CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINT CARS AT VENTURA RACEWAY THIS SATURDAY (Upland, CA, August 23, 2021) Thanks to Ventura Raceway promoter Jim Naylor, the California Lightning Sprint Car Series will be in action at “The Best Little Dirt Track in America,” this Saturday night, August 28th. It will be race nine for the series this year and the second of four on the picturesque track located adjacent to the beach on the Ventura County Fairgrounds. The CLS was originally slated to race at the Santa Maria Raceway on Saturday, but when the track ceased operations two weeks ago, it left a hole on the schedule. CLS official Dick Hindman contacted Naylor after the cancelation and the longtime track promoter graciously agreed to host the CLS on the night. Also on the program will be the VRA Sprints, VRA Senior Sprints, Dwarf Cars, IMCA Modifieds, WMR Midgets, IMCA Mod Lites and TQ Midgets. In the only other appearance of the CLS at Ventura this year, San Diego’s A.J. Bender won the main event. It was the second of his current series leading three main event victories in 2021. Yucca Valley’s Jeff Dyer, James Turnbull of Indio, five-time series champion Bobby Michnowicz of Oak Hills and Lakewood’s Aiden Lange rounded out the top five on that night. A.J. Bender photo courtesy of Lance Jennings. Turnbull goes into Saturday’s race with a healthy 70-point lead over series leading rookie Dave Gasper in the championship point standings. Gasper was in second late in the race at Santa Maria on July 24th when his left rear wheel came off. The setback did not haunt the Santa Barbara teenager for long as two weeks later, he won his first ever CLS main event in the “Civil War Series” at the Merced Speedway. Following Turnbull and Gasper in the top five in points going into this week’s race are Palmdale’s Eric Greco, who has two wins this year, Michnowicz, who has one win and Gardena’s Dominic Del Monte. For fans who would like to attend Saturday’s race on “The Best Little Dirt Track In America,” spectator gates will open at 3:30 and the first race will be at 5:30. The track is located on the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 W. Harbor Boulevard (93001). The website is http://venturaraceway.com/ and the office phone number is (805) 648-RACE. 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 – 917 2. Dave Gasper ® – Santa Barbara, CA – 847 3. Eric Greco – Palmdale, CA – 836 4. Bobby Michnowicz – Oak Hills, CA – 694 5. Dominic Del Monte - Gardena, CA – 678 6. Jeff Dyer – Yucca Valley, CA – 672 7. A.J. Bender – San Diego, CA – 623 8. Jon Robertson - Torrance, CA – 548 9. Aiden Lange - Lakewood, CA – 486 10. Pat Kelley - Chino, CA - 471 CLS/BCRA Civil War Series Point Standings 1. Dave Gasper – CLS – 259 2. James Turnbull – CLS – 213 3. Eric Greco – CLS – 212 4. Dominic Del Monte – 204 5. Brandon Leedy - BCRA – 202 6. Hunter Kinney – BCRA – 195 7. Josef Ferolito - BCRA – 157 8. Aiden Lange – CLS – 152 9. Danika Jo Parker – BCRA – 151 10. Bobby Michnowicz – CLS - 133 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 – A.J. Bender June 5 Ventura Raceway – A.J. Bender June 19 Keller Auto Speedway (Hanford) – Postponed due to heat. July 3 Santa Maria Speedway – Eric Greco July 24 Santa Maria Speedway (Wing Madness #1) Santa Maria – A.J. Bender August 7 Merced Speedway (Civil War Series #2 with BCRA – Winged) – Dave Gasper August 28 Ventura Raceway September 18 Bakersfield Speedway (Civil War #3 with BCRA – Winged) September 19 The Dirt Track At Kern County Raceway Park October 2 Ventura Raceway October 30 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