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GRECO WINS
VENTURA MAIN EVENT AND TAKES CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING
SPRINT CAR SERIES POINT LEAD
(Upland, CA, October 5, 2021) Eric Greco
only led two laps of the main event at the Ventura
Raceway last Saturday night, but they were the
most important two and they propelled him to the
win in the 25-lap California Lightning Sprint Car
Series main event. In addition to it being his
series leading fourth victory of the year, it also
shot him into the CLS point lead for the first
time since April.
Eric Greco won his
fourth CLS main event of the year at Ventura.
Lance Jennings photo.
Escaping what is
hopefully the last SoCal triple digit heat wave of
2021, the CLS gathered at the track that is
located about a 9-Iron shot from the Pacific
Ocean. As always, the location supplied great
relief from the thermometer busting inland
temperatures. One thing that was still hot on the
day was the racing. First on the agenda for the
night was qualifying and when it was all said and
done, Gardena’s Dominic Del Monte was the quickest
of the group with a time of 12.117. Santa Barbara
rookie David Gasper turned in the second fastest
lap when he toured “The Best Little Dirt Track in
America” in 12.131. Greco, who won the main event
the last time the CLS was at Ventura on August
28th, was third in qualifying at 12.243.
“Rockstar” Jon
Robertson of Torrance, who is having his best
season in the CLS, captured the first eight lap
heat race over Greco and Ventura local Robb
Pelmear. Rosamond’s Mark Henry bested the field in
the second heat when he beat Yucca Valley’s Jeff
Dyer and series point leader James Turnbull to the
checkered flag.
The dash, which
determined the starting spots for the first three
rows of the main event, was up after the heat
races. Henry again outdistanced the competition
and won the six lapper which earned him a ticket
on the pole for the 25-lap feature. Dyer placed
second and started next to Henry. Row two was made
up of Pelmear and Greco with Ken Coulston of
Bermuda Dunes and Gasper in row three.
Once the main began, it
was all Jeff Dyer. The veteran driver set off as
soon as the green flag flew and seemed to have the
victory under lock and key. He lapped all the way
up to the fifth-place car and it certainly looked
like he was going to grab his first win of the
year. However, disaster struck on lap-24 and
Dyer’s victory was snatched away by the jaws of
defeat when he lost his clutch! That handed the
lead, with less than two laps to go, to Greco, who
was wheeling the Janssen’s Floor and Fabric
Care/Sidewaze Designs/Greco Family/Competition
Suspension Inc/Henchcraft/ZX10R #8. The
appreciative teen took full advantage of the
opportunity presented and led the last 23 seconds
of the race for his fourth win in 2021. Gasper,
who won the previous race at the Kern County
Raceway, finished second with Coulston getting his
best ever CLS finish when he came home third.
Pelmear and Robertson rounded out the top five. A
frustrated Dyer ended up sixth. Gasper was the
race “Hard Charger” after starting sixth.
Turnbull, who had led
the points for five months, had a forgettable
night starting with an electrical problem that
prevented him from qualifying. In the main he was
clobbered by a lapper when he was attempting to
pass for third. The young driver forged on, but
the electrical issue reared its ugly head again
forcing him to drop out and thus, relinquish the
point lead.
The CLS now has three
weekends off before returning to Ventura on
October 30th. Going into that event, new point
leader Greco will have a slim, eight-point
advantage over Turnbull in the championship
standings. Gasper is third and is only 69-points
off the lead with five races to go in the season.
Dyer and Robertson are fourth and fifth,
respectively.
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/
Ventura Raceway Main
Event Finish (with starting positions)
1. Eric Greco –
Palmdale, CA – 4th
2. David Gasper – Santa
Barbara, CA – 6th
3. Ken Coulston –
Bermuda Dunes, CA – 5th
4. Robb Pelmear –
Ventura, CA – 3rd
5. Jon Robertson –
Torrance, CA – 7th
6. Jeff Dyer – Yucca
Valley, CA – 2nd
7. Dale Gamer –
Anaheim, CA – 11th
8. Pat Kelley – Chino,
CA – 12th
9. James Turnbull –
Indio, CA – 8th
10. Mark Henry –
Rosamond, CA – 1st
11. Dominic Del Monte –
Gardena, CA – 9th
12. Cody Nigh –
Camarillo, CA – 10th
Lap Leaders: Jeff Dyer
1-23, Eric Greco 24-25
Hard Charger: David
Gasper
California Lightning
Sprint Car Series Points
1. Eric Greco –
Palmdale, CA – 1364
2. James Turnbull -
Indio, CA – 1356
3. David Gasper ® –
Santa Barbara, CA – 1295
4. Jeff Dyer – Yucca
Valley, CA – 1132
5. Jon Robertson –
Torrance, CA – 937
6. Dominic Del Monte –
Gardena, CA – 901
7. A.J. Bender – San
Diego, CA - 823
8. Aiden Lange –
Lakewood, CA – 795
9. Bobby Michnowicz –
Oak Hills, CA – 759
10. Pat Kelley – Chino,
CA - 749
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 – David Gasper
October 2 Ventura
Raceway – Eric Greco
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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