James Lowe Stays Perfect at Kern Raceway with Dominant Late Model Win

The Bootleg Racing League’s Late Model Invitational Series rolled into Kern Raceway for Round 2 of Season 32, with sixteen drivers ready to tackle the high-banked half-mile for one hundred laps of tire-conserving chaos. The grid was set by an inversion of the top thirteen finishers from the previous round, putting veterans and champions deep in the field and promising plenty of action from the drop of the green flag.

John Wilson started from pole, joined on the front row by Chris Haizlip, with Bruce Pearson and Tom Hilbert filling out the second row. The field behind them was stacked — Round 1 winner James Lowe rolled off from seventh, defending champion Kurt Smith from ninth, and former champion Aiden Young from twelfth. Series rookie contender Kyle Feimster lined up in eleventh, eager to prove his strong debut was no fluke.

The opening laps were surprisingly clean, though Joe Segalla’s spin across the start/finish line immediately tested the nerves of the pack. No yellow was thrown, and the race stayed green as Wilson used the inside line to surge ahead early. Pearson and Chris Davis followed close behind, but all eyes were on James Lowe, who sliced through the pack like a man possessed. By lap 20, Lowe was already hunting down the leaders, showing the pace and patience that won him the season opener.

Bruce Pearson played the long game, backing off to save his tires, while rookie Feimster impressed by moving up several positions, challenging the veterans. The first caution finally flew when Haizlip got loose and tagged the wall, scattering debris. Under yellow, Feimster kept his composure in his live interview, calmly stating that his plan was to conserve tires until the final thirty laps — a strategy that proved wise as tire wear became the story of the night.

On the restart, Wilson held serve for a moment, but Lowe’s relentless charge couldn’t be contained. As Davis struggled on the outside, Lowe slipped through to take second, then set his sights on Wilson. The pair fought hard for several laps, trading lines and braking points, before a second caution — triggered by contact between the 52 and 8 machines — froze the field with Lowe just ahead. When the green returned, the outcome felt inevitable.

From that point forward, James Lowe was untouchable. The #99 machine rocketed away from the field, building a gap that grew lap after lap. Behind him, the battle for second heated up as Aiden Young, who had started deep in twelfth, came alive in the final quarter of the race. Saving his tires early, Young methodically reeled in Feimster, making the decisive pass for second with ten laps remaining. Feimster, in just his second start, held strong for a career-best third, though his worn tires left him hanging on by the end.

Further back, defending champion Kurt Smith rebounded to a solid fifth-place finish, while Bruce Pearson clawed his way to sixth after an early spin and lost bodywork. Adam Schoen, Ryan Senneker, Chris Davis, and Darryl Wineinger rounded out the top ten, each surviving their share of close calls in a race that surprisingly went the distance with minimal cautions. Pole-sitter John Wilson’s night unraveled after leading early, eventually finishing fifteenth, while Segalla’s early crash ended his race before it could truly begin.

When the checkered flag waved, it was James Lowe once again standing tall — two-for-two to start the season, with both wins earned in commanding fashion. “I still had plenty of tire left,” Lowe remarked afterward, a confident statement that will send shivers through the rest of the field. As the series leaves Kern, it’s clear that if anyone wants to stop Lowe’s streak, they’ll need more than speed — they’ll need a flawless night and a perfect strategy to match his pace and composure.

With back-to-back victories, Lowe has quickly established himself as the man to beat as the Late Model Invitational Series heads into Round 3 at the legendary Irwindale Speedway. The question now is whether anyone — perhaps Young with his renewed pace, or the steady veteran Smith — can rise to the challenge and slow Lowe’s momentum before he turns Season 32 into his personal victory tour.