David Gasper Captures Round #1 of the CLS vs BCRA Civil War Series at Merced Speedway Torrance, CA – May 20, 2025 — The opening round of the highly anticipated 2025 California Lightning Sprint Cars Presented by Motor City Buick/GMC vs the Bay Cities Racing Association Civil War Series delivered one of the most thrilling races in CLS history. When the final laps were completed on the Merced Speedway quarter-mile oval, it was Goleta’s David Gasper who emerged victorious in a dramatic 25-lap showdown against the best from both the CLS and the BCRA. The event, which drew 21 competitors, was a showcase for CLS talent. CLS drivers locked down the top six qualifying spots and claimed eight of the top ten time trial laps. Things were nearly identical in the main event when CLS drivers occupied seven of the top 10 finishing positions. Seven-time CLS champ and the defending Civil War champion, Bobby Michnowicz of Oak Hills topped the field in qualifying with a lap of 12.207. Super rookie Drake Cardey of Riverside continued to impress when he timed in second fastest at 12.223. Cardey’s teammate, Jeff Dyer of Yucca Valley, was third quickest at 12.296. The two drivers who came into the night tied for first in the Motor City Buick/GMC point standings, Palmdale’s Eric Greco and Aiden Lange of Lakewood, were fourth and fifth, respectively, with times of 12.456 and 12.477. BCRA’s Matt Land started the racing portion of the program off with a win in Racing Junk Heat Race #1 over Riverside teen Zate Legend and Greco. BCRA struck again in Extreme Muffler Heat Race #2 with Citrus Heights driver Hunter Kinney placing ahead of Waterford’s Dakota Albright and Lange. Gasper, who already has two main event wins in the USAC/CRA 410 Sprint Car Series this season, captured Advanced Racing Suspension Heat Race #3. Dyer and El Cajon’s Braydin Collie were second and third. For the 25-lap main event, Gasper, in the Mike Schweitzer #41, sat on the pole alongside Elk Grove’s Matt Land. California Highway Patrol Officer Dyer and Kinney were in row two. The third set of two featured Lange and Cardey with Greco and Albright in row four. Gasper, 20, raced into the lead as soon as the green flag sent the field on its way in the CLS third race of 2025. He was chased by Land, Kinney, and Greco. Lange, who won the CLS last race at Ventura two weeks prior, made his presence known when he shot by Greco on lap two. He then got into a battle for third with Kinney. Kinney, in Brian Fonseca’s #3F, fended off Lange’s advances and then moved up to challenge Land for second. Lange’s last hurrah came when he charged back at Kinney in turn two on lap five. However, by the time he hit turn three, a whisp of smoke came out of his flashy #13X. By the time he got into turn two on the next circuit, the whisp turned to billowing white smoke and his night was over. Lange's hard luck also turned into misfortune for the leader, Gasper, as well. The ensuing yellow flag wiped out his 10-car length lead. On his tail for the restart were Land, Kinney, Greco, and Dyer. When the race restarted, Greco shot from fourth to second behind Gasper. Once he got into the runner-up spot, a crowd-pleasing, race-long war for the lead started. Early in the battle, Greco manned the bottom of the track with Gasper, a car width or two away from the bottom. Time and time again, Greco would pull alongside the leader in the corners only to see Gasper inch away on the straights. The second and final yellow of the night flew for a slowing car on lap 11. Behind the race long leader for the restart were Greco, Kinney, Land, and Michnowicz. Land, who had been in the top four all race, was having some issues and was quickly passed by Michnowicz and Dyer. Greco’s persistence finally began to pay off on the 12th lap when he momentarily poked his nose into the lead. By the time that lap had concluded, Gasper was back in the point position. One lap later, the articulate Greco, a Glendale College Gaucho, took the lead and maintained it for a couple of laps. The incredible war for the lead continued on lap 15 when Gasper diamonded off turn two and raced inside Greco’s #8G for the top spot. Somehow, this incredible war raged on when Greco momentarily reclaimed the top spot in turn two and almost dragged third-place Kinney with him. With eight go-arounds remaining, Greco inched ahead. By the time the race had five laps left, he had established an eight-car length lead. The race seemed to be his, but it was not over. With three laps remaining, Greco caught up to lapped traffic, and it cost him. Gasper, seeing what was about to happen, moved up the track. Greco was trapped on the bottom, and Gasper shot back into the lead with two laps to go. Greco did not give up, and with more lapped traffic on the horizon, the race was not over. Greco stayed glued to the leader’s tail and went to the bottom coming off the final corner and was only a car length behind at the checkers. Kinney was third with Dyer and Michnowicz fourth and fifth. “Mike, Brad, Wink, they gave me a good car,” happy winner Gasper told the crowd after the race. “I knew I had to get to the lapped traffic before him because he was stuck to the bottom. I felt pretty good up top. If I could keep the momentum going, I knew I could come around. Lapped traffic definitely got the best of both of us. I am just happy I could be the one that came out in front.” Gasper and car owner Mike Schweitzer want to thank Abacus, TRB, Bill Mell & Associates Real Estate Services, Circle 8 Services, Oil Well Service, 3n1 Motorsports, Elite Signs LLC, Quick Time Designs, M-P Environmental, Hot Rod Engineering, and Salinas Paint and Body for sponsoring the ZX12 Henchcraft. After the race, Greco was penalized for jumping on a restart. However, BCRA officials later rescinded the penalty, reinstating Greco to second place.’ Greco, who came from seventh to finish second, captured the Eibach Spring Forward Award and the SpeedMart Hard Charger Award. With the CLS taking a break before returning to Ventura Raceway on May 31, Greco now holds a 40-point lead over Michnowicz in the Motor City Buick/GMC Championship standings. Lange, who came into the night tied with Greco for the point lead, dropped to third after his early exit from the main. Camarillo’s Cody Nigh and Cardey are fourth and fifth, respectively. Round #2 of the Civil War Series will heat up again on July 5 at Santa Maria Speedway, with Gasper narrowly leading Greco by three points in the CWS standings. Kinney, Dyer, and Michnowicz are third through fifth. CLS Raffle Announcement: The CLS is happy to announce that Outlaw Wings has donated a free top wing to be raffled off on October 25th. Raffle tickets are $5 and will be available for purchase at all CLS events throughout the season. For more updates and series information, follow the California Lightning Sprint Car Series on social media and visit the official website at racecls.com. The CLS would like to thank the following companies for being partners in the 2025 season. Motor City Buick/GMC, American Racer Tires, T Shirts By Timeless, Advanced Racing Suspension, BR Motorsports, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Diablo Fabrication and Design, Eibach Springs, Extreme Mufflers, EZ UP, Hoosier Tires, The Joie of Seating, King Racing Products, Outlaw Wings, RacingJunk.com, RC Fuel Injection, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, SpeedMart, and Triple X Race Components. If you would like to join the CLS and be a marketing partner in 2025, please contact Jon Robertson via email at jon.robertson@sbcglobal.net or by calling (310) 367-9050. Merced Speedway May 17 Results Main Event 25 Laps (with starting positions) 1. David Gasper, Goleta, CA … (1st) 2. Eric Greco, Palmdale, CA … (7th) 3. Hunter Kinney, Citrus Heights, CA … (4th) 4. Jeff Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA … (3rd) 5. Bobby Michnowicz, Oak Hills, CA … (10th) 6. Greg Dennett, Livermore, CA … (17th) 7. Cody Nigh, Camarillo, CA … (12th) 8. Dakota Albright, Waterford, CA … (8th) 9. Braydin Collie, El Cajon, CA … (11th) 10. Zate Legend, Riverside, CA … (9th) 11. Leland Day, Bakersfield, CA … (14th) 12. Drake Cardey, Riverside, CA … (6th) 13. Jon Robertson, Torrance, CA … (13th) 14. Matt Land, Elk Grove, CA … (2nd) 15. Kenny Ramirez, Diamond Springs, CA … (18th) 16. Cody Dayton, Placerville, CA … (16th) 17. Aiden Lange, Lakewood, CA … (5th) 18. Jason Schostag, Hangtown, CA … (15th) DNS Josef Ferolito, Modesto, CA DNS Austin Struthers, Placerville, CA DNS Marshall Sexton, Ceres, CA Qualifying: 1. Bobby Michnowicz, 12.207; 2. Drake Cardey, 12.223; 3. Jeff Dyer, 12.296; 4. Eric Greco, 12.456; 5. Aiden Lange, 12.477; 6. Cody Nigh, 12.483; 7. Matt Land, 12.499; 8. Hunter Kinney, 12.515; 9. David Gasper, 12.559; 10. Leland Day, 12.700; 11. Jon Robertson, 12.801; 12. Jason Schostag, 12.808; 13. Zate Legend, 12.808, 14. Dakota Albright, 12.823; 15. Braydin Collie, 12.860; 16. Josef Ferolito, 13.038; 17. Marshall Sexton, 13.098; 18. Cody Dayton, 14.288; 19. Kenny Ramirez, 15.427; NT Austin Struthers Competition Suspension Heat #1: 1. Land, 2. Legend, 3. Greco, 4. Michnowicz, 5. Day, 6. Ramirez Extreme Muffler Heat #2: 1.Hunter Kinney, 2. Albright, 3. Lange, 4. Cardey, 5. Robertson, 6. Sexton Advanced Racing Suspensions Heat #3: 1. Gasper, 2. Dyer, 3. Collie, 4. Nigh, 5. Schostag, 6. Dayton 2025 CLS Contingency Awards 5/17/25 - Merced Heat Races Award Recipient Racing Junk Heat Race #1 winner Competition Suspension Inc. $50 product certificate Matt Land Extreme Muffler Heat Race #2 winner Extreme Muffler $50 product certificate Hunter Kinney ARS Heat Race #3 winner Advanced Racing Suspensions $50 product certificate David Gasper Main Event Award Winner 2nd place BR Motorsports - $25 product certificate Hunter Kinney 3rd place Joie of Seating - $250 product certificate Jeff Dyer 4th place Saldana Racing Products - $50 product certificate Eric Greco 5th place King Racing Products $25 product certificate Bobby Michnowicz Highest finisher with Hoosier tires on all 4 corners. Hoosier – free tire David Gasper Quick time Diablo Fabrication $50 product certificate Bobby Michnowicz Spring Forward (Hard Charger) Eibach - $100 product certificate SpeedMart - $50 product certificate Eric Greco Hard Luck Award Hyper Racing - $50 product certificate SpeedMart - $50 product certificate Aide Lange Motor City Buick/GMC California Lightning Series Points 1. Eric Greco … 392 2. Bobby Michnowicz … 352 3. Aiden Lange … 324 4. Cody Nigh … 319 5. Drake Cardey … 300 5. Zate Legend … 284 7. Jeff Dyer … 268 8. Braydin Collie … 256 9. Bruce Douglass … 227 10. Leland Day … 196 CLS vs BCRA Point Standings 1. David Gasper, CLS … 133 2. Eric Greco, CLS … 130 3. Hunter Kinney, BCRA … 124 4. Jeff Dyer, CLS … 122 5. Bobby Michnowicz, CLS … 118 6. Cody Nigh, CLS … 102 7. Greg Dennett, BCRA … 95 8. Dakota Albright, BCRA … 94 9. Braydin Collie, CLS … 88 10. Zate Legend, CLS … 84 2025 California Lightning Sprint Car Series Schedule April 12 Bakersfield Speedway Eric Greco May 3 Ventura Raceway Aiden Lange May 17 Merced Speedway David Gasper (CLS vs BCRA Civil War) May 31 Ventura Raceway June 7 Bakersfield Speedway With the Ultimate Sprint Car Series June 21 Ventura Raceway July 5 Santa Maria Speedway With USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series on Flo July 26 Santa Maria Speedway CLS vs BCRA Civil War With NARC Sprint Car Series on Flo August 22 Plaza Park Raceway August 23 Lemoore Jet Bowl Raceway August 30 Ventura Raceway September 12 Bakersfield Speedway CLS vs BCRA Civil War With World of Outlaws on Dirt Vision September 13 Merced Speedway CLS vs BCRA Civil War Albright Memorial October 4 Ventura Raceway October 25 Ventura Raceway November 25 Bakersfield Speedway Western Lightning Sprint Car Championship with USAC National Midgets on Flo 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, 2024 Bobby Michnowicz Special Thanks to Wendy Michnowicz This press release was produced by Scott Daloisio Sports (909) 226-7768 mailto:sdaloisiosports@gmail.com