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MICHNOWICZ
PRESENTS HIMSELF WITH AN EARLY BIRTHDAY PRESENT BY
WINNING HIS HISTORIC SIXTH CLS CHAMPIONSHIP
(Torrance, CA, November 18, 2023) Mere
hours before his 60th birthday, legendary Bobby
Michnowicz driver gave himself an early present by
sewing up his historic sixth California Lightning
Sprint Car Series championship. The victory, his
sixth in the CLS in 2023, came during the running
of the 7th Annual Western States Lightning Sprint
Car Series championship at the Bakersfield
Speedway. It was his fourth win in the first seven
years of the event. In addition to capturing the
main, and sewing up the CLS title, the longtime
racer also clinched the crown in the CLS/POWRi
Best of the West Series.
2016 champion and Bakersfield winner Bobby
Michnowicz surrounded by Aiden Lange right and
Jeff Dyer left. CLS photo.
To say
Michnowicz, who out-qualified the 16-car field,
had an easy time in the 25-lap main event which
featured $500.00 to win and at least $100.00 to
start courtesy of Channel Islands Floorcoverings,
is not an understatement. That is, it was not an
understatement for 24 ¼ laps. The last ¾ of a lap
was a monster with the wily veteran losing the
lead going into turn three to Lakewood’s Aiden
Lange, taking it back coming out of turn four, and
winning in a dramatic photo finish.
Appropriately, Michnowicz’s lap of 12.580 was the
quickest in Iron Alliance Engineering Qualifying
on “The West’s Fastest 1/3-Mile High Banked Clay
Oval.” Levi Klatt, who drove 1,150 miles from
Langley, British Columbia, Canada to compete at
the “Okie Bowl,” was second fastest at 12.609. The
third-best time in qualifying came from
15-year-old Brodey Graham at 12.812. It was only
Graham’s second time in a lightning sprint. His
first was on October 28th when he shocked the
regulars by taking the win at the Ventura Raceway.
2022 POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car
Series champion Brent Sexton of Lakeside bagged
the win in the AG Sandcars/Triple X Racing heat
#1. The 50-year-old was chased to his third heat
win of the season by “Rockstar” Jon Robertson of
Torrance and Michnowicz. In the T Shirts By
Timeless second heat, 16-year-old Seth Dyer of
Yucca Valley was the first driver to starter Jimmy
“The Shoe” Irwin’s checkered flag. It was his
second heat race triumph of 2023. Lakewood’s Aiden
Lange and Dyer’s father, Jeff, finished in the
place and show spots.
The last order of
business before the main was the six car dash. It
would establish the starting positions for the
first three rows of the main. Jeff Dyer emerged
victorious from that and earned the pole position.
Michnowicz placed second and started alongside
Dyer. Row two was set with Lange and Graham. BCRA
star Greg Dennett of Livermore and Palmdale’s Eric
Greco would start in row three.
When the
green flag signaled the start of the final CLS
points race of the series 29th season, Michnowicz
raced into the lead ahead of Jeff Dyer, Lange, and
Graham. Unfortunately, just after the first lap
was completed, the yellow flew when Greco and 2022
CLS Rookie of the Year Connor Speir of Fillmore
stopped in turn four. Greco drove away, but Speir
had to be towed off the track with the front end
of his pretty #57 severely damaged.
Things
stayed status quo once the race restarted, but
Michnowicz, in his familiar T Shirts By
Timeless/Super Shox/Pflum & Wagner/Outlaw
Wings/Fabozi Metal Works/Bondio Fab/Fast Time
Studios/TJ Forged/DLX/Kawasaki ZX10 #21K, was
pulling away from the field. By the time he had
circled the 1/3 mile banked oval five times, he
had established a 2.5-second lead over Dyer.
Bakersfield local Graham, who was once again
looking like a seasoned veteran in the main event,
was running third on lap eight when he suddenly
slowed and pulled to the infield. That moved Lange
up to third and Klatt to fourth. Moments after he
pulled to the infield, heat two winner Seth Dyer
did likewise. Unfortunately, Klatt did the same on
lap 11 and became the next car out.
Michnowicz reached the lapped traffic on the 12th
circuit. By that time he had a massive lead and
looked to be headed for a certain win. Lange, who
had finished in the top five in his last six
starts, chased down Dyer at the halfway point and
took him for second coming out of turn four. Dyer
tried to come back on the inside, but Lange
repelled the challenge. Even though he had moved
up to second, he was far behind the streaking
Michnowicz and seemingly had no way of catching
the race-long leader. But nobody informed the
young driver that he did not have a chance.
With 10 laps remaining, Michnowicz still had a
2.4-second lead over Lange. Suddenly, things began
to change. Lange, who was seeking his second
victory of the season, was inching his way closer
to the leader. With five circuits to go, he was
closing in dramatically. Michnowicz was hugging
the bottom of the track while Lange was on the
high side in one and two and would hit the low
line in three and four.
As they took the
white flag, Lange was about three lengths behind
Michnowicz. There was a lapped car directly in
front of the race long leader as they sped into
turn one. Lange kept the throttle on and surged
into the lead going down the back chute. Like he
had been doing, he brought it back down to the
inside going into three. Michnowicz was right
behind him and the lapped car was right in front
of both. As the lapped car came off the corner, it
drifted up a lane. Lange was right behind him and
did the same. Seeing a huge gap open up in front
of him, Michnowicz's eyes must have gotten as big
as saucers. He blasted into the gap and pulled
alongside Lange. They raced across the line inches
apart and it was hard to tell who won. It was
another Bakersfield/CLS barn burner finish.
Visually, it was too hard to tell who the victor
was. Veteran Bakersfield announcer John Candy
shouted to the crowd, “It’s a you pick em’ photo
finish at the line.” After several seconds and
checking with the officials, Candy announced that
Michnowicz had won.
How close was it?
Winner Michnowicz did not know who won. When he
was told to pull over and stop on the infield, he
had to gesture to an official to find out if it
was him or Lange.
“I don’t know who won, I
didn’t know,” Michnowicz told the crowd when he
was interviewed by USAC’s Drake York after the
race. “I thought I got him, but then I looked at
the board and it said #13. I thought I lost (at
that point), but I guess I won.”
“I knew I
was slow,” the happy winner continued. “I couldn’t
even get by the lapped cars. It is tough to go out
because you have to guess (while waiting for the
USAC B main to conclude). You cannot work on your
car as you have to sit there in the hot chute. We
just guessed. I left it stuck out on the right
rear and everything. I knew I was not good, but we
won and I guess that is what counts.”
“It
is cool. I never really watch points or count
them. I just like to race. We always try to do our
best and put ourselves with a chance to be out
front and win some races. This is my favorite
track. I love coming to Bakersfield. I raced
Leland McSpadden here, that is how old I am. It is
a great facility and the Schweitzer’s do a
phenomenal job. The track is just good. I have
been coming here since I was 16 years old in 1980.
It has been a long time.”
Behind Michnowicz
and Lange, Jeff Dyer, Sexton, and Dennett rounded
out the top five. Bakersfield local Leland Day
took home $100.00 for being the “PJ Benidetti Hard
Charger” by placing sixth after starting 13th.
At the end of Tuesday’s race, which was the
16th of the year, Michnowicz was 143 points clear
of second place Greco in the CLS championship
standings. Lange placed third with Robertson
fourth and Speir fifth.
In addition to
winning his sixth CLS title, Michnowicz also sewed
up the Best of the West title that matches the
CLS/SWLS. The veteran driver had a 98-point
cushion between himself and second-place finisher
Greco. Jeff Dyer, Sexton, and Robertson placed
third through fifth. All told, CLS drivers took
eight of the top 10 spots in the first-year
mini-series.
The next item on the agenda
for the CLS will be the 2023 awards banquet on
February 3rd. Details will be available soon on
the CLS Facebook page.,
The CLS has already
announced that its historic 30th season will kick
off during the California Mid-Winter Fair at the
Imperial Valley Raceway with races on March 1st
and 2nd.
The following companies were
marketing partners with the CLS in 2023. Hoosier
Tires West, T-Shirts By Timeless, Extreme
Mufflers, RacingJunk.com, Advanced Racing
Suspension, Channel Islands Floorcoverings, 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/ and follow on the
club’s Facebook page.
California Lightning
Sprint Car Series Bakersfield Speedway November
14th Results
Iron Alliance Engineering
Qualifying: 1. Bobby Michnowicz, 12.580; 2. Levi
Klatt, 12.609; 3. Brodey Graham, 12.812; 4. Eric
Greco, 12.869; 5. Greg Dennett, 12.937; 6. Aiden
Lange, 12.946; 7. Connor Speir, 12.969; 8. Jeff
Dyer, 13.022; 9. Brent Sexton, 13.206; 10. Seth
Dyer, 13.251; 11. Jon Robertson, 13.279, 12. Zate
Legend, 13.336, 13. Leland Day, 13.415; 14. Brent
Horn, 13,657; 15. Jason Schapansky, 13.729; 16.
Pat Kelley, 14.068
AG Sandcars/Triple X
Racing Heat #1: 1. Sexton, 2. Robertson, 3.
Michnowicz, 4. Dennett, 5. Graham, 6. Day, 7.
Speir, 8. Schapansky
T Shirt By Timeless
Heat #2: 1. Seth Dyer, 2. Lange, 3. Jeff Dyer, 4.
Greco, 5. Horn, 6. Kelley, 7. Legend, 8. Klatt
Dash: 1. Jeff Dyer, 2. Michnowicz, 3. Lange,
4. Graham, 5. Dennett, 6. Greco
7th Annual
Western States Lightning Sprint Car Championship
25-Lap Main Event With Starting Positions 1.
Bobby Michnowicz, Oak Hills, CA … 2nd 2. Aiden
Lange, Lakewood, CA …. 3rd 3. Jeff Dyer, Yucca
Valley, CA … 1st 4. Brent Sexton, Lakeside, CA
… 7th 5. Greg Dennett, Livermore, CA … 5th
6. Leland Day, Bakersfield, CA … 13th 7. Eric
Greco, Palmdale, CA … 6th 8. Zate Legend,
Riverside, CA … 10th 9. Brent Horn, El Cajon,
CA … 14th 10. Pat Kelley, Chino, CA … 15th
11. Jason Schapansky, Kamloops, BC, Canada … 16th
12. Levi Klatt, Langley, BC, Canada … 11th
13. Brodey Graham, Bakersfield, CA … 4th 14.
Seth Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA … 8th 15. Jon
Robertson, Torrance, CA … 9th 16. Connor
Speir, Fillmore, CA … 12th
2023 California
Lightning Sprint Car Series Final Point Standings
1. Bobby Michnowicz, Lomita, CA … 2026 2.
Eric Greco, Palmdale, CA … 1883 3. Aiden Lange,
Lakewood, CA … 1509 4. Jon Robertson, Torrance,
CA … 1434 5. Connor Speir, Fillmore, CA … 1383
6. Jeff Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA … 1349 7. Seth
Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA … 1440 8. Cody Nigh,
Camarillo, CA … 959 9. Pat Kelley, Chino, CA …
927 10. Brent Sexton, Lakeside, CA … 817
CLS vs BCRA Civil War Standings 1. Greg
Dennett, BCRA … 504 2. Eric Greco, CLS … 485
3. Bobby Michnowicz, CLS … 447 4. Dakota
Albright, BCRA … 441 5. Aiden Lange, CLS … 430
6. Chris Crowder, BCRA … 343 7. Connor Speir,
CLS … 327 7. Jon Robertson, CLS … 272 9.
Leland Day, CLS … 245 10. Seth Dyer, CLS … 243
2023 CLS vs SWLS Best of the West Standings
1. Bobby Michnowicz, Lomita, CA, CLS … 919 1.
Eric Greco, Palmdale, CA, CLS … 821 3. Jeff
Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA, CLS … 789 4. Brent
Sexton, Lakeside, CA. SWLS … 714 5. Jon
Robertson, Torrance, CA, CLS … 633 5. Connor
Speir, Fillmore, CA, CLS … 632 7. Seth Dyer,
Yucca Valley, CA, CLS … 617 8. Pat Kelley,
Chino, CA, CLS … 577 9. Aiden Lange, Lakewood,
CA, CLS … 490 10. Cody Griggs, Lakeside, CA,
SWLS … 299
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 Jeff
Dyer
June 17 Ventura Raceway CLS/SWLS “Best
of the West” Round #5 Bobby Michnowicz
July 8 Ventura Raceway CLS Bobby Michnowicz
August 19 Ocean Speedway CLS/BCRA “Civil War
Series Round” #2 Chris Crowder
September 9
Bakersfield Speedway CLS/BCRA “Civil War Series”
Round #3 Chris Crowder
September 23 Ventura
Raceway CLS Aiden Lange
September 30 Merced
Speedway CLS/BCRA “Civil War Series” Round #4,
Eric Greco
October 14 Mohave Valley
Speedway CLS/SWLS “Best of the West” Round #6 Jeff
Dyer
October 28 Ventura Raceway CLS Brodey
Graham
November 14 Bakersfield Speedway
CLS/SWLS Best of The West Round #6 Bobby
Michnowicz
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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