California Lightning Sprints Head to “Nashville West” and the Bakersfield Speedway This Saturday Torrance, CA – June 3, 2025 — After a one-week delay due to construction at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, the Motor City Buick/GMC California Lightning Sprint Car Series (CLS) is ready to roar back into action this Saturday night, June 7th, at the Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway. This marks the CLS's second visit of the season to the reshaped clay oval in the city known as “Nashville West.” Leading the CLS championship charge into Bakersfield is Palmdale’s Eric Greco, who holds a 40-point cushion over seven-time CLS champion Bobby Michnowicz. Greco opened the CLS’ 31st season at the track on April 12th, scoring a commanding win ahead of Aiden Lange (Lakewood), Bruce Douglass (Ventura), Leland Day (Bakersfield), and Michnowicz. Behind the front runners in the Motor City Buick/GMC point standings are Lange in third, Cody Nigh (Camarillo) in fourth, with rising rookie Drake Cardey (Riverside) rounding out the top five. Lange, for his part, parked it in victory lane at Ventura on May 3rd in the second race of the season. Adding even more firepower to the field on Saturday will be AJ Bender of San Diego. The versatile open-wheel standout, who is currently fourth in USAC/CRA 410 Sprint Car points, will return to his CLS roots by piloting Mike Schweitzer’s #41. Three weeks ago, at Merced, fellow USAC/CRA star David Gasper drove the same car to victory when the CLS faced off with the Bay Cities Racing Association in round one of the Civil War Series. Saturday’s full-throttle night of racing will also feature RaceSaver Sprint Cars, H&S Body Works Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks, and NMRA Midgets. Adult tickets are just $20.00. For kids 6-12, it is $10.00. Children 5 and under get in free. Parking is free. Gates open at 4:00 p.m. with racing getting underway at 6:00 p.m. The Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway is located at 13500 Raceway Boulevard, Bakersfield, CA. For more information, visit www.bakersfieldspeedway.com or call the track office at 661-835-1264. CLS Raffle News: The CLS is excited to announce that Outlaw Wings has donated a free top wing to be raffled off on October 25th. Raffle tickets are just $5 and will be available 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. 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 Canceled Due to Fairgrounds Construction 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