BOBBY MICHNOWICZ WINS HIS SECOND CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINT CAR MAIN EVENT IN A ROW (Torrance, CA, May 23, 2023) The hottest lightning sprint car racer in the nation, Bobby Michnowicz, continued his impressive season last Saturday night when he won the California Lightning Sprint Car/POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car “Best of the West” main event at Scott Schweitzer’s Bakersfield Speedway. The win was his second in a row and allowed him to extend his lead in both the CLS and the “Best of the West” series. Left to right: 3rd place finisher Jeff Dyer, winner Bobby Michnowicz, 2nd place Cody Nigh. CLS photo. Michnowicz is off to one of – if not the – best starts in his long racing career. In addition to his two wins, the 59-year-old has three second-place finishes and a third in the first six races of the year. His early-season prowess contrasts the horrendous start he had in 2022. It has given him a launch toward his sixth CLS title and his first since 2017. The only thing Oak Hills resident Michnowicz did not win on the night was qualifying. That honor went to 2022 CLS Rookie of the Year Connor Speir. The Fillmore-based racer toured “The West’s Fastest 1/3 Mile High Banked Clay Oval,” in 13.410. Always fast Eric Greco of Palmdale timed in second at 13.450. Three-time CLS champion Jarrett Kramer of Spring Valley, driving a team car to Michnowicz, was third quickest at 13.476. Michnowicz was fourth at 13.488. “Shugah” Shane Sexton of Warner Springs drove Mike Schweitzer’s #41 to the fifth-best time when he stopped the clocks at 13.568. Pole sitter “Rockstar” Jon Robertson of Torrance won Racing Junk Heat #1 over Camarillo’s Cody Nigh and Kramer. In Extreme Muffler’s Heat #2, Michnowicz came from fifth to win the eight-lapper over Lakeside’s Cody Griggs and Yucca Valley’s Jeff Dyer. The last order of business before the main event was the six-car, six-lap dash that would determine the starting positions for the first three rows in the 25-lapper. That matched Nigh, Michnowicz, Dyer, Kramer, Lakeside’s Aiden Lange, and second-year CLS driver Seth Dyer of Yucca Valley. Nigh won the dash from the pole with his uncle, Michnowicz, who came from sixth, placing second. They would make up row one for the main. Jeff Dyer and Lange finished third and fourth putting them in row two for the 25-lapper. Kramer and Seth Dyer were fifth and sixth meaning they would be coming from the third row. When the Green flag waved to send the field on its way, Nigh edged Michnowicz into turn one, but he was not in the top spot for long. Coming off turn two, Michnowicz raced past his nephew for the lead. The driver with the best start at the green flag was Kramer. When the second-row starters left the inside open in the first bend, Kramer alertly dove under them and advanced two spots to third. By the end of the second lap, Michnowicz had about a 1/3 straightaway advantage over Nigh. As Michnowicz pulled away from Nigh and Nigh did likewise to Kramer, Dyer went to what looked like a nonexistent outside near the end of lap 2. The California Highway Patrol officer stayed on the wide line and somehow made it work on lap four when he drove around Lange for fourth. At that point, everyone was running the bottom and it looked as though passing was going to be at a premium. By Lap 10, Michnowicz was almost a half straight ahead of Nigh. Despite Dyer challenging him one time, Kramer was still comfortably in third. Dyer and Lange, who started on the front row at Ventura the week before, were fourth and fifth. Michnowicz, in the T Shirts By Timeless/Super Shox/Pflum & Wagner/Outlaw Wings/Fabozi Metal Works/Bondio Fab/Fast Time Studios/TJ Forged/DLX/Kawasaki ZX10 #21K, finally hit some heavier lapped traffic on lap 14. But like he has done in his lengthy career, he began speeding through it. The only real action in the top five at that point was Dyer closing back in on Kramer. Those two eventually swapped spots with Dyer assuming third. By that time, Michnowicz and Nigh were both racing in a different area code. Something on the strange side began to happen on lap 19. It looked like Nigh was inching closer to the leader. By lap 21 he had significantly closed the gap and was coming fast. Going into turn one on lap 24, Nigh had caught the wily veteran out front and took a gander at a wider line in turn one, but there was not a lot there and Michnowicz beat him down the back chute and into turn three. Nigh closed back in going into three and kept it a little bit wide. However, he came off four and momentarily slipped and that allowed Michnowicz to put some extra distance between himself and his nephew. The added space proved to be too much for Nigh to make up and Michnowicz posted his second straight victory. Dyer, Kramer, and Lange followed the lead duo and rounded out the top five. Greco received the Advanced Racing Suspension Hard Charger Award coming from 12th to finish seventh. Michnowicz increased his lead in both the CLS season long standings and in the “Best of the West” series. He now leads Greco by 104 points in the CLS. Dyer, Robertson, and San Diego’s AJ Bender rounded out the top five. The top three are the same in the “Best of the West” series. There, Michnowicz has a 52-point advantage over Greco. Dyer is third with Brent Sexton of Lakeside fourth. Speir is fifth. Round #5 of that series will be at Jim Naylor’s Ventura Raceway on June 17. After a week off, the CLS will join forces with the Bay Cities Racing Association as they renew their battle in the annual “Civil War Series” on June 3rd at Bakersfield. 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 May 20th Bakersfield Speedway Results Qualifying: 1. Connor Speir, 13.410, 2. Eric Greco, 13.450, 3. Jarrett Kramer, 13.476, 4. Bobby Michnowicz, 13.488, 5. Shane Sexton, 13,568, 6. Jeff Dyer, 13.698, 7. Aiden Lange, 13.734, 8. Seth Dyer, 13.735, 9. Cody Nigh, 13.815, 10. Leland Day, 13.869, 11. Jon Robertson, 14.050, 12. Cody Griggs, 14.054, 13. Clay Byers, 17.745, 14. Pat Kelley, 19.857, 15. Ken Colston, NT Racing Junk Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. Robertson, 2. Nigh, 3. Kramer, 4. Lange, 5. Coulston, 6. Speir, 7. Sexton, 8. Byers Extreme Mufflers Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. Michnowicz, 2. Griggs, 3. Jeff Dyer, 4. Day, 5. Seth Dyer, 6. Kelley, 7. Greco Dash (6 Laps): 1. Nigh, 2. Michnowicz, 3. Jeff Dyer, 4. Lange, 5. Kramer, 6. Seth Dyer Main Event (25 Laps) With Starting Positions and Time Behind 1. Bobby Michnowicz, Oak Hills, CA (2nd) 2. Cody Nigh, Camarillo, CA (1st) … - 0.716 3. Jeff Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA (3rd) … - 1.365 4. Jarrett Kramer, Spring Valley, CA (5th) … - 2.078 5. Aiden Lange, Lakewood, CA (4th) … - 4.350 6. Jon Robertson, Torrance, CA (7th) … - 7.757 7. Eric Greco, Palmdale, CA (12th) … - 8.397 8. Cody Griggs, Lakeside, CA (9th) … - 11.670 9. Connor Speir, Bakersfield, CA, (11th) … - 12.366 10. Shane Sexton, Warner Springs, CA (13th) … - 13.496 11. Seth Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA (6th) … - 1 Lap 12. Leland Day, Bakersfield CA (8th) … - 3 Laps 13. Pat Kelley, Chino, CA (14th) … - 4 Laps 14 Ken Coulston, (10th) … - 10 Laps DNS Clay Byers Lap Leader: Bobby Michnowicz 1-25 CLS May 13th Contingency Awards Racing Junk Heat Race #1 – Jon Robertson Extreme Muffler Heat Race #2 $50.00 Certificate – Bobby Michnowicz BR Motorsports Main Event 2nd Place Finisher $25.00 Certificate – Cody Nigh King Motorsports Main Event 5th Place Finisher $25.00 Certificate – Aiden Lange Advanced Racing Suspension Hard Charger $50.00 Certificate – Eric Greco CLS Seasonal Contingency Awards CLS Membership – Extreme Muffler 10% Off Purchase CLS Membership – EZ Up 30%-40% Off Purchase CLS Membership – RC Fuel Injection 50% Off All Race Products and Service to All Race Series Participants 2023 Champion – Triple X Race Components $500.00 Off Any Chassis or Chassis Kit 2023 California Lightning Sprint Car Series Point Standings 1. Bobby Michnowicz, Lomita, CA … 796 2. Eric Greco, Palmdale, CA … 692 3. Jeff Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA … 594 4. Jon Robertson, Torrance, CA … 569 5. AJ Bender, San Diego, CA … 533 6. Pat Kelley, Chino, CA … 482 7. Connor Speir, Fillmore, CA … 477 8. Seth Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA … 459 9. Brent Sexton, Lakeside, CA … 388 10. Aiden Lange, Lakeside, CA … 358 2023 CLS vs SWLS Best of the West Standings 1. Bobby Michnowicz, Lomita, CA, CLS … 526 1. Eric Greco, Palmdale, CA, CLS … 474 3. Jeff Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA, CLS … 403 4. Brent Sexton, Lakeside, CA. SWLS … 388 5. Connor Speir, Fillmore, CA, CLS … 367 6. Jon Robertson, Torrance, CA, CLS … 360 7. Seth Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA, CLS … 342 8. Pat Kelley, Chino, CA, CLS … 308 9. Cody Griggs, Lakeside, CA, SWLS … 299 10. Robbie Brockman, El Cajon, CA, SWL … 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 With USAC 360 Sprint Cars June 17 Ventura Raceway CLS/SWLS “Best of the West” Round #5 July 8 Ventura Raceway CLS August 19 Ocean Speedway CLS/BCRA “Civil War Series” Round #2, Johnny Key Classic September 9 Bakersfield Speedway CLS/BCRA “Civil War Series” Round #3 September 23 Ventura Raceway CLS October 7 Merced Speedway CLS/BCRA “Civil War Series” Round #5, 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 With USAC National Midgets 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 This press release was produced by Scott Daloisio Sports (909) 226-7768 mailto:sdaloisiosports@gmail.com 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