Phoenix Raceway is still on NASCAR’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule for 2027. Yet there is already some garage chatter about what could happen to one of its races after that. A rumor now has Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in Bakersfield being considered for Phoenix’s spring date in either 2028 or 2029.
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There is no confirmation that NASCAR is planning such a move, but the idea is easier to understand once you look at how the two California tracks fit into NASCAR’s current picture.
“I have been made aware that there are dome [sic] rumors floating about that Phoenix may lose its O’Reilly Series spring date to Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in 2028 & 2029 potentially,” ThreeStrikesRacing posted on Instagram. The account also told readers to “take it with a grain of salt.”
Pay heed to that warning. There’s no announcement from NASCAR, Phoenix Raceway, or Kern Raceway that a race is being moved. In fact, the latest official schedule says the opposite for 2027. Phoenix is set to host the O’Reilly Series on March 13, with another race there during the October Chase weekend.
Phoenix has changed roles for the O’Reilly Series. The track hosted the championship finale in 2025, the last year the series competed under its former name. Jesse Love won that race and the championship. When NASCAR brought the Chase back in 2026, the title fight moved to a nine-race format that ends at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Phoenix did not disappear from the postseason, though. It remains part of the O’Reilly schedule and will host a Chase race in 2027. But it no longer has the one job that made its fall race different from the rest. That leaves room for a different question: does NASCAR eventually need two O’Reilly races at Phoenix?
If one of those dates were ever moved, Kern Raceway would have a case that many other tracks would not. The Bakersfield track is already part of NASCAR’s West Coast system.
The ARCA Menards Series West opened its 2026 season at Kern on Feb. 28 and will return for its finale on Oct. 31. CARS Tour West also races there, while the track runs several NASCAR-sanctioned weekly divisions.
That’s important because Kern would not be starting from zero. NASCAR already has officials, teams and drivers familiar with the facility. The track has also become a regular stop for regional racing rather than an occasional venue trying to break into the sport.
Kern is a half-mile paved tri-oval, so it would give the O’Reilly Series a very different race from Phoenix’s one-mile layout. That could be part of its appeal. A national race at Kern would also put NASCAR’s second-tier series in a market where short-track racing already has a following.
Then there is Kevin Harvick himself. Tim and Lisa Huddleston acquired the facility in 2023 and renamed it Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway. Harvick became part of the leadership group, giving the track a direct connection to one of NASCAR’s biggest recent stars and a driver with deep roots in Bakersfield.
Kevin Harvick and the Huddlestons are also connected to CARS Tour West, which has helped give West Coast racers a more organized touring series. Kern has become one of the tracks supporting that effort.
The push around Kern is not limited to one series, either. In August, seven California tracks announced a new RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car Tour for 2027. Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway is included on that 14-race schedule.
None of this confirms an O’Reilly race. It does explain why Kern keeps coming up when people talk about the future of West Coast NASCAR. The facility is being used more, its regional schedule is growing, and its ownership group has shown a clear interest in building the track’s place in California racing.
There is still a big difference between hosting ARCA West and hosting the O’Reilly Series. Phoenix has been a national NASCAR venue for decades. Kern has not hosted one of NASCAR’s three national series.
There is no public announcement showing that those steps have been approved for an O’Reilly event. That is also why the 2028 and 2029 references should be treated carefully.
There are several ways this could eventually play out. Phoenix could keep both O’Reilly dates. NASCAR could move the spring race to Kern. The spring date could go to another West Coast track. Or Kern could get a national-series race without taking a Phoenix date at all.
The last option may be the most revealing. The rumor could be less about Phoenix being pushed out and more about Kern being viewed as a track worth moving up the NASCAR ladder.
For now, that is as far as the public evidence goes. Phoenix still has its spring O’Reilly race in 2027. Kern’s still at the regional level. But if NASCAR decides it wants another national-series venue in California, Kevin Harvick’s track has already done much of the groundwork needed to enter that conversation.