CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINT CAR SERIES MAKES MOHAVE VALLEY RACEWAY DEBUT THIS SATURDAY (Torrance, CA, October 2, 2022) For the first time in its 28-season history, the California Lightning Sprint Car Series will be racing at the Mohave Valley Raceway this Saturday night, October 8th. The race on the fast 1/3 mile banked clay oval will be co-sanctioned by the Lucas Oil POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Cars. Spectator gates at the track located minutes away from the Colorado River and only 20 minutes from downtown Laughlin, will open at 5:30 with racing at 7:00. San Diego's A.J. Bender will be looking for his fourth lightning win of the year Saturday at Mohave Valley. Doug Allen Photo. Going into the race, talented Santa Barbara teenager David Gasper carries an 80-point lead in the championship standings. After a slow start to the 2022 campaign, the defending series champion and last year’s “Rookie of the Year,” has won seven of the last 15 races. Included in those victories is a win at the last series race in Bakersfield two weeks ago and a four-race winning streak that stretched from early June through late July. Palmdale’s Eric Greco, who scored his lone win of the year on May 21st at Ventura, is second in the championship standings. Camarillo’s Cody Nigh and CHP officer Jeff “Ponch” Dyer of Yucca Valley, are ranked third and fourth and are only separated by two points. They are both seeking their first victories in 2022. Veteran Bobby Michnowicz of Oak Hills, the five-time series champion, is fifth in points. Michnowicz is second in series wins with three. His last two triumphs came back to back at the Placerville Speedway and the Lemoore Raceway in August and September. San Diego’s A.J. Bender, the only other driver with more than one win in the CLS in 2022, will be on hand and will be doing double duty on Saturday driving on the lightning sprint portion of the program and the USAC/CRA 410 side of the show. Driving the Schweitzer #41 out of Bakersfield, Bender has three lightning sprint wins in 2022. Two of his triumphs have come with the CLS at the Bakersfield Speedway. The other came at the Bay Cities Racing Association opening race of the year at the Placerville Speedway in March. Rookie Connor Speir of Fillmore, Grant Sexton of Lakeside, and his father Brent Sexton, each have one win this season. Speir, who is second to Will Browne in the Rookie of the Year race, and Brent Sexton will both be appearing on the lightning portion of the program. Grant Sexton will be competing with the USAC/CRA Sprint Cars. In addition to the lightning sprints and USAC/CRA, dwarf cars and vintage sprints will also be on the track on Saturday. The Mohave Valley Raceway is located at 2750 E. Laguna Road, Mohave Valley, Arizona. The track website is https://www.mohavevalleyraceway.com/ and the office phone number is (928) 346-3000. The track is a cash-only facility with no ATM on site. California Lightning Sprint Car Series Point Standings 1. David Gasper – 1796 2. Eric Greco – 1716 3. Cody Nigh – 1601 4. Jeff Dyer – 1599 5. Bobby Michnowicz – 1487 6. Will Browne – 1280 7. Connor Speir – 1256 8. Jon Robertson – 1026 9. Pat Kelley – 973 10. Dominic Del Monte – 696 Civil War Series Point Standings 1. David Gasper – CLS – 514 2. Eric Greco – CLS – 451 3. Bobby Michnowicz – CLS – 433 4. Will Browne – CLS - 420 5. Cody Nigh – CLS – 385 6. Greg Dennett - BCRA - 383 7. Dakota Albright – BCRA – 358 8. Harlee Aguilera – BCRA – 331 9. Matt Land – BCRA – 329 10. Brandon Leedy – BCRA - 302 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 – David Gasper 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