tour season. But what may have looked like an easy victory on paper, was far from it on the track. Shepherd grabbed the lead on the opening stanza but had to deal with a hard charging Dylan Lupton over the first 50 laps of the event. Blaine Rocha also joined the battle, but dropped back, conserving his tires, as the field took the lap 50 halfway break.

The restart saw Shepherd choose the preferred outside groove, placing Lupton and Rocha in the lower line. RaceCals Fast Timer Dylan Zampa took advantage and shot by both Rocha and Lupton on the restart. As Zampa pursued Shepherd, Lupton and Rocha battled over the next 30 laps, with Rocha nosing ahead several times in the less preferred lower line. The battle for third allowed the lead duo to pull away from the four-car pack that also included Dan Holtz and Cale Kanke. On lap 80, Rocha was finally able to wrestle third away from Lupton, as Holtz followed.

By that juncture, Shepherd and Zampa had pulled out to a near six second lead over Rocha. The lead battle saw Zampa within several car lengths of Shepherd throughout the second half. But on lap 87, Zampa had a slight bobble to give Shepherd a one second advantage. As the laps ran down, Rocha began to close on the duo, but time ran out on the Oakdale, CA driver, as Shepherd earned his fourth series victory and second at his home track. Zampa came home a strong second with Rocha, Holtz, and Kanke the top-five.

In Spears Pro Late Model action, Scott Youngren was able to beat his son Nash to take home $2,500 in the “LIUNA 50 presented by Motor City Buick GMC”. The father used the same car his son came home victorious in in the “All-Star Showdown” at Irwindale Speedway (CA) the race prior. 2022 series champion Seth Wise was third followed by season opening winner Kabe Mcclenny and current championship leader Christian Bazen. In Qualifying, Seth Wise set the standard with a lap of 19.742 seconds on the ½-mile raceway.

The Spears Modified Series also ran 50 laps, with Aaron McMorran passing four-time North State Modified Series champion Scott Winters on lap 18 to eventually take the checkered first. Winters was able to hold off a strong effort from Holly Clark to earn the runner-up position. Kevin Vossen and Brian Collins made up the top-five. Earlier, Kyle Jacks set Fast Time for the weekend, timing in with a 19.176 second lap. He dropped out on lap 32, however.

The next event for the Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series and the Spears Modified Series will be at Redwood Acres Raceway in Eureka, CA. It will be the first round of the JM JM ENVIRONMENTAL, INC. Wild West Shootout series and will pay $15,000 to the winner of the Super Late Model event. The event will take place on July 27th.

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: Brian Olsen