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TEENAGER TURNBULL
GETS FIRST CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINT CAR SERIES
WIN AND TAKES THE POINT LEAD
(Upland, CA,
April 30, 2021) James Turnbull started on
the pole and led every inch of the way to win the
California Lightning Sprint Car Series/Bay Cities
Racing Association co-sanctioned Wayne Albright
Memorial last Saturday night at the Merced Speedway.
For the 19-year-old, it was his first ever win in
the CLS and it propelled him into the series point
lead as well as the lead in the four race Civil War
Series between the two clubs.
James Turnbull on his way to winning the Wayne
Albright Memorial at Merced Speedway.
Twenty-six cars turned up for the race. Lakewood
teen Aiden Lange made his second appearance of the
year and earned $100.00 for turning in the fastest
lap in qualifying when he stopped the clocks at
14.234. Five-time series champion Bobby Michnowicz
of Lomita was a tick slower in second at 14.248 and
Josef Ferolito was third fastest at 14.291.
The three 10-lap heat races were taken by Hunter
Kinney of Citrus Heights, Corona’s Trevor Ballou,
and Waterford veteran Dakota Albright.
Ferolito won the 12-lap B-Main from the pole to earn
his ticket into the A-Main. Palmdale’s Eric Greco,
Placerville’s Terry Bergstrom and Steve Roza took
the other three transfer spots.
For the main,
Turnbull, who won a POWRi Southwest Lightning Series
race earlier this year in Arizona, was starting on
the pole. However, he had a problem. The nut on the
left rear seized on the axle earlier in the night.
The team could not change the left rear tire, nor
could they move the wheel in or out. In the end,
that worry went unwarranted.
Impressive
teenager Dave Gasper of Goleta started outside of
Turnbull. The second row was made up of Kinney and
Ballou with Michnowicz and Albright in the third set
of two. Once the green waved over the field,
Turnbull moved into the lead with Gasper second.
Early on, Ballou relegated Gasper back to third and
took aim at the leader. However, Ballou and the
remainder of the field had a problem as the
Riverside Community College student was pulling away
out front. By the time the sixth lap was over,
Turnbull had established nearly a full straightaway
lead.
The massive lead was wiped out when
Harlee Aguilera took a nasty tumble in turn one.
That brought out a red. Fortunately, the Orangeville
resident was not injured, and the race resumed after
a short delay. For the restart, Turnbull, in the
Tierra Site Works/Pro Tech Service/Steve Arey
Construction/JD Fire/R&S Drywall/Ebbco
Off-Road/Brisas Air Conditioning/FK Racing
Shocks/WEM/Sherman Racecars/James Yost Title/Dyer
Motorsports/DLX/ZX10 #2J, and fellow teens Ballou
and Gasper occupied the first three spots. Their
ages combined did not equal that of the 57-year-old
shark named Michnowicz, who was lurking just behind
them in fourth.
Following the red flag, the
yellow came out twice and seemed to enjoy the
attention as it was keeping green flag laps to a
minimum. Nothing much changed on the brief green
periods until Gasper knifed his way inside Ballou to
reclaim second with the latter sliding to a stop and
forcing another yellow.
Once the track went
green again, the field put 12-straight laps in the
books and once again, Turnbull pulled away with
Gasper repelling the challenges of Michnowicz and
Albright to hold onto second. It looked like that
was the way it would finish until Roza went around
exiting turn four on lap 20.
The final green
flew with Turnbull ahead of Gasper, Michnowicz,
Albright and Lange. Turnbull opened a four-car
advantage, but that changed with three laps to go.
Michnowicz shot to the inside of Gasper for second.
As soon as he took over the runner-up spot, the “old
shark” seemed to smell blood in the water. He inched
closer to the race long leader and by the time they
came off turn two the final time, he was breathing
down Turnbull’s neck. However, time ran out and
Turnbull had his first ever CLS win. Michnowicz
ended up second with series leading rookie Gasper
third, Albright fourth and Lange fifth.
“I
am super pumped,” the well-spoken winner said after
the race. “We led wire to wire on a very technical
track. One and two was starting to lose grip and I
was sliding ass all over. It was super hard to get
around. Once we started rolling, I got into a
rhythm. I was able to fight Bobby (Michnowicz) off.
So, I am super stoked about that.”
Greco,
who won the season opening race and who came into
Merced as the point leader, was the race “Hard
Charger” finishing eighth after starting 18th.
The top five finishers in the main comprise the
top five spots in the Civil War Series points. The
second of four races in the mini-series will be back
at Merced on August 7th.
The CLS gets the
next two weeks off before returning to action on May
15th at the Bakersfield Speedway. Going into the
event, new point leader Turnbull has a 12-point
advantage over Palmdale’s Eric Greco. Michnowicz
sits third with Gasper and Albright rounding out the
first five.
The CLS would like to thank 2021
series sponsors Hoosier Tires, T Shirts By Timeless,
TJ Forged Racing Wheels, and Walker Performance
Filtration. If you or your company would like to
become part of the series, please call Alex
Grigoreas at (909) 437-3170.
To keep up with
the CLS online, please visit the website at
http://racecls.com/ or on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/californialightningsprints/
Merced Speedway Wayne Albright Memorial Finish
(With Starting Positions)
1. James Turnbull –
Indio, CA – 1st
2. Bobby Michnowicz – Oak Hills,
CA – 5th
3. Dave Gasper - Goleta, CA – 2nd
4.
Dakota Albright – Waterford, CA – 6th
5. Aiden
Lange – Lakewood, CA – 11th
6. Seth Hespe –
Snohomish, WA – 15th
7. Jeff Dyer – Yucca Valley,
CA – 13th
8. Eric Greco – Palmdale, CA – 18th
9. Chase Gaal – O’Neals, CA – 16th
10. Brandon
Leedy – Placerville, CA - 9th
11. Dominic Del
Monte – Gardena, CA – 8th
12. Greg Dennett –
Livermore, CA - 10th
13. Hunter Kinney – Citrus
Heights, CA – 4th
14. Terry Bergstrom –
Placerville, CA – 19th
15. Josef Ferolito – 17th
16. Trevor Ballou – Corona, CA – 3rd
17. Steve
Roza – 20th
18. Cody Nigh – Camarillo, CA – 12th
19. Danika Parker – Oakdale, CA – 7th
20. Harlee
Aguilera – Orangeville, CA – 14th
2021
California Lightning Sprint Car Series Point
Standings
1. James Turnbull – Indio, CA – 365
2. Eric Greco – Palmdale, CA – 353
3. Bobby
Michnowicz – Oak Hills, CA – 290
4. Dave Gasper ®
– Santa Barbara – 288
5. Dakota Albright –
Waterford, CA - 244
6. Jeff Dyer – Yucca Valley,
CA – 220
7. Trevor Ballou – Corona, CA – 211
8. Jeremy Queener – Chino, CA - 198
9. Dominic
Del Monte – Gardena, CA – 197
10. Greg Dennett –
Livermore, CA – 182
10. Aiden Lange – Lakewood,
CA – 182
CLS/BCRA Civil War Series Point
Standings
1. James Turnbull – CLS – 135
2.
Bobby Michnowicz – CLS – 133
3. Dakota Albright –
BCRA – 121
4. Dave Gasper – CLS – 119
5. Aiden
Lange – CLS – 112
6. Seth Hespe – WASH – 107
7. Jeff Dyer – CLS – 98
8. Chase Gaal – CLS – 88
9. Eric Greco – CLS – 85
10. Brandon Leedy – BCRA
83
2021 California Lightning Sprint Car
Series Schedule
March 13 Bakersfield Speedway
– Eric Greco
April 10 Bakersfield Speedway –
Bobby Michnowicz
April 24 Merced Speedway
(Wayne Albright Memorial - Round #1 of the Civil War
Series with BCRA – Wingless) – James Turnbull
May 15 Bakersfield Speedway
June 5
Ventura Raceway
June 19 Keller Auto Speedway
(Hanford)
July 3 Santa Maria Speedway
July 24 Santa Maria Speedway (Wing Madness #1)
August 7 Merced Speedway (Civil War Series #2
with BCRA – Winged)
August 14 Bakersfield
Speedway
August 28 Santa Maria Speedway
September 4 Ventura Raceway
September 18
Bakersfield Speedway (Civil War #3 with BCRA –
Winged)
September 19 The Dirt Track At Kern
County Raceway Park
September 25 Santa Maria
Speedway (Wing Madness #2)
October 2 Ventura
Raceway
November 16 Bakersfield Speedway
(Civil War #4 with BCRA – Winged and Western States
Lightning Sprint Car Championship)
November
18 Placerville Speedway Hangtown 100 – (Co
sanctioned with BCRA and in companion with the USAC
National Midgets)
November 19 Placerville
Speedway Hangtown 100 – (Co sanctioned with BCRA and
in companion with the USAC National Midgets)
November 20 Placerville Speedway Hangtown 100 – (Co
sanctioned with BCRA and in companion with the USAC
National Midgets)
The schedule is subject to
change due to Covid restrictions.
PAST CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONS
1994 Tony Everhart, 1995
Gary Sexton, 1996 Rob Sczymczak, 1997 Jon Rahe, 1998
Chris Rahe, 1999 Brent Sexton, 2000 Greg Bragg, 2001
Greg Bragg, 2002 Greg Bragg, 2003 David Cardey, 2004
Keith Janca, 2005 Johnny Bates, 2006 Donny Gansen,
2007 Shane Rossen, 2008 Brent Sexton, 2009 Stuart
Hielschier Sr., 2010 Jarrett Kramer, 2011 Tim Brown,
2012 Bobby Michnowicz, 2013 Stephen Limon, 2014
Bobby Michnowicz, 2015 Bobby Michnowicz, 2016 Bobby
Michnowicz, 2017 Bobby Michnowicz, 2018 Jarrett
Kramer, 2019 Jarrett Kramer.
This press release was produced by Scott Daloisio
Sports (909) 226-7768 mailto:sdaloisiosports@aol.com |
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