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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — As the colorful and massive NASCAR haulers roll into the California hustle and bustle this week for the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway, the small town of Bakersfield — about a two-and-half hour Interstate drive northwest — will proudly perk up too.
Its own racing contributions will be on full display in the NASCAR garages, its latest crop of high-talent exports ready to roll at the speedway.
The 2014 Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick, veteran Cup driver Casey Mears and XFINTY driver Ryan Reed — all Bakersfield bred — will suit up to compete this weekend.
And of course, most of Casey Mears‘ famous racing family — including his dad, Roger, a Baja 1000 and Pikes Peak Hill Climb multi-champion and uncle Rick, a four-time Indy 500 winner — hail from this humble hamlet, too.
NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee Ron Hornaday’s hometown, Palmdale, is an hour southeast of Bakersfield’s oil fields and almond orchards. He raced in the area, too.
This is a blue collar, hard-working and weekend-loving region. It’s the West Coast’s down-home version of “middle America” — hours from the glitz of Hollywood, the tech heads of San Francisco and the famous beaches of San Diego.
And yet it is ironic how the slow pace of Bakersfield daily life is eclipsed by the high-speed distinctions of its many racing natives. They have won a Daytona 500, a NASCAR Sprint Cup championship, Indy 500 rings, IndyCar championships, a Rolex 24 watch, Pikes Peak Hill Climb titles and various USAC crowns.
There may not be a higher concentration of this wide-range of racing success in another single hometown in the country.
“For years, Bakersfield was kind of the butt of the jokes in L.A. on television with the late night shows,” Rick Mears said. “It was a running joke, so that always made it a little sweeter when you put it (Bakersfield) on the map a little bit and could kind of rub it in and say, ‘Hey, what are you talking about? Bakersfield’s not so bad.’
“There is a sense of pride to be able to accomplish those kinds of things and being from there. And now Kevin Harvick doing a similar deal in NASCAR, it’s really cool.”
While surfing — the water or the Web — may characterize other parts of the Golden State, racing is the definitive brand here.
Go-kart tracks, short tracks, Kern County Raceway Park, Bakersfield Speedway. They are typically packed with spectators, and as history has proven, perhaps the “next great thing” behind a wheel.
The former — and famous — Mesa Marin Speedway track here has only recently been leveled and used as foundation for a modern sports complex of softball fields. For decades, the birthplace of NASCAR’s truck series was a West Coast hub and showcase for the region’s racing talent.
“I wouldn’t say the racing community is huge in Bakersfield, but for some reason it’s definitely developed quite a few racers that have gone on to be successful,” said Casey Mears, driver of the No. 13 Geico Chevrolet in the Cup Series.
“I think everybody in Bakersfield is aware of motorsports and aware of what my family has done, and with Harvick winning the championship [in 2014], I’m sure that was huge.
“There’s definitely a following but I wouldn’t say the racing community itself is large. It’s just those that are involved are passionate about it.”
The first family of Bakersfield
Bakersfield residents certainly know Casey Mears grandparents, Bill and Mae Mears, as “beloved regulars.” The two ride their scooters around the downtown riverfront on their way to a nice lunch at one of their favorite haunts. The actual food is truly the least of their pursuits.
This is social exercise.
The Mears are easy to spot because of their wide smiles, friendly handshakes and all the people eager to greet them — either to share some stories or listen to better ones. The couple is bona fide Bakersfield celebrity — their offspring some of racing’s greatest talents.
So it is oh-so perfect that these two — married 70 years now — get all around town via scooters. And every so often, Bill says with a laugh, Mae will make a run right by him, speeding along the way just to keep things interesting.
Their celebrated racing offspring definitely get their competitive edge and need for speed honestly.
The Mears’ loved Bakersfield from the moment they came upon it in 1955 — only a couple years after a major earthquake in the region.
“We came out here and saw how nice it was, so we went back home (to Kansas) and sold everything and came back,” Bill Mears explained, still today a little amused by the adventure of his own story.
“My wife’s aunt sent her mom some money to buy gas for us. We brought them out here to see it and just liked it so well, we said, ‘We’ll go home, give ourselves a couple weeks and we’re coming back.’ And so we did.”
They sold most of their belongings in Kansas and motored West to set up home. Racing was not necessarily any grand vision for this couple that ultimately raised some of the country’s most celebrated champions in Roger and Rick.
“I came out here and I started racing out here and when I quit, the kids started doing it,” Bill Mears explained.
“We always did everything to be together. We did it for family, never expected to do it for racing. That’s why they called it the ‘Mears Gang.’ We were always together, rode motorcycles together, just grew up in the mountains on the weekends. We had a family deal and it just worked out to be unbelievable,” he explained, his voice becoming a little emotional. “It’s just been unbelievable.
“We would go to L.A. and Rick raced motorcycles, but my wife didn’t like him riding. He was winning and everything, but we were afraid he’d get hurt. We went to L.A. and saw a (dune)buggy race, Volkswagens. We watched them race and said to the boys, ‘We’ll build you one of these if you’ll quit racing motorcycles.’ So that’s how it got started.”
He remembers his then-teenage sons working hard during the week to raise money for their weekend racing passion — their fantastic legacies still to be set.
“We were all just racers and went out to local tracks on weekends with friends,” Bill Mears said. “Harvick’s dad came out to our shop and helped us on our first NASCAR pick-up we built. Harvick was just a little kid standing back there watching his dad work on our car.
“Just a group that everybody likes racing. We’d just meet at local tracks on weekends and race. I can’t believe how many local drivers have made it. And Ryan Reed now. It just shows there’s a lot of talent around here.”
Harvick, Reed welcomed back with open arms
A year ago, then-reigning Cup champion Harvick stopped by his hometown to dedicate a YMCA, film a biographical feature for TV, dine with his old friends and supporters, and bask in the love and pride showered upon him by all those fans who remember him when.
People stood in front of the brick YMCA building for hours waiting for a handshake or autograph, eager to cheer his entrance. Many wore “vintage” t-shirts from Harvick’s late-model days.
They remember watching him “when.” And yet for many waiting in line, this was yet another chance to see Harvick, who comes back to town several times a year. His mom, father and sister still live in Bakersfield’s “Oildale” community, or as Harvick said in accepting one of his early NASCAR trophies, “Not bad for an 08-er,” referring to the 93308 zip code for the area.
Harvick, Mears and Reed all went to different high schools and are just different enough in age to represent three distinct Bakersfield eras.
Reed, 22, who drives the No. 16 Ford Mustang for Roush Fenway Racing in the XFINITY Series, considers himself fortunate to have grown up in the town and pursued racing — and to have the Mears and Harvick to look up to.
“For sure this is a racing town,” Reed said of Bakersfield. “And it’s just a really cool thing. The newspaper, the sports writers, it doesn’t matter. In (2014), we finished ninth in the points and they were still doing stories on us. It doesn’t matter if you’ve had a horrible year and they want to know how you’ll get better, or you have a great year and they want to brag about it.
“They are there to support you, and when I go home I always have people coming up to me and saying, ‘Good going.’ They’re just so proud of me. To hear that is really cool.
“And it definitely motivates you.”
Marion Collins, who used to run Mesa Marin where Reed’s father and later, Harvick raced, is still sentimental about what the track meant to the area and how it contributed to the sport.
“We feel really good about all the people that’s come through here,” Collins said. “Kevin (Harvick), (Ron) Hornaday and just a ton of guys from this part of the country.
“At one time, we had the best race track in this part of the country and everyone wanted to come here. Kinda nice to have people come here and then do good things on down the road.”
Harvick couldn’t agree more. And as the Stewart-Haas Racing driver interacts with old friends and former influences in Bakersfield, his pride — their pride — couldn’t be more apparent. Everyone worked in a large confluence to help racing careers.
And it’s been an undeniable success.
“That’s just this town and really the way it’s been since I started racing,” Harvick said. “You develop the relationships through the years.
“That network of people is what made our race teams function well. Getting out there and talking to people, you create friendships and partnerships. You have to put the effort in to make it work.
“I come back here all the time and it would be the same type of turnout whether I was winning or losing. These people have supported me through the years, win lose or draw.
“That’s the type of community it is.”