CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINTS RETURN TO BOBBY MICHNOWICZ’S PLAYGROUND, THE VENTURA RACEWAY, SATURDAY (Torrance, CA, September 18, 2023) There is bad news brewing for the competitors in the California Lightning Sprint Car Series heading into this Saturday night’s race at Jim Naylor’s Ventura Raceway. The bad news is that five-time series champion Bobby Michnowicz will be on hand. In the first three races for the CLS at the beautiful track located on the beach at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, Michnowicz has emerged victorious each time. To make matters more stomach-churning for the competition, he won the last 2022 race at the track in October. In fact, the last time any lightning sprint car driver not named Bobby Michnowicz won at Ventura was on July 9, 2022, when the affable driver had car issues and two-time series champion David Gasper took the victory. After an off-season for him in 2022, Michnowicz has rebounded nicely this year. Seeking his sixth CLS championship, he has won four of the first 11 CLS races. His only other victory this season came at the Bakersfield Speedway on May 20th. Even though he has been the driver to beat all season long, Palmdale’s Eric Greco is second in the standings and only trails Michnowicz, who has been racing for more than a half century, by 68 points in the championship standings. While the young driver is still looking for his first win of the campaign, Greco has placed in the top five eight times this season. He has been a podium driver at all three races at Ventura with two third-place finishes and a fourth. Third spot in the championship standings is “Rockstar” Jon Robertson of Torrance. Enjoying his best-ever lightning sprint car season, Robertson has three top fives to his credit this year. One of those came at Ventura the last time the CLS stopped by on July 8th. California Highway Patrol Officer Jeff Dyer of Yucca Valley is currently fourth but looks to be out for the rest of the year due to a torn Achilles tendon that he had surgery on two weeks ago. The veteran driver placed second to Michnowicz the last two times the CLS visited Ventura. Rounding out the top five is CLS sophomore Connor Speier of Fillmore. The 2022 Rookie of the Year has a fifth, a seventh, and a 10th at Ventura in 2023. Among the others to be on hand on Saturday are Lakewood’s Aiden Lange and Ventura local Cody Nigh of Camarillo. Lange got a late start to the season, but in seven races he has four top-five finishes. A pair of third-place results highlight his season, the second of which came at Ventura on July 8th. Nigh, who grew up at the Ventura Raceway, has made six CLS starts this year and has not finished worse than sixth. He has been in the top five in all five of his other starts with a season best second at Bakersfield on May 20th. At Ventura, he placed fourth, fifth, and sixth. Joining the CLS on Saturday will be the VRA Dwarf Cars, VRA Hobby Stocks, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, and Motorcycles. Spectator gates will open at 3:00 p.m. and the first race will be at 5:30. Adult tickets are $18.00. Seniors 60 and over, military members, and students with ID get in for $15.00. Children 12 and under are free when they are accompanied by a paid adult. The track is located on the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 W. Harbor Boulevard (93001). The website is http://venturaraceway.com/  and the office phone number is (805) 648-RACE. 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 … 1365 2. Eric Greco, Palmdale, CA … 1297 3. Jon Robertson, Torrance, CA … 1038 4. Jeff Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA … 998 5. Connor Speir, Fillmore, CA … 964 6. Aiden Lange, Lakewood, CA … 875 7. Seth Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA … 798 8. Cody Nigh, Camarillo, CA … 710 9. Pat Kelley, Chino, CA … 661 10. AJ Bender, San Diego, CA … 611 CLS vs BCRA Civil War Standings 1. Greg Dennett, BCRA … 378 2. Eric Greco, CLS … 355 3. Dakota Albright, BCRA … 333 4. Bobby Michnowicz, CLS … 323 5. Aiden Lange, CLS … 315 6. Connor Speir, CLS … 308 7. Jon Robertson, CLS … 273 7. Chris Crowder, BCRA … 273 9. Leland Day, CLS … 165 10. Seth Dyer, CLS … 153 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 Chris Crowder 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/SWLS Best of The West Round #7 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