Possibly the biggest storyline across all of west coast racing was the sudden relocation of Bakersfield Speedway, a home track of the California Lightning Sprints since its inception. Bakersfield Speedway has called Oildale California home for the last 80 years, until recently moving all operations across town to Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway. A complete remodel of the track, including new grandstands, Suites and fencing will elevate the fan experience. The Turn two wall was moved to widen the racing grove, allowing for more passing, and a wider racing groove and multiple changes to the infield where done to improve racing.These changes will be without a doubt the biggest challenge for teams to face, beginning this weekend.”“The track is much bigger, everyone will be around the bottom line just based off of the way the corners are shaped” Eric Greco explains. “The new track looks bigger. I haven’t seen it in person yet, but we know the challenge will be to focus on corner exit and not binding the car up in the center” Lange said. Alongside California Lightning Sprints the Ultimate Sprint Car Series, and the Quick Change Energy WRS 305 Sprint Cars will also make their debut at the new Bakersfield Speedway as well.

After a long off season, plenty of changes have been made, not only the calendar, but also the rulebook. Hoosier Tire, the longstanding exclusive tire manufacturer of the California Lightning Sprints now has new competition with American Racer joining the series, becoming a very controversial topic among teams. “The American Racer tires seem smaller and softer than the Hoosiers, so we’ll have a wider variety of setup tools to play with,” Lange explained. In a more simplified term, the addition of the American Racer tires will give teams more opportunities to perfect the handling and speed of their race cars. “Changing to American Racers would be too costly to justify, and the performance is still unknown” Greco proclaimed. Both Hoosier Tire West and American Racer Southwest have declared bonuses to drivers who finish the highest that are utilizing each respective brand’s tires across all 4 corners of the car. 

Viewers can watch California Lightning Sprints this Saturday at the new and improved Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway this Saturday. General admission Gates Open at 4 pm, with racing at 6 pm. Every lap will also be broadcasted live on FloRacing. 

Ryan Greco can be reached at [email protected].