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DAVID GASPER WINS FOURTH STRAIGHT LIGHTNING SPRINT
CAR RACE
(Torrance, CA, July 25, 2022)
Two weeks ago when the California Lightning Sprint
Car Series visited Jim Naylor’s Ventura Raceway,
it took 23 laps for David Gasper to take the lead
and win the main event. Last Saturday night at
Ventura, it only took until turn two on the
opening lap for Gasper to grab the top spot and
then walk away for his fourth consecutive series
win. The triumph gave the personable teen six wins
in 11 CLS starts in 2022.
Winner David Gasper surrounded by second-place
finisher Jeff Dyer (left) and third-place Cody
Nigh. CLS photo.
Fourteen CLS drivers
showed up for the race on the 1/5-mile oval on the
pleasant night. Among the 14 were three champions
who account for 33% of the titles in the clubs
first 27-years. They were Bobby Michnowicz of Oak
Hills, who has five titles, three-time champion
Jarett Kramer of Spring Valley and defending king
Gasper.
Yucca Valley’s Jeff Dyer was the
fastest of the 14 in West Evans Motorsports
Qualifying with a time of 12.246. Just a breath
behind in second was Camarillo’s Cody Nigh who
stopped the clocks at “The Best Little Dirt Track
in America” with a 12.260 lap. Gasper was third,
and right behind the lead duo at 12.316.
After starting third in the Extreme Muffler
eight-lap heat race, Gasper steered his Kittle
Motorsports/Certified Construction/Rattlesnake
Ridge/Valley Precision Products/Martin Roofing/B2
Design/Hyper Race Cars/Saldana Race Products #18
to the win over Dyer and Michnowicz. Kramer, who
was driving a team car owned by fellow series
champion Michnowicz, thumped the field in the CSI
Shocks heat race winning by nearly ½ track over
“Rockstar” Jon Robertson of Torrance and
Palmdale’s Eric Greco.
The lineup for the
11th CLS main event of the 2022 season saw Nigh on
the pole with Gasper alongside. Ventura local Robb
Pelmear sat on the inside of the second row with
Dyer, who in nine previous CLS starts this year
had only finished out of the top four once, next
to him. Kramer and Gasper staffed row three.
When the field set sail, Nigh and Gasper were
side-by-side into turn one. As they came off turn
two, Gasper planted the “Kittle Blue” #18 into the
lead. Nigh, Dyer, and Greco were second through
fourth at the end of the first circuit. Michnowicz
ended up being the biggest mover on lap one when
he used the outside to go from eighth to fifth.
Gasper immediately put some distance between
himself and the competition. He continued to move
away until a lap seven yellow flag came out when
Pelmear spun in turn two. The top five was in the
exact same order for the restart as it was at the
end of the opening circuit.
Once the race
restarted, Dyer pushed his #4 to the inside of
Nigh coming off turn two. He got a drive and took
over the second-place spot. While Dyer was passing
Nigh, Michnowicz went another route. He took to
the outside and passed Greco for fourth entering
turn one on lap eight. By the time Dyer and
Michnowicz advanced their positions in the
standings, the hard driving teen at the point had
already begun reconstructing his previous
advantage. By the time lap nine rolled around, it
was nearly a half straightaway again.
Chris Kornder waved the second yellow flag of the
event on lap 12 and once again, it briefly brought
all the competition to Gasper’s rear end for the
restart. This time the top five was a little
shuffled up with Dyer second, Nigh third,
Michnowicz fourth and Greco fifth. With Gasper
gapping the field like usual when the race
restarted, Michnowicz continued his march forward
by passing Nigh for third on lap 13. However, that
would prove to be the series all-time leading
winners last hurrah on the night. His car seemed
to slow on lap 16 and coming off turn two on the
17th go around, he fell dramatically off the pace
bringing out a yellow flag. His night was done due
to an overheating engine. To make matters worse
for the team, a few laps from the finish, Kramer,
who was in fourth, slowed in turn four and rolled
to a stop with a blown fuse.
It was
obvious that the only thing that could have beaten
Gasper on the night was a tsunami rolling off the
Pacific Ocean. Fortunately, that did not happen
and Gasper won the main event by nearly a half
straightaway. Dyer maintained second with Nigh not
far behind in third. Gardena’s Dominic Del Monte
equaled his season best finish when he crossed the
line in fourth. Greco ended up fifth.
Ventura’s Josh Hackett, making his third start
with the CLS, won the Speed Mart/Advance Racing
Suspension/Hepfner Racing Products Hard Charger
Award coming home eighth after starting 14th.
Gasper increased his point lead to 39 markers.
Dyer, who had gone from leading the points to
third, moved up to the runner-up position with his
second place finish. Greco is third but is only
two points behind Dyer. Nigh sits fourth with his
uncle, Michnowicz, in fifth.
Despite
missing the race waiting to get his engine back,
Will Browne of Glendora remains the leader in the
Rookie of the Year chase. Fillmore’s Conner Speir,
who dropped out of the main event early and
finished 14th, is second to Browne. Despite his
misfortune in the main, he cut Browne’s advantage
to 40-points.
The CLS returns to action a
week from Saturday on August 6th at the highly
anticipated reopening of the Santa Maria Raceway.
CLS officials are still collecting lap money for
that race and three laps are still available. If
you would like to purchase a lap (s), they are
$50.00 each. You can use the contact information
in this release for Jon Robertson to confirm
payment or ask any questions.
After Santa
Maria, the CLS is off until August 26th and 27th
when the club journeys north to battle the BCRA on
two of its local tracks, the Silver Dollar
Speedway in Chico, and the Placerville Speedway.
In addition to being the next two point paying
races for the CLS, those two events will be rounds
two and three of the annual Civil War Series.
Ventura Raceway July 23, 2022, Results
West Evens Motorsports Qualifying: 1. Jeff Dyer,
12.246, 2. Cody Nigh, 12.260, 3. Dave Gasper,
12.316, 4. Eric Greco, 12.331, 5. Dominic Del
Monte, 12,417, 6. Jarrett Kramer, 12.444, 7. Robb
Pelmear, 12.501, 8. Jon Robertson, 12.656, 9. Pat
Kelley, 13.064, 10. Seth Dyer, 13.483, 11. Dale
Gamer, 13.500, 12. Connor Speir, 13.519, 13. Bobby
Michnowicz, 20.236, 14. Josh Hackett, No Time
Extreme Muffler Heat Race #1: 1. David Gasper,
2. Jeff Dyer, 3. Bobby Michnowicz, 4. Robb
Pelmear, 5. Dominic Del Monte, 6. Dale Gamer, 7.
Pat Kelley
CSI Shocks Heat Race #2: 1.
Jarrett Kramer, 2. Jon Robertson, 3. Eric Greco,
4. Cody Nigh, 5. Seth Dyer, 6. Josh Hackett,
7.Connor Speir
25-Lap Main Event (With
Starting Positions) 1. David Gasper, Santa
Barbara, CA, 2nd 2. Jeff Dyer, Yucca Valley,
CA, 4th 3. Cody Nigh, Camarillo, CA, 1st
4. Dominic Del Monte, Gardena, CA, 9th 5. Eric
Greco, Palmdale, CA, 6th 6. Pat Kelley, Chino,
CA, 10th 7. Jon Robertson, Torrance, CA, 7th
8. Josh Hackett, Ventura, CA, 14th 9. Dale
Gamer, Anaheim, CA, 11th 10. Seth Dyer, Yucca
Valley, CA,13th 11. Jarrett Kramer, Spring
Valley, CA, 5th 12. Bobby Michnowicz, Oak
Hills, CA, 8th 13. Robb Pelmear, Ventura, CA,
3rd 14. Connor Speir, Fillmore, CA, 12th
Lap Leaders: David Gasper, 1-25
Speed
Mart/Advanced Racing Suspension/Hepner Racing
Products Hard Charger: Josh Hackett, 14th-8th
Ventura Raceway July 23 Contingency Awards
Heat Race #1 – Extreme Muffler $50.00 Product
Certificate – David Gasper
Heat Race #2 –
Yoshimura R& D - $50.00 CSI Product Certificate –
Jarrett Kramer
Saldana Racing Wild Card
Award - $50.00 Saldana Race Products Certificate-
Bobby Michnowicz
1st Place Main Event -
Eibach Springs $100.00 Product Certificate – David
Gasper
2nd Place Main Event - Vahlco
Wheels $50.00 Product Certificate – Jeff Dyer
3rd Place Main Event - Jake Swanson Shock
Technology $50 Product Certificate – Cody Nigh
4th Place Main Event – Hyper Chassis $50
Product Certificate – Dominic Del Monte
5th
Place Main Event – Smith Titanium $50.00 Product
Certificate – Eric Greco
8th Place Main
Event – BT Motorsports $25.00 Product Certificate
– Josh Hackett
10th Place Main Event – King
Racing Products $25.00 Product Certificate – Seth
Dyer
Fast Qualifier - West Evans
Motorsports $25.00 Product Certificate – Jeff Dyer
Hard Charger - Speed Mart $25.00 Product
Certificate – Josh Hackett
Hard Charger -
Advanced Racing Suspension $50.00 Product
Certificate – Josh Hackett
Hard Charger –
Hepfner Racing Products $25.00 Product Certificate
– Josh Hackett
Hard Luck Award – Speed Mart
$25.00 Product Certificate – Connor Speir
1st Car Not On The Lead Lap – Rebel Gears 30% Off
Coupon - Seth Dyer
California Lightning
Sprint Car Series Point Standings 1. David
Gasper, Santa Barbara, CA, 1273 2. Jeff Dyer,
Yucca Valley, CA, 1234 3. Eric Greco, Palmdale,
CA, 1232 4. Cody Nigh, Camarillo, CA, 1155
5. Bobby Michnowicz, Oak Hills, CA, 944 6. Will
Browne, Glendora, CA, 854 7. Pat Kelley, Chino,
CA, 822 8. Connor Speir, Fillmore, CA, 814
9. Jon Robertson, Torrance, CA, 699 10. Dominic
Del Monte, Gardena, CA, 656
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 – David Gasper
June 25
Ventura Raceway Winged – David Gasper
July
9 Ventura Raceway Winged – David Gasper
July 23 Ventura Raceway Winged – Dave Gasper
August 6 Santa Maria 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 |
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