BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Kern County Raceway will play host to a bevy of the West Coast’s top super late model competitors during the sixth running of the Winter Showdown 150 on Saturday night.
The Winter Showdown will see 150 laps of competition for the super late model division, with a halfway break at lap 75. Half of the purse will be awarded at that juncture. Championship points will not be awarded until the completion of 150 laps. The leader at lap 75 will earn $5,000, with another $5,000 paid out to the leader at the end of the race, totaling a potential $10,000.
Of the 28 entries, Derek Thorn is the only previous winner of the Winter Showdown currently entered in the race. He claimed the victory in 2017. Other previous winners include Bubba Pollard, Kyle Busch and Ty Majeski.
The race was not held last year due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Preston Peltier will look for his second SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series victory in a row, after winning the Sunrise Ford All-Star Showdown 200 at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway, worth $30,000.
Buddy Shepherd was the pole winner in the 2018 version of the Winter Showdown. He also ran a perfect season in the track’s NASCAR Late Model division in 2016, winning all nine feature events. He will be one to watch after commencing his SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series rookie effort with a fourth-place finish during the Sunrise Ford All-Star Showdown 200.
Cale Kanke will participate in his Sport Mod at the Bristol Dirt Nationals at Bristol Motor Speedway Friday night and then make his way west to Kern County Raceway Saturday morning to qualify for the Winter Showdown in his super late model. Kanke is making the effort in hopes of running the full SRL season.
Cole Moore, the 2019 series champion, will team up with Robbins-White Racing to participate in the Winter Showdown. Linny White and Cole Moore battled down to the last event of 2019, with Moore pulling out a slim 10-point victory in the championship. Moore will take the wheel of the Hamke (formerly Rowdy Manufacturing) Chassis that White drove to the runner-up finish in 2019. Moore will be a teammate to his father John Moore, who is racing with Robbins-White racing in 2021.
Single car qualifying will be followed by three eight-lap qualifying heat races to set the line-up for the feature. The top eight cars in qualifying will draw for position in their heat race, then race for their opportunity to sit on the pole for the prestigious event. The remaining cars will be split into odd and even heat races to set the remainder of the field.
Fans will be allowed to purchase a fan pass at this weekend’s event at the Kern County Raceway’s Box Office. Admission Gates will open at 11 a.m. (PST).
For those unable to attend, the event will be aired live at www.SpearsRacing.TV and on a delayed basis on MAVTV. The SPEARS Modified Series and Kern County Super Stocks are also on the racing card.