CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINTS HEAD TO BAKERSFIELD FOR ROUND #4 OF THE CIVIL WAR SERIES (Torrance, CA, September 19, 2022) The California Lightning Sprint Car Series and the Bay Cities Racing Association will square off in round #4 of the annual Civil War Series this Saturday night, September 24th, at Scott Schweitzer’s Bakersfield Speedway. Led by defending Civil War champion David Gasper, CLS drivers hold down the top five spots in the standings heading into Saturday’s show on “The West’s Fastest 1/3 Mile High Banked Clay Oval.” Gasper opened the 2022 Civil War Series with a win at the Merced Speedway on April 2nd. The Santa Barbara 16-year-old followed that up with fourth and eighth place finishes at the Silver Dollar and Placerville Speedways at the end of August. That gives him a 31-point lead over Palmdale’s Eric Greco with one event to go in the mini-series after this week’s race. Glendora rookie Will Browne is third in Civil War Series points with Bobby Michnowicz of Oak Hills and Cody Nigh of Camarillo rounding out the top five. Spots six through 10 in the standings belong to BCRA drivers Greg Dennett of Livermore, Orangevale’s Harlee Aguilera, Dakota Albright of Waterford, Elk Grove’s Matt Land, and Placerville’s Brandon Leedy. Round #3 of the series saw impressive rookies Connor Speir of Fillmore and Browne cross the line side by side in a thrilling finish. Speir took his first series win by a mere .088 over Browne. Greco and Gasper placed third and fourth. BCRA’s Cody Meyer of Placerville rounded out the top five. The following night on the red clay at Placerville, five-time CLS champion Michnowicz captured the victory in the 25-lap main event ahead of his nephew Nigh, Albright, Speir, and Dennett. In addition to leading Greco in the civil war series, Gasper also leads him by 48 points in the season-long CLS championship race. Nigh is ranked third and is followed by Yucca Valley’s Jeff Dyer and Michnowicz. Saturday will be the fifth of six races for the CLS at Bakersfield in 2022. Gasper won the last race there on June 11. San Diego’s A.J. Bender won the April 16th and May 14th races driving for Bakersfield local Mike Schweitzer. Bender has commitments elsewhere with the USAC Western Midgets on Saturday, so Schweitzer’s car will be driven by CLS main event winner James Turnbull of Indio. Lakeside’s Grant Sexton won the track’s season opener on March 25th. As well as the Civil War Series, the Modifieds, Sport Mods, and Stock Cars 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. For kids 6-12 it is just $10.00 and children 5 and under are free. Advance tickets are available at the following link https://www.myracepass.com/events/394488/tickets/. 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. Parking is free. After Saturday’s race at Bakersfield, the CLS will make its first-ever appearance at Arizona’s speedy 1/3 mile Mohave Valley Raceway on October 8th. California Lightning Sprint Car Series Point Standings 1. David Gasper – 1657 2. Eric Greco – 1609 3. Cody Nigh – 1515 4. Jeff Dyer – 1474 5. Bobby Michnowicz – 1354 6. Connor Speir – 1204 7. Will Browne – 1193 8. Jon Robertson – 965 9. Pat Kelley – 932 10. Dominic Del Monte – 656 Civil War Series Point Standings 1. David Gasper – CLS – 375 2. Eric Greco – CLS – 344 3. Will Browne – CLS – 333 4. Bobby Michnowicz – CLS - 300 5. Cody Nigh – CLS – 299 6. Greg Dennett - BCRA - 282 7. Harlee Aguilera – BCRA – 263 8. Dakota Albright – BCRA – 244 9. Matt Land – BCRA – 239 10. Brandon Leedy – BCRA - 236 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 – Brent Sexton August 26 Silver Dollar Speedway Winged – Civil War #2 – Connor Spier August 27 Placerville Speedway Winged – Civil War #3 – Bobby Michnowicz Sept. 10 Lemoore Raceway Winged – Bobby Michnowicz Sept. 24 Bakersfield Speedway Winged – Civil War #4 October 8 Mohave Valley Raceway Winged – With SWLS October 29 Ventura Raceway Winged Nov. 15 Bakersfield Speedway Winged – With USAC Midgets - Civil War #5 Nov. 17 Placerville Speedway Non-Wing – With USAC Midgets - No Points Nov. 18 Placerville Speedway Non-Wing – With USAC Midgets - No Points Nov. 19 Placerville Speedway Non-Wing – With USAC Midgets - No Points *Non Points Race 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