Race Recap: Tyler Tomassi Caps the ARCA West Season at Kern Raceway
Tyler Tomassi runs the No. 51 RBR Engineering Chevrolet at Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway.
Season Finale At Kern
Tyler Tomassi closed his 2026 ARCA Menards Series West campaign Saturday, October 31, at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in Bakersfield, California. In the weather-shortened NAPA Auto Parts 150, Tomassi finished 13th in the No. 51 RBR Engineering Chevrolet, completing every lap run.
Tomassi timed in 17th in qualifying and gained four positions across the shortened event. He was left wanting more: the Rhode Island driver was very happy and excited about the speed and handling of his No. 51 during the race and believed he easily had a top-10 car that night, making the rain cancellation a disappointing way to end the season.
The championship finale was scheduled for 150 laps. Early cautions marked the short-track event before rain moved into the area and brought out the red flag. After a delay of several hours, officials called the race due to weather and recorded the result after 42 laps.
Tomassi completed all 42 laps of the shortened event. His finish brought the ARCA West season to a close after a race day shaped by changing conditions and a reduced distance.
With the finale complete, Tomassi finished the 2026 ARCA Menards Series West season 11th in the overall championship standings, just missing the top 10. It was an extremely impressive result: running on a limited budget and missing several races during the year, his full-time campaign came together race by race.
Weather Shortens The Race
The opening portion of the event included early cautions as Tomassi began the finale at Kern Raceway. Rain arrived early in the race, prompting officials to stop competition under the red flag.
The extended weather delay left the scheduled 150-lap distance incomplete. When conditions prevented the race from continuing, the event was officially shortened to 42 laps.
In the No. 51, Tomassi completed every lap run and finished 13th, moving forward from his 17th-place starting position. The result reflects a full-distance effort over the laps completed, despite the early end to the scheduled finale.
Tomassi was very happy and excited about the speed and handling of his car in the shortened race. He was disappointed by the rain cancellation and thought he easily had a top-10 car that night.
The No. 51 RBR Engineering Chevrolet in action at Kern Raceway.
A Coast-To-Coast Doubleheader
Kern Raceway capped a demanding coast-to-coast weekend for Tomassi. On Friday, October 30, he competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Black’s Tire 200 at Martinsville Speedway, finishing 28th in the No. 69 RAM for MBM Motorsports.
The next day, Tomassi was in California for the ARCA Menards Series West finale. The schedule placed two national-series starts at opposite ends of the country on consecutive days, with the Martinsville truck race followed by the Kern Raceway ARCA event.
Tomassi’s Saturday start concluded his West Series season. The back-to-back appearances added another multi-series milestone to a year that included competition in ARCA West and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
2026 ARCA West Progress
Tomassi’s 2026 ARCA West season included two top-10 finishes before the finale. In June, he placed ninth at Tri-City Raceway. On October 2, he earned a career-best seventh-place finish at The Bullring at Las Vegas.
At Las Vegas, Tomassi drove the No. 72 Mad Rabbit Energy Patch Chevrolet for Strike Mamba Racing. At Kern, he moved into a different entry, driving the No. 51 RBR Engineering Chevrolet for the season finale.
The progression from Tri-City to Las Vegas and then Kern gave Tomassi a series of distinct milestones across the season. His career-best seventh at The Bullring marked a strong result ahead of the final event, while the 13th-place finish at Kern completed his 2026 ARCA West schedule and secured an 11th-place finish in the championship standings.
Closing The ARCA West Season
The NAPA Auto Parts 150 concluded Tomassi’s ARCA Menards Series West campaign. Although weather cut the finale well short of its advertised distance, he finished the event with all 42 laps completed and a 13th-place result after starting 17th.
The season included starts at Tri-City Raceway, The Bullring at Las Vegas, and Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway, with Tomassi recording a ninth, a career-best seventh, and a 13th in the finale. His Kern start also marked the second half of a coast-to-coast race weekend that began at Martinsville.
The final accounting makes the year stand out. Even on a limited budget and with several races missed while the program was assembled race by race, Tomassi closed his 2026 ARCA West season 11th in the overall standings, just outside the top 10.
Follow Tyler’s season updates and trackside coverage in the Tyler Tomassi Racing gallery, or learn more about his racing program on the About Tyler page.
Race Result
- Race Result: 13th
- Qualifying Position: 17th
- Driver: Tyler Tomassi
- Series: ARCA Menards Series West
- Event: NAPA Auto Parts 150
- Track: Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway
- Date: Saturday, October 31, 2026
- Car: No. 51 RBR Engineering Chevrolet
- Distance Completed: 42 of 42 laps run (race shortened by weather)
- Season Finish: 11th in the 2026 ARCA Menards Series West championship standings