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FAMILIAR FACE RETURNS AND ONE DEBUTS IN CLS BAKERSFIELD RACE
(Torrance, CA, June 7, 2022)
A couple of familiar faces will enter the fray when the California Lightning Sprint Car Series visits Scott Schweitzer’s Bakersfield Speedway this Saturday night. Indio’s James Turnbull will be returning to the series for the first time this year and teenager Seth Dyer will make his series debut.

In 2021, Indio, California resident Turnbull led the CLS championship standings in the early part of the season. He won a main event at the Merced Speedway and ended up third overall in points last year. Since the end of the 2021 season, he has been working on a 410 sprint car to race in the USAC/CRA Series.

Saturday Turnbull will be driving the #41 CLS car owned by Bakersfield’s Mike Schweitzer. The seat came open as Schweitzer’s regular driver, A.J. Bender will be competing in the USAC/CRA race at Ventura. Thus far in 2022, the CLS has visited Bakersfield three times, and Bender has driven the #41 to two wins there. He also drove it to a victory at Placerville with the Bay Cities Racing Association.

“Turnbull had a really fantastic year in 2021 and if all the planets would have aligned, he very easily could have won the championship,” CLS president Jon Robertson said. “I think that it’s really good having him back and he is going to be in a top-class car. Bender has won main events in that car and they have a pretty similar driving style. I expect some really good things out of him.”

For Dyer, it will be his first-ever race in a Lightning Sprint Car. The teen has been honing his skill in the Speedway Sprints at Wheel2Wheel Raceway in Victorville, where he had his best finish coming home second on May 21st. The son of veteran racer Jeff Dyer, the teen can always be seen helping his father at the track and is popular with everyone in the pits. For his debut, the Yucca Valley rookie will be driving a car owned by longtime racer Pat Kelley of Chino.

“It is pretty exciting bringing new generations into the sport,” Robertson continued when talking about Dyer. “Seth has cut his teeth on the cars up there at Wheel2Wheel . He has done really great at that track. Having him come in and picking up the pieces to follow in his dad’s footsteps can be a fantastic thing. It is great when you can have the father and son racing on the same track.”

Camarillo’s Cody Nigh comes into the race with a 68-point lead over second-place Jeff Dyer. In seven races this year, Nigh has never finished worse than sixth and has been in the top five, five times. Dyer has been at six of the first seven CLS events in 2022. He started the season with fourth and third-place finishes and has finished second in the last four races. Palmdale’s Eric Greco, who won the last race at Ventura on May 21st, is third and trails Dyer by 13-points. Defending CLS champion David Gasper, who has two wins, is fourth and is only 3-points behind back of Greco. Series leading rookie, Will Browne of Glendora, currently holds down the fifth-place spot. The newcomer’s best outings have been a pair of fourth-place finishes.

While Saturday’s race will be the fourth of the year for the CLS on “The Fastest 1/3 Mile High Banked Clay Oval In The West,” it will be the club’s last time at the track until the final Saturday in September.

After this Saturday’s race, the CLS will have one week off before returning to action at the Ventura Raceway on June 25th.

As well as the CLS, the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, American Stocks, and Tri-State Pro Stocks will also be in action. Gates will open at 4:00 p.m. with racing at 6:00. Adult tickets are $20.00. Seniors 65+ and military get in for $18.00. Kids 6-12 get in for $5.00 and children 5 and under are free. Advance tickets are available at the following link https://www.myracepass.com/events/410736/tickets/. Parking is free. The track is located 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.

California Lightning Sprint Car Series Point Standings
1. Cody Nigh, Camarillo, CA … 831
2. Jeff Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA … 763
3. Eric Greco, Palmdale, CA … 750
4. David Gasper, Santa Barbara … 747
5. Will Browne ®, Glendora, CA … 674
6. Bobby Michnowicz, Oak Hills, CA … 510
7. Pat Kelley, Chino, CA … 502
8. Connor Speir, Fillmore, CA … 479
9. A.J. Bender, San Diego, CA … 366
10. Jon Robertson, Torrance, CA … 327

California Lightning Sprint Car Season Point Standings (with throwaway)
1. Jeff Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA … 772
2. Eric Greco, Palmdale, CA … 757
3. David Gasper, Santa Barbara, CA … 734
4. Cody Nigh, Camarillo, CA … 733
5. Will Browne, Glendora, CA … 614
6. Connor Speir, Fillmore, CA … 481
7. Bobby Michnowicz, Oak Hills, CA … 480
8. Pat Kelley, Chino, CA … 478
9. A.J. Bender, San Diego, CA … 366
10. Jon Robertson, Torrance, CA … 331

CLS vs BCRA “Civil War Series” Points
1. David Gasper – CLS - 142
2. Dakota Albright – BCRA – 126
3. Eric Greco – CLS – 126
4. Will Browne – CLA 116
5. Harlee Aguilera – BCRA – 109
6. Cody Nigh – CLS – 104
7. Greg Dennett – BCRA – 100
8. Hunter Kinney – BCRA – 92
9. Matt Land – BCRA – 89
10. Tim Kinser - 83

The following companies have become marketing partners with the CLS in 2022. They have offered up more than $13,000.00 in contingencies that will be awarded on top of the regular racing purses and they will be paid out throughout the year. Yoshimura R&D, Hoosier Tires West, T-Shirts By Timeless, Extreme Mufflers, Saldana Racing Products, Rod End Supply, Speed Mart, Cold Fire West, West Evens Motorsports, RC Fuel Injection, Jake Swanson Shock Technology, Advanced Racing Suspensions, CSI Shocks, Eibach Springs, Triple X Race Components, King Racing Products, Hyper Racing Products, Rebel Gears, Vahlco Wheels, Wilwood Disk Brakes, Fuel Safe Systems, MPI, Circle Track Performance, E-Z UP, Hepfner Racing, Smith Titanium, and Hoosier Speed.

If you or your company would like to become a partner of the longtime racing organization, contact Jon Robertson via email at mailto:jon.robertson@sbcglobal.net or by calling (310) 367-9050.

2022 California Lightning Sprint Car Series Schedule

March 25 Bakersfield Speedway Winged – Grant Sexton

April 2 Merced Speedway Non-Wing –– Civil War #1 – David Gasper

April 16 Bakersfield Speedway Winged – A.J. Bender

April 30 Ventura Raceway Winged (Make Up Main) David Gasper

April 30 Ventura Raceway Winged – Bobby Michnowicz

May 14 Bakersfield Speedway Winged – A.J. Bender

May 21 Ventura Raceway Winged – Eric Greco

June 11 Bakersfield Speedway Winged

June 25 Ventura Raceway Winged

July 9 Ventura Raceway Winged

July 23 Ventura Raceway Winged

August 26 Silver Dollar Speedway Winged – Civil War #2

August 27 Placerville Speedway Winged – Civil War #3

September 10 Lemoore Raceway Winged

September 24 Bakersfield Speedway Winged – Civil War #4

October 8 Mohave Valley Raceway Winged – With SWLS

October 29 Ventura Raceway Winged

November 15 Bakersfield Speedway Winged – With USAC Midgets - Civil War #5

November 17 Placerville Speedway Non-Wing – With USAC Midgets - No Points

November 18 Placerville Speedway Non-Wing – With USAC Midgets - No Points

November 19 Placerville Speedway Non-Wing – With USAC Midgets - No Points

To keep up with the CLS online, please visit the website at http://racecls.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/californialightningsprints

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, 2021 David Gasper

This press release was produced by Scott Daloisio Sports (909) 226-7768 mailto:sdaloisiosports@gmail.com