TEENAGER TURNBULL LEADS CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINT CAR SERIES INTO BAKERSFIELD SATURDAY – VENTURA ON FOR JUNE 5th AND MOJAVE VALLEY ADDED IN OCTOBER (Upland, CA, May 10, 2021) New point leader James Turnbull will lead the California Lightning Sprint Car Series back to its home track, the Bakersfield Speedway, this Saturday, May 15th, for the fourth race of the 2021 season. In his budding career, it will be the first time the Indio, California based driver has been on top of the CLS points heap heading into a race. Turnbull’s lofty position on top of the standings comes after he posted his first ever CLS win in the Wayne Albright Memorial two weeks ago at the Merced Speedway. The 19-year-old turned in an impressive performance leading the main event green to checkered and holding off legendary five-time CLS champion Bobby Michnowicz over the race’s final laps. The victory was the second of the year in six starts for the Riverside Community College student. In March, he won the POWRi Southwest Lightening Sprint Car main event at Arizona’s Mojave Valley Raceway. While Turnbull leads the point standings, fellow teen Eric Greco of Palmdale is breathing down his neck in second place. The 18-year-old high school student, who won the first race of the year at Bakersfield on March 13th, only trails Turnbull by 12-points. Michnowicz, who lives in Oak Hills, currently occupies third in the championship standings. The top three each have one victory in the first three races of the 2021 campaign. Positions four and five in the standings are currently being held down by series leading rookie Dave Gasper of Santa Barbara and BCRA star Dakota Albright of Waterford. On the very good news front, the CLS will be part of the grand reopening of the Ventura Raceway on Saturday, June 5th. Closed due to COVID worries since March 2019, the Jimmy Naylor promoted track was originally supposed to host the CLS for the first time in 2021 on May 1st. Another piece of good news coming from the desk of CLS President Alex Grigoreas involves a race being added to the 2021 schedule on October 30th at the Mojave Valley Raceway. The Lightning fast 1/3 mile banked clay oval is promoted by past Ascot stock car racing star Ron Meyer. It is located just across the California/Arizona state line, three minutes away from the Colorado River and only 20 minutes south of Laughlin, Nevada. In addition to the CLS, the Modifieds, Sportmods, Pro Stocks, Hobby Stocks, and American Stocks will also be racing at “The West’s Fastest 1/3 Mile High Banked Clay Oval” on Saturday. Fans who would like to attend the race can find the track at 5001 N. Chester Ext., in Bakersfield (93308). The track website is http://www.bakersfieldspeedway.com/ and the office phone number is (661) 393-3373. The pit gate will open at 2:30 p.m., the general admission gate will open at 4:00 and the first race will hit the track at 6:00. Overnight camping is available without hook ups in the track’s north parking lot. County and state COVID restrictions are still in place at the facility. 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/ 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 /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 October 30 Mojave Valley 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