Kern County 160 Celebrates 160 Years of Local Racing History

Kevin Harvick's Kern County Raceway hosts a night of racing and demolition derby to mark the county's milestone anniversary.

Mar. 14, 2026 at 1:34am

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Kevin Harvick's Kern County Raceway in Bakersfield, California will host the Kern County 160 event on Saturday night, celebrating 160 years of Kern County history with multiple races and a demolition derby. The event is part of the new owners' efforts to restore the raceway as a premier racing destination and reintroduce it to local residents.

Why it matters

The Kern County 160 event aims to elevate the profile of local racing in the region and draw more visitors to the raceway, which is seen as an important economic generator for the county through increased sales tax and hotel tax revenue.

The details

Since purchasing the raceway in 2024, co-owner Tim Huddleston and his group have been working to improve the facility and restore Kern County as a premier racing destination. They plan to add 1,000 more grandstand seats later this year. NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick, who is from Bakersfield, says the long gap between the demolition of the previous Mesa Marin raceway and the opening of the new facility led to a decline in local racing popularity, which the new owners hope to reverse.

  • The Kern County 160 event will take place on Saturday, March 14, 2026.
  • The raceway was purchased by the current ownership group in 2024.

The players

Kevin Harvick

A NASCAR Cup Series champion who is from Bakersfield and has lent his name to the Kern County Raceway.

Tim Huddleston

The co-owner of the Kern County Raceway who says he and his group have been working to restore the facility as a premier racing destination.

David Couch

A Kern County Supervisor who is excited about the growth of the raceway, seeing it as an important economic generator for the county.

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What they’re saying

“We strive someday to have a top-three national series event here at Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway. We're working hard every day. We're improving the place. Last year, we added 1000 more grandstands. Later on this year, we're going to try to add 1000 more over there. We are literally going to do everything we can.”

— Tim Huddleston, Co-owner, Kern County Raceway (turnto23.com)

“I think a lot of people just weren't reintroduced to the facility when it was, when it was new, and the racing was actually happening out here. So, you know, it's important for us to be able to let people know that the track is here and how nice of a facility that it actually is, to be able to come out here and enjoy all the events that we put on throughout the year.”

— Kevin Harvick (turnto23.com)

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

The Kern County 160 event represents an effort to revive local racing enthusiasm and position the Kern County Raceway as an important economic driver for the region, drawing visitors and generating tax revenue through increased sales and hotel stays.