ERIC GRECO SWEEPS THE SHOW AND WINS HIS SECOND STRAIGHT CLS MAIN AT VENTURA (Torrance, CA, October 1, 2024) Ask Glendale College student Eric Greco what his favorite racetrack is right now, and it is about 100 percent sure that he would say the Ventura Raceway. For the second race in a row, the Palmdale, California resident defeated six-time California Lightning Sprint Car Series champion Bobby Michnowicz to win the main event on the tiny fairground’s oval. Eric Greco and family after his third CLS win of the year and second in a row at Ventura. CLS photo. On a night when Greco finished with a bang, he also kicked things off with a lot of notice when he set the fastest time in qualifying at 12.230. Yucca Valley’s Jeff Dyer, in only his third race back after his terrifying USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series crash at Perris Auto Speedway on July 13th, was second quickest at 12.245. Oak Hills resident Michnowicz timed in third best with a 12.260. Camarillo’s Cody Nigh, a graduate of San Diego State University, recorded the fourth swiftest lap at 12.300. Seventeen-year-old Seth Dyer was fifth when he paused the clocks at 12.638. Greco continued to shine when he won the night's first heat race over Seth Dyer, Michnowicz, “Rockstar” Jon Robertson of Torrance and Roland Smith. Nigh took the checkers before anyone else in the second heat. Like his son in the first heat, California Highway Patrol Officer Jeff Dyer finished second. Bill Changus of Fillmore and Castaic’s Clay Byers rounded out the field. For the main event, Greco, who won two weeks earlier at Ventura and won at the Bakersfield Speedway on June 15th, was on the pole. Jeff Dyer started alongside. Michnowicz, who leads the CLS with four main event wins in 2024, began the 25-lapper on the inside of row two. Alongside of him was Seth Dyer. Row three featured Nigh and “The Rockstar.” Greco, in his beautiful Janssen’s Certified Floor Fabric Care/Sidewaze Designs/Michael Lange Chassis/Triple X/ Zx10r, went green to checkers for his second straight 25-lap main event win. The affable racer had a comfortable 2.190 second lead over runner-up finisher Michnowicz. Jeff Dyer, Nigh and Byers rounded out the top five. The win in the main gave Greco the sweep. However, it came at a cost, as his engine let go as he crossed the line at the end. Byers, who started seventh and finished fifth, was the race “Hard Charger.” Coming away from Ventura, Michnowicz has a 74-point lead over Greco with three points-paying-races left this year. Nigh currently holds down the third spot. The best battle in the standings is for the fourth place position. Seth Dyer is currently fourth with 1176. His father, Jeff, is 11 points behind with 1165. Robertson is sixth and only trails the elder Dyer by four points. This week, the CLS will travel north for the 10th Annual Wayne Albright Memorial at Doug Lockwood’s Merced Speedway. The race will also be the final round of the annual Civil War Series, pitting the CLS with the Bay Cities Racing Association. Going into the event, the CLS holds down nine of the top 10 spots in the CWS. Fillmore’s Connor Speir has a four-point lead over Greco going into the finale. The remainder of the top five are Michnowicz, BCRA’s Greg Dennett, and Seth Dyer. The Albright Memorial will pay $1,035.00 to win. The 25-lap main event will have $50.00 in lap money every lap. In addition, there is over $1,000.00 in other performance awards on the night. Spectator gates at Merced will open at 5:00 p.m. with racing at 7:00. The track is located at 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Merced, California. For further information, the track website is http://www.mercedspeedway.net/, and the office phone number is (209) 600-8382. After Merced, the CLS will return to Ventura for one last time in 2024 on October 26th. 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 Cars Ventura Raceway September 28 Results Qualifying: 1. Eric Greco, 12.230; 2. Jeff Dyer, 12.245; 3. Bobby Michnowicz, 12.261; 4. Cody Nigh, 12.300; 5. Seth Dyer, 12.638; 6. Tatum Manu, 12.936; 7. Jon Robertson, 13.039; 8. Clay Byers, 13.197; 9. Roland Smith, 13.402; 10. Bill Changus, 18.284 Heat #1: 1. Greco, 2. Seth Dyer, 3. Michnowicz, 4. Robertson, 5. Smith Heat #2: 1. Nigh, 2. Jeff Dyer, 3. Changus, 4. Byers Main Event 25-Laps (with starting positions and time behind) 1. Eric Greco, Palmdale, CA (1st) 2. Bobby Michnowicz, Oak Hills, CA (3rd) … +2.190 3. Jeff Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA (2nd) … +3.598 4. Cody Nigh, Camarillo, CA (5th) … +6.754 5. Clay Byers, Castaic, CA (7th) … +1 Lap 6. Jon Robertson, Torrance, CA (6th) … +1 Lap 7. Roland Smith, CA (9th) … +3 Laps 8. Bill Changus, Fillmore, CA (8th) … +5 Laps 9. Seth Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA (4th) +18 Laps 2024 California Lightning Sprint Car Series Points 1. Bobby Michnowicz, Oak Hills, CA … 1499 2. Eric Greco, Palmdale, CA … 1425 3. Cody Nigh, Camarillo, CA … 1258 4. Seth Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA … 1176 5. Jeff Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA … 1165 6. Jon Robertson, Torrance, CA … 1161 7. Connor Speir, Fillmore, CA … 1108 8. Zate Legend, Riverside, CA … 1086 9. Clay Byers, Castaic, CA … 768 10. Pat Kelley, Chino, CA … 622 CLS vs BCRA Civil War Points 1. Connor Speir, CLS … 243 2. Eric Greco, CLS … 239 3. Bobby Michnowicz, CLS … 216 4. Greg Dennett BCRA … 198 5. Seth Dyer, CLS … 191 6. Jon Robertson, CLS … 183 7. Zate Legend, CLS … 181 7. Leland Day, CLS … 181 9. Pat Kelley, CLS … 163 10. Clay Byers, CLS … 159 2024 CLS Lap Leaders Michnowicz, Bobby … 116 Greco, Eric … 54 Speir, Connor … 33 Dyer, Jeff … 25 Kinney, Hunter … 25 Dyer, Seth … 17 Lange, Aiden … 16 Bender, AJ … 15 Dyer, Seth … 9 Nigh, Cody … 4 Dennett, Greg … 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 Rained Out April 20 Bakersfield Speedway CLS Bobby Michnowicz May 4 Ventura Raceway CLS AJ Bender May 18 Bakersfield Speedway CLS Bobby Michnowicz June 8 Ventura Raceway CLS Bobby Michnowicz June 15 Bakersfield Speedway CLS Eric Greco July 6 Santa Maria Speedway CLS Jeff Dyer July 27 Santa Maria Speedway CLS vs BCRA Civil War #1 Connor Speir September 13 Bakersfield Speedway CLS vs BCRA Civil War #2 Hunter Kinney September 14 Ventura Raceway CLS Eric Greco September 28 Ventura Raceway CLS Eric Greco October 5 Merced Speedway CLS vs BCRA Civil War #3 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.