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MICHNOWICZ WINS
THE MAIN EVENT AND TAKES THE CLS POINT LEAD AT
BAKERSFIELD (Torrance, CA, April 23,
2024) When it comes to racing, nothing
can be worse for the competition than seeing the
G.O.A.T. on the pole for the main event. That is
exactly what happened in the California Lightning
Sprint Car Series when it visited the Bakersfield
Speedway for round #4 of the 2024 season last
Saturday night. Six-time series champion Bobby
Michnowicz started on the pole, led all 25 laps,
and jumped into the series point lead.
Fifteen cars showed up for the second race for the
CLS on its home track in 2024. Michnowicz got
things started off right when he set the fastest
qualifying time with a speedy lap of 13.031. The
second quickest on “The West’s Fastest 1/3 Mile
High Banked Clay Oval,” was California Highway
Patrol Officer Jeff Dyer who sped to a 13.285.
Palmdale’s Eric Greco was third best when he
recorded a 13.289.
Six-time CLS Champion Bobby Michnowicz after
setting fast time at Bakersfield. CLS Photo.
The only blemish on Michnowicz's record on the
night came when two-time series champion David
Gasper of Santa Barbara and BCRA regular Hunter
Kinney of Whitney beat him to the checkered flag
in the first eight-lap heat race. Yucca Valley’s
Dyer captured the second heat ahead of Camarillo’s
Cody Nigh and BCRA star Greg Dennett of Livermore.
However, the victory was a costly one for Dyer as
when he exited the final corner, the #4 rod
vacated the engine ending his night.
When
the CLS rolled onto the track for its main event,
six-time series champion Michnowicz was on the
pole with his nephew Nigh alongside. Row two
featured Greco and Dennett. Kinney and Gasper sat
in row three with young Zate Legend of Riverside
and two-time CLS champion Brent Sexton of Lakeside
in row four.
When Randy Schweitzer waved
the green flag, Michnowicz, in his T Shirts By
Timeless/Super Shox/Fabozzi Metal Works/Outlaw
Wings/TJ Forged/Keizer Wheels/Simpson/Bondio
Fabrication/Fast Time Studios/Pflum –
Wagner/DLX/Kawasaki ZX10 #21K, flew into the lead
with his nephew, Greco, Dennet and Gasper in tow.
Nigh, looking for his first win of 2024,
nearly snatched the lead away with an inside move
at the end of the opening circuit. The six-time
series champion from Oak Hills fended off the
challenge and by the end of lap four, had a
four-length advantage. The best battle early on
was between Dennett and Gasper for fourth. That
raged on as the leaders approached the lappers on
the 10th go around.
Kinney, competing
against the CLS regulars for the first time since
2022, raced up to fourth on lap 11. At the halfway
point, Michnowicz had advanced his lead and some
fans were picking up their seat cushions and
heading toward the exit thinking the race was
over. It looked that way, but two lappers held
Michnowicz back as the race hit its late stages.
That allowed Nigh to dramatically close the gap
and pull to the leader’s rear on lap 20. The San
Diego State graduate looked to the outside but
could not find enough grip to steal the lead.
The race went without a yellow flag, but the
same could not be said for a red. Going into turn
three on lap 22, Gasper, who was racing a car
honoring Bakersfield promoter Scott Schweitzer’s
late daughter Bailey, had the right front spindle
break launching the wheel and tire high into the
night air. Gasper turned the car to the right. The
left rear, which came off the bead, dug into the
track slowing the car. It tipped over and only
sustained minimal damage.
Once Gasper’s
#41 was towed back to the pits, the race resumed
with four laps to go. Like he had been all race,
Michnowicz was on the point. Likewise, Nigh was in
second where he had been for the duration. Greco,
who had been third, had an issue and left the
track. That moved Kinney to third, Dennett to
fourth, and Legend to fifth. Nigh again went to
the top and nearly pilfered the lead at the end of
the 22nd circuit. The 60-year-old leader was up to
the challenge. He maintained his lofty position at
the head of the pack and three laps later crossed
the line with a 1/3 of a straightaway advantage.
Nigh podiumed for the third time in three races
this year and finished second. The BCRA contingent
of Kinney and Dennett were third and fourth.
Legend, in his second season with the CLS, drove
the ex-Will Browne #8 to his career-best CLS
fifth-place finish. He was also the race “Hard
Charger” going from ninth to fifth.
The
victory shot Michnowicz from fifth in the
championship standings to the lead. Lakewood’s
Aiden Lange came into the race as the point
leader, but he was absent. That dropped him into
second in the standings, 10 points behind the new
leader. Nigh is third, only three points behind
Lange and 12 behind Michnowicz. Greco and
Fillmore’s Connor Speir round out the top five.
Up next for the CLS will be a May 4th date
at the Ventura Raceway.
The CLS would like
to thank the following companies for being
partners in the 2024 season. Extreme Mufflers,
RacingJunk.com and Hoosier Tire.
Bakersfield Speedway April 20th Results
Qualifying: 1. Bobby Michnowicz, 13.031; 2. Jeff
Dyer, 13.285; 3. Eric Greco, 13.289; 4. Greg
Dennett, 13.377; 5. Hunter Kinney, 13.477; 6. Cody
Nigh, 13.506; 7. David Gasper, 13.521; 8. Leland
Day, 13.656; 9. Jon Robertson, 13.711; 10. Seth
Dyer, 13.733; 11. Brent Sexton, 13.847; 12. Zate
Legend, 13.921; 13. Clay Byers, 14.172; 14. Pat
Kelley, 14.610, 15. Connor Speir, No Time
Heat #1 - 8 Laps: 1. Gasper, 2. Kinney, 3. Greco,
4. Michnowicz, 5. Sexton, 6. Robertson, 7. Speir,
8. Byers
Heat #2 - 8 Laps: 1. Jeff Dyer, 2.
Nigh, 3. Dennett, 4. Seth Dyer, 5. Legend, 6.
Kelly, 7. Day
Main Event – 25 Laps (with
starting positions) 1. Bobby Michnowicz, Oak
Hills, CA … (1st) 2. Cody Nigh, Camarillo, CA …
(2nd) 3. Hunter Kinney, Whitney, CA … (5th)
4. Greg Dennett, Livermore, CA … (4th) 5. Zate
Legend, Riverside, CA … (9th) 6. Brent Sexton,
Lakeside, CA … (8th) 7. Seth Dyer, Yucca
Valley, CA … (7th) 8. Jon Robertson, Torrance,
CA … (11th) 9. Connor Speir, Fillmore, CA …
(12th) 10. Leland Day, Bakersfield, CA … (10th)
11. Clay Byers, Castaic, CA … (14th) 12. Pat
Kelley, Chino, CA … (13th) 13. Eric Greco,
Palmdale, CA … (3rd) 14. David Gasper, Santa
Barbara, CA … (6th) DNS Jeff Dyer, Yucca
Valley, CA
Main Event Hard Charger: Legend
9th to 5th
California Lightning Sprint Car
Series Points 1. Bobby Michnowicz, Oak Hills,
CA … 392 2. Aiden Lange, Lakewood, CA … 382
3. Cody Nigh, Camarillo, CA … 379 4. Eric
Greco, Palmdale, CA … 322 5. Connor Speir,
Fillmore, CA … 294 6. Jon Robertson, Torrance,
CA … 279 7. Zate Legend, Riverside, CA … 276
8. Seth Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA … 272 9. Seth
Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA … 266 10. Leland Day,
Bakersfield, CA … 181
Lap Leaders After
Three Races 1. Bobby Michnowicz … 49 2.
Conner Speir … 20 3. Aiden Lange … 16 4.
Cody Nigh … 4 5. Greg Dennett … 1
2024
California Lightning Sprint Car Series Schedule
March 1 Imperial Valley Raceway Mid-Winter
Fair Aiden Lange
March 2 Imperial Valley
Raceway Mid-Winter Fair Connor Speir
March
9 Bakersfield Speedway CLS Bobby Michnowicz
April 13 Merced Speedway CSL vs BCRA Civil War
#1 Rained Out
April 20 Bakersfield Speedway
CLS Bobby Michnowicz
May 4 Ventura Raceway
CLS
May 18 Bakersfield Speedway CLS
June 8 Ventura Raceway CLS
June 15
Bakersfield Speedway CLS
July 5 Santa Maria
Speedway CLS
July 6 Santa Maria Speedway
CLS
July 27 Santa Maria Speedway CLS vs
BCRA Civil War #2
September 13 Bakersfield
Speedway CLS vs BCRA Civil War #3
September
14 Ventura Raceway CLS
September 28
Ventura Raceway CLS
October 5 Merced
Speedway CLS vs BCRA Civil War #4 Albright
Memorial
October 26 Ventura Raceway CLS
November 15 Placerville Speedway Hangtown 100
– No Points
November 16 Placerville
Speedway Hangtown 100 – No Points
November
26 Bakersfield Speedway CLS
To keep up with
the CLS online, please visit the website at
http://racecls.com/
and follow on the club’s Facebook page
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, 2022 David Gasper, 2023 Bobby Michnowicz
This press
release was produced by Scott Daloisio Sports
(909) 226-7768 mailto:sdaloisiosports@gmail.com
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