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CLS DRIVER AJ BENDER SCORES WIN IN LIGHTNING
SPRINT HANGTOWN 100 OPENER
(Torrance, CA, November 18, 2022)
One year ago this week, AJ Bender journeyed to the
Placerville Speedway to take part in the lightning
sprint portion of the three-night Hangtown 100.
The San Diego, California-based star proceeded to
finish second in all three main events at the
open-wheel classic. Last night he kicked off this
year’s Hangtown with a win in the 25-lap main
event.
AJ Bender takes the checkered flag at the Hangtown
100 in Placerville on Thursday. MMRACINGPHOTOS.COM
To say Bender’s win was anything but
hard-fought would be a massive understatement.
While he crossed the line a half straightaway
ahead of teammate Grant Sexton when the checkered
waved, he had to fight for every inch in the first
20-laps. Bender, in the Sexton Gatlin Racing #22,
started on the outside of the second row in the
main. Grant Sexton was on the pole with Lakeside,
Colorado’s Johnny Boos alongside. 2022 BCRA
champion Matt Land of Elk Grove started inside of
Bender in row two. The BCRA duo of Harlee Aguilera
of Orangevale and Citrus Heights racer Hunter
Kinney was in row three.
Eighteen-year-old
Sexton was the first driver to hit turn one on the
famous red clay quarter mile at the outset of the
main. Boos was second with Land and Bender third
and fourth. The top three remained the same
through lap four when a yellow flag came out after
2021 BCRA champion Dakota Albright of Waterford,
blew a left rear tire. After racing resumed,
things got interesting in a hurry. Boos, who had
been working the outside in his sleek looking #24,
slid off the top of turn two on the restart.
Simultaneously, Kinney clipped the inside berm and
the rear end of his car caught some airtime before
coming back to earth. Both drivers continued, but
Boos dropped back to fourth while Kinney somehow
hung on to fifth.
Boos misadventure allowed
Bender to move into second and Land to take over
third. If anyone thought Boos was out of
contention for the night, they were sadly
misinformed. Before the field could get two more
laps recorded, Ken Coulston slid to a stop forcing
the second yellow flag in the first five laps.
Soon after the restart, the Bermuda Dunes racer
who drives a car that looks like Sammy Swindell’s
Channel Lock car from many years ago, got upside
down in between one and two necessitating a red
flag. Fortunately, the driver was unhurt but he
was done for the night.
On the restart
before the red flag, Bender, 29, had relieved
Sexton of the lead and Boos had moved back to
third when he got past Land. Boos quickly got by
Sexton for second on the following restart and set
his sights on the race leader. Bender, who is a
regular in the USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series and who
was this year’s USAC Western Midget Series “Rookie
of the Year,” maintained the point until a sweet
move from Boos on lap nine relegated him to
second. Going into three in second place, Boos
quickly transitioned from the top to the bottom in
turn three and shot past Bender.
After
taking the lead, Boos kept it on the wide side,
but he had Bender, snapping at his heels on the
low line. In turn one on lap 11, Boos touched the
cushion, and it sucked him in and slowed him down.
By the time he recovered, the lead changed hands
for the third time in the race and Bender was back
in front. In addition, Sexton and Kinney went by
as well for second and third. Suddenly, the race
that was having such a hard time getting going was
turning into a barn burner.
Bender, who
scored California Lightning Sprint Car Series wins
at the Bakersfield Speedway in April and May as
well as the BCRA opener at Placerville at the end
of March, was putting laps together and hitting
his marks. That did not seem to matter to his
teenage teammate. Sexton chased the leader down
and tried to go by on the inside on the 17th
circuit. Bender fended off the advances but Sexton
remained close behind.
It looked like it
was going to be a fight to the finish, between
Sexton, the 2021 POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint
Series champion who has a flair for late race
dramatics, and Bender. However, just as Boos did
two times earlier in the race, the teen went over
the cushion on lap 21. By the time he got settled
back into the flow, he was still in second but
Bender, in the Boczanowski/Sexton Fire
Protection/BK Wings/Johnny Motorhead/Troy
Dirt/Victory Graphix/Swift Powdercoat/Maxima
Oil/Automated Interior/Scotty and Jimmy Keys/#21,
was long gone. When the checkers came out, Bender
was a half straight away in front of second place
Sexton. Kinney, Boos, and Land rounded out the top
five.
“I totally forgot about last year,
so thanks for reminding me,” Bender laughed when
Drake York asked him about his feelings after
finally winning following three runner-up finishes
in 2021. “It is cool. I am finally glad to get one
because running second three times sucked. The car
is a little off and we are trying to figure it
out. It is the first time I am in it. I have to
give a big shout-out to Phil and Wyatt
(Boczanowski). Wyatt drives it and Phil owns the
car. They let the SGR team bring it up here so I
could drive it. We were doing homework on it
trying to figure it out. We still have some stuff
to work on. This one pays less. I want to win the
one on Saturday. I have to thank Phil and Wyatt
again, the whole SGR team, and my wife and
daughter at home.”
Other CLS and Southern
California drivers in the main were “Shugah” Shane
Sexton (6th), Jeff Dyer (9th), Cal Smith (11th),
Brent Sexton (12th), Mark Henry (13th), Dalton
Sexton (15th), and Coulston (18th).
Preliminary action before the main event saw Grant
Sexton out-qualify the 26-car field with a time of
14.455. Orangevale’s Harlee Aguilera was second
fastest at 14.531 and Land was third on the speed
charts at 14.533. USAC National star Logan Seavey
of Sutter, Kinney, and Boos captured the heat
races and CLS regular Jeff Dyer of Yucca Valley
won the B main.
The action continues at
the Hangtown 100 tonight, and Saturday. Gates will
open each day at 3:00 p.m. with racing at 6:00.
Advance tickets for Placerville are available at
https://www.eventsprout.com/event/hangtown-2022.
Fans .0can find the track at 100 Placerville Drive
in Placerville. The website is
https://www.placervillespeedway.com/ and the track
phone is (530) 344-7592.
The 2022 CLS
banquet will take place at Frantone’s Pizza &
Spaghetti Villa in Cerritos on February 4th.
Tickets for the banquet are $40.00. To order or
for more information call (310) 367-9050 or email
mailto:jon.robertson@sbcglobal.net
?subject=jon.robertson@sbcglobal.net.
November 17 Hangtown 100 Results
BR
Motorsports Qualifying: 1. Grant Sexton, 14.455;
2. Harlee Aguilera, 14.531; 3. Matt Land, 14.533;
4. Mark Henry, 14.698; 5. Shane Sexton, 14.743; 6.
AJ Bender, 14.749; 7. Johnny Boos, 15.188; 8. Ken
Coulston, 15.133; 9. Logan Seavey, 15.258; 10.
Hunter Kinney, 14.359; 11. Dakota Albright,
15.738; 12. Shane Hopkins, 15.804; 13. Dalton
Sexton, 15.813; 14. Tyler Gerdes, 15.949; 15.
Scott Kinney, 16.179; 16. Steve Becker, 16.187;
17. Chris Crowder, 16.262; 18. Jason Schapansky,
16.555; 19. Brent Sexton, 16.669; 20. Cal Smith,
16.670; 21. Jeff Dyer, 16.837; 22. Greg Dennett,
16.895; 23. Josef Ferolito, 17.054; 24. Alex
Lewis, 17.148; 25 Jimmy Riddle, 17.814; 26.
Danielle Clauson-Servo 18.016
Heat Race #1
(9 Laps): 1. Seavey; 2. G. Sexton; 3. Lewis; 4.
Dennett; 5. B. Sexton; 6. Aguilera; 7. S. Sexton;
8. Clauson-Servo; 9. Gerdes
Heat Race #2
(9 Laps): 1. H. Kinney; 2. S. Kinney; 3. Land; 4.
Albright; 5. Crowder; 6. Hopkins; 7. Smith; 8. D.
Sexton; 9. Riddell
Heat Race #3 (9 Laps):
1. Boos; 2. Becker; 3. Dyer; 4. Colston; 5. Henry;
6. Schapansky; 7. Becker; 8. Ferolito
B
Main (12 Laps – Top 4 Transfer): 1. Dyer; 2.
Crowder; 3. Ferolito; 4. Smith; 5. Hopkins; 6.
Becker; 7. Schapansky 8. Clauson-Servo
Hangtown 100 Night #1 25-Lap Main Event (with
starting spots and distances back): 1. AJ
Bender, San Diego, CA, (4th) 2. Grant Sexton,
Lakeside, CA, (1st) … 1.955 3. Hunter Kinney,
Citrus Heights, CA, (6th) … 4.134 4. Johnny
Boos, Lakewood, CO, (2nd) … 4.832 5. Matt Land,
Elk Grove, CA, (3rd) … 5.052 6. Shane Sexton,
El Cajon, CA, (10th) … 5.973 7. Alex Lewis,
Bellingham, WA, (15th) … 6.454 8. Greg Dennett,
Fremont, CA, (13th) … 7.262 9. Jeff Dyer, Yucca
Valley, CA, (17th) … 7.761 10. Chris Crowder,
Colorado, CO, (18th) … 11.175 11. Cal Smith,
Phelan, CA, (20th) … 11.885 12. Brent Sexton,
Lakeside, CA, (16th) … 1 Lap 13. Mark Henry,
Rosamond, CA, (7th) … 1 Lap 14. Harlee
Aguilera, Orangevale, CA, (5th) … 1 Lap 15.
Dalton Sexton, Lakeside, CA, (9th) … 1 Lap 16.
Logan Seavey, Sutter, CA, (11th) … 8 Laps 17.
Josef Ferolito, Modesto, CA, (19th) … 10 Laps
18. Ken Coulston, Bermuda Dunes, CA, (12th) … 19
Laps 19. Dakota Albright, Waterford, CA, (8th)
… 22 Laps 20. Scott Kinney, Citrus Heights, CA,
(14th) … 22 Laps
Final California Lightning
Sprint Car Series Point Standings 1. David
Gasper – 2184 2. Eric Greco – 2089 3. Cody
Nigh – 1913 4. Bobby Michnowicz – 1886 4.
Jeff Dyer – 1777 6. Connor Speir – 1548 7.
Will Browne – 1523 8. Jon Robertson – 1246
9. Pat Kelley – 1162 10. Dominic Del Monte –
784
Final Civil War Series Point Standings
1. David Gasper – CLS – 629 2. Eric Greco – CLS
– 572 3. Bobby Michnowicz – CLS – 568 4.
Will Browne – CLS - 526 5. Cody Nigh – CLS –
486 6. Harlee Aguilera - BCRA - 415 7. Greg
Dennett – BCRA – 403 8. Connor Speir – CLS –
392 9. Matt Land – BCRA – 388 10. Dakota
Albright – BCRA - 358
The following
companies have become marketing partners with the
CLS in 2022. They have offered up more than
$13,000.00 in contingencies that will be awarded
on top of the regular racing purses and they will
be paid out throughout the year. Yoshimura R&D,
Hoosier Tires West, T-Shirts By Timeless, Extreme
Mufflers, Saldana Racing Products, Rod End Supply,
Speed Mart, Cold Fire West, West Evens
Motorsports, RC Fuel Injection, Jake Swanson Shock
Technology, Advanced Racing Suspensions, CSI
Shocks, Eibach Springs, Triple X Race Components,
King Racing Products, Hyper Racing Products, Rebel
Gears, Vahlco Wheels, Wilwood Disk Brakes, Fuel
Safe Systems, MPI, Circle Track Performance, E-Z
UP, Hepfner Racing, Smith Titanium, and Hoosier
Speed.
If you or your company would like
to become a partner of the longtime racing
organization, contact Jon Robertson via email at
mailto:jon.robertson@sbcglobal.net or by calling
(310) 367-9050.
2022 California Lightning
Sprint Car Series Schedule
March 25
Bakersfield Speedway Winged – Grant Sexton
April 2 Merced Speedway Non-Wing –– Civil War
#1 – David Gasper
April 16 Bakersfield
Speedway Winged – A.J. Bender
April 30
Ventura Raceway Winged (Make Up Main) David Gasper
April 30 Ventura Raceway Winged – Bobby
Michnowicz
May 14 Bakersfield Speedway
Winged – A.J. Bender
May 21 Ventura Raceway
Winged – Eric Greco
June 11 Bakersfield
Speedway Winged – David Gasper
June 25
Ventura Raceway Winged – David Gasper
July
9 Ventura Raceway Winged – David Gasper
July 23 Ventura Raceway Winged – Dave Gasper
August 6 *Santa Maria Raceway Winged – Brent
Sexton
August 26 Silver Dollar Speedway
Winged – Civil War #2 – Connor Spier
August
27 Placerville Speedway Winged – Civil War #3 –
Bobby Michnowicz
Sept. 10 Lemoore Raceway
Winged – Bobby Michnowicz
Sept. 24
Bakersfield Speedway Winged – Civil War #4 – David
Gasper
October 8 Mohave Valley Raceway
Winged – With SWLS - Brent Sexton
October
29 Ventura Raceway Winged – Bobby Michnowicz
Nov. 15 Bakersfield Speedway Winged – With
USAC Midgets - Civil War #5 – Bobby Michnowicz
Nov. 17 Placerville Speedway Non-Wing – With
USAC Midgets - No Points – AJ Bender
Nov.
18 Placerville Speedway Non-Wing – With USAC
Midgets - No Points
Nov. 19 Placerville
Speedway Non-Wing – With USAC Midgets - No Points
To keep up with the CLS online, please
visit the website at http://racecls.com/ or on
Facebook at
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
This press release was
produced by Scott Daloisio Sports (909) 226-7768
mailto:sdaloisiosports@gmail.com |
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