BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway hosts the 11th running of the Jason Leffler Memorial on Tuesday night, featuring the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets competing for an increased winner’s share of $12,500 with the bump in the purse coming courtesy of Durst, Inc.
The Jason Leffler Memorial honors the memory of the four-time USAC national driving champion and resumes after a one-year hiatus. The event previously held in Illinois moves to Leffler’s home state.
Leffler captured USAC National Midget titles in 1997-1998-1999 and also scored the 1998 USAC Silver Crown championship.
Among his 19 career USAC National Midget feature wins are the 1997 Belleville Nationals, the 1997 Hut 100, the 1999 Copper World Classic, the 2002 Night Before the 500 and the 1999 & 2005 Turkey Night Grand Prix. He is also an inductee of the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame and the USAC Hall of Fame.
No previous winners of the Jason Leffler Memorial are entered, ensuring a new victor out of the red hot field of drivers expected to compete, including recent USAC Golden State Invasion winners Daison Pursley (Placerville), Cannon McIntosh (Merced) and Logan Seavey (Merced).
Two drivers with recent winged sprint car success at Kern Raceway are expected in action, with 2025 World of Outlaws feature winner Buddy Kofoid and 2023 NARC feature winner Corey Day expected to compete.
Two-time Bakersfield Speedway USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget winner Seavey of Sutter, Calif., takes his talents 20 miles west in 2025 to the new speedway. Surprise, Ariz.’s Drake Edwards is another driver with a victory at Kern on his resume, claiming a USAC Western Midget feature in 2024.
Two-time Kern USAC Western States Midget winner Jake Andreotti of Castro Valley, Calif. will also be in the field after winning twice at the track in 2023.
Championship contenders such as Oklahoma’s McIntosh, Ione, California’s Justin Grant, Kevin Thomas Jr. from Alabama, and Jacob Denney of Ohio will be gunning for a critical victory in the series’ penultimate race.
NASCAR Cup Series driver Ty Gibbs is expected along with popular multi-faceted driver Kaylee Bryson. West Coast standouts are headlined by Carson Macedo, a 58-time winner with the World of Outlaws. Other Californians include Bakersfield’s own Jett Yantis and Broedy Graham, and Riverside’s Dane Culver.
Tuesday’s event is also the 9th annual Western States Championship for the California Lightning Sprints.
Jason Leffler Memorial Entry List
00 Jake Andreotti
4 Steven Snyder Jr.
4K Corey Day
4R Ronnie Gardner
4y Jett Yantis
11 Kaylee Bryson
14 Kevin Thomas Jr
14JB Jakeb Boxell
14JR Connor Speir
17A Drake Cardey
17NZ Mathew Radisich
19AZ Hayden Reinbold
20Q Brecken Reese
25 Karter Sarff
27x Kyle Jones
31 Michael Pickens
31B Jake Swanson
43 Gunnar Setser
57 Logan Seavey
63 Cale Coons
66 Broedy Graham
67 Jacob Denney
68 Michael Faccinto
71 Buddy Kofoid
71K Cannon McIntosh
73 Dane Culver
81 Ty Gibbs
83 Drake Edwards
86 Daison Pursley
87 Justin Grant
97 Gavin Miller
97K Kale Drake
98K Brandon Carr
99AU Carson Macedo
