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KEVIN MICHNOWICZ
DOMINATES ROUND #3 OF THE CIVIL WAR CHALLENGE SERIES
AT BAKERSFIELD SPEEDWAY
(Upland, CA,
September 24, 2021) The drivers in the
California Lightning Sprint Car Series have a simple
message for Kevin Michnowicz. STAY HOME! Making his
first appearance in over two years at round #3 of
the “Civil War Series” last Saturday night at the
Bakersfield Speedway, the son of five time series
champion Bobby Michnowicz made shambles of the
competition leading the second half of the 25-lap
main and winning by over a half straightaway.
Kevin Michnowicz photo
courtesy of Lance Jennings.
A strong field of 24-cars showed up for the race on
“The West’s Fastest 1/3 Mile High Bank Clay Oval.”
The first thing on the agenda was qualifying and
recent high school graduate Aiden Lange of Lakewood
topped the speed charts with a lap of 12.908. Bobby
Michnowicz was second quickest when he stopped the
clocks with a time of 12.961. Newcomer Don Hart of
Campo turned in the third fastest time of 13.028.
Longtime BCRA veteran Dakota Albright of Waterford
snatched the first heat over Kevin Michnowicz and
Lange. The second eight-lapper also went to BCRA
when Placerville’s Terry Bergstrom outdistanced the
field. Ventura’s Robb Pelmear crossed under the
checkers in second with Bobby Michnowicz third.
“Rockstar” Jon Robertson of Torrance held up the
flag for the CLS when he won heat three in front of
Camarillo’s Cody Nigh and CLS leading rookie David
Gasper of Santa Barbara.
For the main event, kids from the crowd did a redraw
for the top six starting spots. Kevin Michnowicz
ended up on the pole with three-time 2021 winner
Eric Greco on the outside. Bobby Michnowicz was
starting directly behind his son on the inside of
row two. Yucca Valley’s Jeff Dyer started next to
the five-time champion. Row three featured Gasper
and Lange.
When the green flag came out to start the 25-lapper,
Greco bolted into the lead with Kevin Michnowicz and
Dyer second and third. The Palmdale teen immediately
built a good size lead that he maintained even as he
got into lapped traffic on lap eight. Kevin
Michnowicz closed the gap a bit when the lappers
became involved, but Greco, who was seeking his
fourth win of the year and his second in a row, was
still in full command.
Two of the pre-race
favorites, Bobby Michnowicz, and fast qualifier
Lange, were sidelined early in the race due to
mechanical ills.
Things up front stayed the same until the 13th go
around when Greco got into the lapped car of Rancho
Cucamonga’s Brent Owens in turn three. Greco
continued on, but Owens slid to a stop. Gasper, who
had nowhere to go, got into Owens and tipped over.
That brought out the red flag. Fortunately, neither
driver was injured.
When the yellow light came back on and the cars were
starting to line up, CLS officials sent Greco back
two spots to third for rough driving. That put Kevin
Michnowicz in the lead for the restart with Dyer
second. Greco, San Diego’s A.J. Bender and Albright
rounded out the top five. As soon as the green flag
started the race again, Michnowicz pulled away.
Greco dropped to the inside in turn one in an
attempt to move up to second, but Dyer, running on
the wide line, fought him off.
A yellow flew again on
lap 19 when Bender had a tire go down. During that
caution period, Gasper headed back to the pits with
a flat right rear tire.
The final green flag of
the race waved, and it was a replay of the last
restart. Michnowicz, in his T Shirts By
Timeless/Pflum & Wagner/Outlaw Wings/Super Shox/Guhl
Performance/Honda #21K, motored away to a commanding
lead. It became quickly apparent at that time that
the only way he was going to lose the race is if A:
he had mechanical issues or B: he got into a tangle
with another car. A: never happened. B: Nearly did!
As he was coming off turn four and heading for the
checkers on the last lap, Michnowicz got into the
side of a lapped car and bobbled. Fortunately, he
recovered and flashed over the finish line with room
to spare. Dyer finished second equaling his best CLS
finish of 2021. Greco took the third spot with point
leader James Turnbull of Indio fourth. Bergstrom was
the top finishing BCRA car when he crossed under the
checkers in fifth. Another BCRA driver,
Placerville’s Brandon Leedy, was the race “Hard
Charger” moving up a whopping 15 places from 22nd on
the start to 7th on the finish.
Greco assumed the lead in the “Civil War Series and
leads Gasper by one-point heading into the finale at
Bakersfield on November 16th. Turnbull is third with
BCRA’s Leedy moving up to fourth. Dominic Del Monte
rounds out the top 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/
Bakersfield Main Event Results (with starting
position)
1. Kevin Michnowicz –
Carson, CA – 1st
2. Jeff Dyer – Yucca
Valley, CA – 4th
3. Eric Greco – Palmdale,
CA – 2nd
4. James Turnbull –
Indio, CA – 14th
5. Terry Bergstrom –
Placerville, CA - 8th
6. Dakota Albright – Waterford, CA - 7th
7. Brandon Leedy –
Placerville, CA – 22nd
8. Jon Robertson –
Torrance, CA – 9th
9. Cade Lewis –
Bakersfield, CA – 15th
10. Pat Kelley – Chino, CA - 21st
11. Dale Gamer – Anaheim, CA – 18th
12. A.J. Bender – San
Diego, CA – 13th
13. Dave Gasper – Santa
Barbara, CA – 5th
14. Brent Owens – Rancho
Cucamonga, CA – 20th
15. Robb Pelmear –
Ventura, CA – 10th
16. Don Hart – Campo, CA
– 11th
17. Bobby Michnowicz –
Oak Hills, CA – 3rd
18. Cody Nigh –
Camarillo, CA – 23rd
19. Aiden Lange –
Lakewood, CA – 6th
20. Mark Henry –
Rosamond, CA – 12th
21. Chase Gaal – O’Neals,
CA - 17th
22. Dominic Del Monte –
Gardena, CA – 16th
23. Josef Ferolito – 19th
Lap Leaders: Greco 1-12,
Kevin Michnowicz 13-25
California Lightning Sprint Car Series Points
1. James Turnbull – Indo,
CA – 1157
2. Eric Greco – Palmdale,
CA – 1099
3. David Gasper ® – Santa
Barbara, CA – 1026
4. Jeff Dyer – Yucca
Valley, CA – 917
5. A.J. Bender – San
Diego, CA - 823
6. Dominic Del Monte –
Gardena, CA – 813
7. Bobby Michnowicz – Oak
Hills, CA – 759
8. Jon Robertson –
Torrance, CA – 718
9. Aiden Lange –
Lakewood, CA – 661
10. Pat Kelley – Chino,
CA - 631
CLS/BCRA Civil War Series Point Standings
1. Eric Greco – CLS - 336
2. Dave Gasper – CLS –
335
3. James Turnbull – CLS –
325
4. Brandon Leedy - BCRA –
297
5. Dominic Del Monte –
CLS - 247
6. Terry Bergstrom – BCRA
– 240
7. Dakota Albright - BCRA
– 227
8. Bobby Michnowicz – CLS
– 1226
8. Jeff Dyer - CLS – 226
10. Aiden Lange – CLS -
215
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 – Eric Greco
September 18 Bakersfield Speedway (Civil War #3 with
BCRA – Winged) – Kevin Michnowicz
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@gmail.com |
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