The CARS Tour has been active since 1997 and is currently in the middle of its 30th season. However, during its tenure, the series has been plagued by a few glaring issues. One of them has to do with prize money distribution to race winners and other participants. Apparently, it used to be hugely inconsistent in the past, but now it has been addressed, thanks to Kevin Harvick.

Many in the zMax CARS Tour community are grateful to Kevin Harvick

Harvick has been heavily involved in the CARS Tour and is very passionate about grassroots racing. As a matter of fact, many drivers credited his involvement in bringing renewed attention to West Coast racing. This is likely because he has also been the owner of the Kern Raceway since 2023. Additionally, in the same year, Harvick and Tim Huddleston launched the West Coast division for the CARS Tour.

The general idea was to highlight the West Coast’s short track scene. Needless to say, some have taken notice, and one of them is 2025 Limited Late Model champion Dylan Zampa. He told Short Track Scene, “It’s definitely great for the West Coast side of things. When Kevin came along three years ago and took over with Tim, I felt like it was really good. The Limited Late Model stuff really took off, and that was kind of the main thing over here. Then Pro Late Models and Supers followed soon after; I feel it’s really good for the sport.”

Thanks to Harvick’s efforts in the grassroots arena, the car counts have increased in the Super Late Model division. Not only is Zampa the 2025 champion, but he is also a Western short track veteran. According to him, since the takeover in 2023, the biggest change has been a more consistent purse structure. This is significant because it helps the series stick around in the long run and encourages larger fields.

How bad was the situation before?

Zampa revealed that in the past, the purse would fluctuate. This was evident when he raced on the Southwest Tour, where the purse ranged from as high as $15,000 to as low as $7,000. In terms of other elements, the rest is similar, namely, technology, rules, tires, and more.

It also helps that Harvick and his son Keelan compete in the series pretty often, bringing the star power. This helps rake in the crowds who want to catch a glimpse of a driver of Harvick’s caliber. Similarly, people will also want to see the next generation of drivers make their mark on the Late Model arena and progress up the ranks.

Dylan Zampa wasn’t the only one praising Harvick, though. 2025 Super Late Model champion Jace Hansen said, “He’s definitely brought a lot more enthusiasm back to West Coast racing. Especially for Super Late Model racing. Bigger payouts in this series make it easier for guys like us to travel a couple of states away and come here every week.

Their schedule is lenient towards people who travel. They only have one race a month; sometimes there’s a whole month off. I mean, there are a couple of times this year that there are two races in a month, but that’s the way they planned it; they did a good job with that.”

Sure, some sacrifices were made, like the loss of tracks like Mesa Marin Raceway, Saugus Speedway, and Irwindale Speedway. However, many feel that the future of West Coast racing is still bright. Some have noted that the Late Model competition is stronger than ever before. Thanks to Kevin Harvick spearheading things, there are more opportunities for local racers to make a name for themselves on the West Coast.