THE CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINTS/BAY CITIES RACING ASSOCIATION CIVIL WAR CONTINUES SATURDAY AT BAKERSFIELD (Torrance, CA, September 4, 2023) The California Lightning Sprint Car Series and Bay Cities Racing Association will square off again in the annual Civil War Series this Saturday night, September 9th, at Scott Schweitzer’s Bakersfield Speedway. The race will be round three of four in the series and the second on “The West’s Fastest 1/3 Mile High Banked Clay Oval.” Spectator gates will open at 4:00 p.m. and the first race of the night will take the green flag at 6:00. The CLS fired the first salvo in the series when Yucca Valley’s Jeff Dyer and Palmdale’s Eric Greco placed first and second in round #1 at Bakersfield on June 3rd. BCRA drivers Greg Dennett of Livermore and Dakota Albright of Waterford placed third and fourth, respectively. 2022 CLS Rookie of the Year Connor Speier of Fillmore rounded out the top five. The second round of the yearly series, which took place on August 16th, had a historic twist as it was the first time lightning sprints raced at the Ocean Speedway in Watsonville. BCRA turned the tables on the CLS when Colorado Springs driver Chris Crowder, driving the BCRA #3F car owned by Brian Fonseca and Samantha Sproull, emerged victorious in the main event. Five-time CLS champion Bobby Michnowicz took the second-place spot with Dennett and Albright third and fourth. Aiden Lange of Lakewood finished in fifth. Going into this week’s race, CLS has three drivers in the top five in Civil War Points. However, BCRA stars Dennett and Albright hold down the top two spots. Dennett leads Albright by two points in the championship hunt. Greco is third and only trails Dennett by eight points. Michnowicz is fourth with Speir and Lange tied for fifth. In the season long CLS championship chase, Michnowicz, who is seeking his first series title since 2017, leads Greco by 73 points with six races left this year. Yucca Valley’s Dyer is third. “Rockstar” Jon Robertson of Torrance and Speir are fourth and fifth. After a March 18th rainout, the CLS has made three appearances at Bakersfield in 2023. Those races have produced three different winners. San Diego’s AJ Bender notched the first one on April 18th. Six weeks later on May 6th, Michnowicz captured the main. As mentioned above, Dyer won the third one which was also round #1 of the Civil War Series on June 3rd. After only two races in the past three months, the CLS schedule gets busy in September. After Saturday’s race at Bakersfield, the 29-year-old club will hit Jim Naylor’s Ventura Raceway on the 23rd. The following Saturday, September 30th, it will travel north for the Wayne Albright Memorial and the final round of the Civil War Series at Doug Lockwood’s Merced Speedway. In addition to the Civil War battle being waged by the CLS and BCRA, Pro Stocks, Dwarf Cars, Western Midget Racing Series, Hard Tops, Mini Stocks, and NMRA ¾ Midgets will also be in action at Bakersfield. Spectator gates will open at 4:00 p.m. with racing at 6:00. Adult tickets are $18.00. Seniors 65 and over and military with proper ID get in for $16.00. Kids 6-12 are $10.00 and children 5 and under are free. Parking is free. The track is located at 5001 North Chester Ext. Ave., Bakersfield (93308). The track website is http://www.bakersfieldspeedway.com/ and the office phone number is (661) 393-3373. The following companies are marketing partners with the CLS in 2023. Hoosier Tires West, T-Shirts By Timeless, Extreme Mufflers, RacingJunk.com, Advanced Racing Suspension, King Racing Products, BR Motorsports, EZ Up, RC Fuel Injection, and Triple X. If you or your company would like to be a marketing partner with the CLS, please contact Jon Robertson using the contact information at the top of this release. To keep up with the CLS online, please visit the website at http://racecls.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/californialightningsprints 2023 California Lightning Sprint Car Series Point Standings 1. Bobby Michnowicz, Lomita, CA … 1253 2. Eric Greco, Palmdale, CA … 1180 3. Jeff Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA … 998 4. Jon Robertson, Torrance, CA … 948 5. Connor Speir, Fillmore, CA … 862 6. Aiden Lange, Lakewood, CA … 766 7. Seth Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA … 727 8. Pat Kelley, Chino, CA … 661 9. AJ Bender, San Diego, CA … 611 10. Brent Sexton, Lakeside, CA … 591 CLS vs BCRA Civil War Standings 1. Greg Dennett, BCRA … 246 2. Dakota Albright, BCRA … 244 3. Eric Greco, CLS … 238 4. Bobby Michnowicz, CLS … 211 5. Connor Speir, CLS … 206 5. Aiden Lange, CLS … 206 7. Jon Robertson, CLS … 183 8. Chris Crowder, BCRA … 140 9. Jeff Dyer, CLS … 135 10. Brent Sexton, CLS … 101 2023 CLS vs SWLS Best of the West Standings 1. Bobby Michnowicz, Lomita, CA, CLS … 666 1. Eric Greco, Palmdale, CA, CLS … 602 3. Jeff Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA, CLS … 535 4. Brent Sexton, Lakeside, CA. SWLS … 490 5. Connor Speir, Fillmore, CA, CLS … 447 5. Jon Robertson, Torrance, CA, CLS … 447 7. Seth Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA, CLS … 438 8. Pat Kelley, Chino, CA, CLS … 403 9. Cody Griggs, Lakeside, CA, SWLS … 299 10. Robbie Brockman, El Cajon, CA, SWLS … 280 2023 California Lightning Sprint Car Series Schedule March 10 Imperial Raceway CLS/SWLS “Best of the West” Round #1 AJ Bender March 11 Imperial Raceway CLS/SWLS “Best of the West” Round #2 Braden Chiaramonte March 18 Bakersfield Speedway CLS With USAC Western Midgets Rained Out April 1 Mohave Valley Raceway CLS/SWLS “Best of the West” Round #3 Brent Sexton April 8 Bakersfield Speedway CLS AJ Bender May 13 Ventura Raceway CLS With USAC 360 Sprint Cars Bobby Michnowicz May 20 Bakersfield Speedway CLS/SWLS “Best of the West” Round #4 Bobby Michnowicz June 3 Bakersfield Speedway CLS/BCRA “Civil War Series Round” #1 Jeff Dyer June 17 Ventura Raceway CLS/SWLS “Best of the West” Round #5 Bobby Michnowicz July 8 Ventura Raceway CLS Bobby Michnowicz August 19 Ocean Speedway CLS/BCRA “Civil War Series” Chris Crowder September 9 Bakersfield Speedway CLS/BCRA “Civil War Series” Round #3 September 23 Ventura Raceway CLS September 30 Merced Speedway CLS/BCRA “Civil War Series” Round #4, Wayne Albright Memorial Non Wing October 14 Mohave Valley Speedway CLS/SWLS “Best of the West” Round #6 With USAC/CRA Sprint Cars October 28 Ventura Raceway CLS November 14 Bakersfield Speedway CLS With USAC National Midgets November 16 Placerville Speedway “Hangtown 100” No Points Non Wing November 17 Placerville Speedway “Hangtown 100” No Points Non Wing November 18 Placerville Speedway “Hangtown 100” No Points Non Wing 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, 2022 David Gasper This press release was produced by Scott Daloisio Sports (909) 226-7768 mailto:sdaloisiosports@gmail.com