CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINTS TAKE ON THE BCRA IN ROUND #1 OF THE CIVIL WAR SERIES SATURDAY AT MERCED (Torrance, CA, April 8, 2024) After a month off, the California Lightning Sprint Car Series will head north this Saturday, April 13th, to square off against the Bay Cities Racing Association in round #1 of the annual Civil War Series at the “Gateway to Yosemite,” the Merced Speedway. The race will be the fourth of the season for the CLS. Going into Saturday’s race, Lakewood’s Aiden Lange sits on top of the CLS championship point standings. The winner of the season-opening CLS race at the Imperial Valley Raceway on March 1st during the California Midwinter Fair, he brings a 51-point advantage over Camarillo’s Cody Nigh in the standings. Palmdale’s Eric Greco, Connor Speir of Fillmore, and six-time CLS champion Bobby Michnowicz of Oak Hills comprise the remainder of the top five. Besides Lange, Speir and Michnowicz have posted series wins in 2024. Speir’s win came on the second night of racing during the Midwinter Fair while Michnowicz bested the field at the legendary Bakersfield Speedway on March 9th. The four-race Civil War Series will see two of the races take place in CLS territory and two in the land of BCRA. After this Saturday at Merced, it will be nearly three and a half months before round two takes place at the Santa Maria Raceway on Jully 27th. Round #3 will be at the CLS home track, the Bakersfield Speedway, on September 13th. The finale will switch back to Merced on October 5th. In 2023, Colorado’s Chris Crowder won the two middle races in the four-race Civil War Series. Those victories came at the Ocean Speedway and Bakersfield. Wrapped around Crowder’s wins were triumphs from CLS regulars Jeff Dyer of Yucca Valley at Bakersfield and Palmdale’s Eric Greco on the same Merced oval the clubs will duel at on Saturday. When the smoke from the battle cleared after the four races in 2023, BCRA star Greg Dennett of Livermore was the champion. Greco finished second with Michnowicz third. Dakota Albright of Waterford and Lange rounded out the top five. The CLS teams will have no time to rest after this weekend’s date on the popular Merced quarter mile. On Saturday, April 20th, the club will head to Bakersfield for the second of six times in 2024. Joining the lightning sprints on Merced’s action-packed program will be the USAC Western States & BCRA Midgets, mini stocks, dwarf cars, and the IMCA Hobby Stocks. Spectator gates will open at 5:00 p.m. and the first green flag will fly at 7:00. The track is located at 900 Martin Luther King Drive in Merced, California. The website is http://www.mercedspeedway.net/  and the office phone number is (209) 383-7799. The CLS would like to thank the following companies for being partners in the 2024 season. Extreme Mufflers, RacingJunk.com and Hoosier Tire. California Lightning Sprint Car Series Points 1. Aiden Lange, Lakewood, CA … 382 2. Mike Nigh, Camarillo, CA … 324 3. Eric Greco, Palmdale, CA … 278 4. Connor Speir, Fillmore, CA … 271 5. Bobby Michnowicz, Oak Hills, CA … 254 6. Jeff Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA … 250 7. Brent Sexton, Lakeside, CA … 248 8. Jon Robertson, Torrance, CA … 246 9. Ryan Dumas, San Diego, CA …198 10. Pat Kelley, Chino, CA … 194 Lap Leaders After Three Races 1. Bobby Michnowicz … 24 2. Conner Speir … 20 3. Aiden Lange … 16 4. Cody Nigh … 4 5. Greg Dennett … 1 2024 California Lightning Sprint Car Series Schedule March 1 Imperial Valley Raceway Mid-Winter Fair Aiden Lange March 2 Imperial Valley Raceway Mid-Winter Fair Connor Speir March 9 Bakersfield Speedway CLS Bobby Michnowicz April 13 Merced Speedway CSL vs BCRA Civil War #1 April 20 Bakersfield Speedway CLS May 4 Ventura Raceway CLS May 18 Bakersfield Speedway CLS June 8 Ventura Raceway CLS June 15 Bakersfield Speedway CLS July 5 Santa Maria Speedway CLS July 6 Santa Maria Speedway CLS July 27 Santa Maria Speedway CLS vs BCRA Civil War #2 September 13 Bakersfield Speedway CLS vs BCRA Civil War #3 September 14 Ventura Raceway CLS September 28 Ventura Raceway CLS October 5 Merced Speedway CLS vs BCRA Civil War #4 Albright Memorial October 26 Ventura Raceway CLS November 15 Placerville Speedway Hangtown 100 – No Points November 16 Placerville Speedway Hangtown 100 – No Points November 26 Bakersfield Speedway CLS 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 This press release was produced by Scott Daloisio Sports (909) 226-7768 mailto:sdaloisiosports@gmail.com