ERIC GRECO KEEPS TITLE HOPES ALIVE WITH CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINT CAR WIN AT VENTURA (Torrance, CA, October 28, 2024) Eric Greco kept his championship aspirations alive by winning his fourth California Lightning Sprint Car Series main event of 2024 at the Ventura Raceway last Saturday night. The Glendale College student will enter the November 26th CLS season finale at the Bakersfield Speedway 103 points behind six-time champion Bobby Michnowicz. Eric Greco after winning his fourth main of the year last Saturday at Ventura. CLS photo. Greco, who calls Palmdale, California home, kicked off the program by turning in the fastest qualifying time of the night with a 12.117. Michnowicz, who won at Ventura on June 8th, was second quickest at 12.233. Cody Nigh, from nearby Camarillo, was the third fastest at the track he grew up at when he stopped the clocks at 12.457. California Highway Patrol Officer, Jeff “Ponch” Dyer of Yucca Valley, timed in fourth with a 12.968, and “Rockstar” Jon Robertson of Torrance was fifth at 13.110. A pair of eight-lap heat races proceeded the main event. The first one was lined straight up by qualifying times. Greco and Michnowicz, who lives in Oak Hills, were on the front row. Wily veteran Michnowicz beat Greco to the checkers for the win. Dyer, Broedy Graham of Bakersfield, and Nigh rounded out the top five. A few minutes later, Graham won the second heat, which was totally inverted, over Greco and Dyer. The 20-lap main event had Greco, who won the previous two races at Ventura, on the pole. In the Schweitzer #41 car, teenager Graham edged the field into turn one with Greco, Dyer, and Michnowicz right behind. Dyer slipped wide coming off turn four on the opening lap, handing the third spot to Michnowicz. The top five were in the same order when the field completed the fifth go-around. The only difference was that Graham had established a good-sized lead. Likewise, in second place, Greco had a good cushion between himself and third place, “Bobby M.” Things changed on the ninth lap as Greco quickly chased down the leader and nearly passed him on the back chute. Something on the front end of Graham’s car broke. However, he kept the car in front through turn four. Suddenly, the car jerked hard to the right and slammed into the crashwall before flipping past the starter’s stand. His crew surmised that the mount on the right front radius rod snapped. Fortunately, the teen was not injured but was frustratingly out of the race after leading the first nine laps. The race had 11 laps to go when it was restarted with Greco in the lead, and Michnowicz, Dyer, the “Rockstar,” and Nigh second through fifth. When the bright green lights came back on, Dyer attempted to use the outside to try and get around Michnowicz for the third. Michnowicz was equal to the challenge and held Dyer off. However, as they were fighting each other, Greco was inching away out front. While most of the cars were spread out around the track, Michnowicz and Dyer put on an entertaining fight for second. Going into turn one on lap 14, Dyer, nearly drove around Michnowicz. However, the wily veteran got a better drive off turn two and maintained the second-place spot. Greco, in his immaculate Janssen’s Certified Floor Fabric Care/Sidewaze Designs/Michael Lange Chassis/Triple X/ Zx10r, had pulled away from the battle for second and was counting the first-place prize money with a little less than four laps to go when Nigh stopped in turn two, bringing out a yellow flag. The last restart was uneventful until the final turn in the race. Greco led the remainder of the laps and had room to spare at the checkers. After the last caution, Dyer switched strategies and went to the bottom. He nearly passed Michnowicz on the first bend on lap 18. Michnowicz held him at bay, but coming off turn four on the final lap, Dyer executed a perfect slider and stole the runner-up spot. Not far behind the lead trio, Robertson raced across the line in fourth, with teenager Zate Legend fifth. Dyer was the race Hard Charger. The win was Greco’s fourth of the 2024 campaign and third in the last four races. It tied him with Michnowicz for most CLS wins in 2024. Greco will have his work cut out for him heading into the finale as he tries to catch Michnowicz. With 142 points up for grabs and being 103 behind, Greco will need a near-perfect night and bad luck for the leader to win the title. Dyer is third, and Nigh and Robertson are tied for fourth going into the season ender. The CLS would like to thank the following companies for being partners in the 2024 season. Extreme Mufflers, RacingJunk.com and Hoosier Tire. October 26 Ventura Raceway California Lightning Sprint Car Race Results Qualifying: 1. Eric Greco, 12.117; 2. Bobby Michnowicz, 12.233; 3. Cody Nigh, 12.457; 4. Jeff Dyer, 12.968; 5. Jon Robertson, 13.110; 6. Zate Legend, 13.127; 7. Broedy Graham, 13.649; 8. Seth Dyer, no time; 9. Dale Gamer Heat 1: 1. Michnowicz, 2. Greco, 3. Dyer, 4. Graham, 5. Nigh, 6. Robertson, 7. Gamer Heat 2: 1. Graham, 2, Greco, 3. Dyer, 4. Michnowicz, 5. Legend, 6. Robertson, 7. Gamer 30-Lap Main Event (with starting positions and distance behind) 1. Eric Greco, Palmdale, CA … (1st) 2. Jeff Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA … (4th) … +1.093 3. Bobby Michnowicz, Oak Hills, CA … (3rd) +1.237 4. Jon Robertson, Torrance, CA … (5th) … +4.170 5. Zate Legend, Riverside, CA … (6th) … +4.757 6. Cody Nigh, Camarillo, CA … (7th) … +5.226 7. Broedy Graham, Bakersfield, CA … (2nd) +11 Laps 8. Dale Gamer, Anaheim, CA … (8th) +17 Laps DNS Seth Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA 2024 California Lightning Sprint Car Series Points 1. Bobby Michnowicz, Oak Gills, CA … 1758 2. Eric Greco, Palmdale, CA … 1655 3. Jeff Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA …1420 4. Cody Nigh, Camarillo, CA … 1367 4. Jon Robertson, Torrance, CA … 1367 6. Zate Legend, Riverside, CA … 1290 7. Seth Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA … 1282 8. Connor Speir, Fillmore, CA … 1199 9. Clay Byers, Castaic, CA … 768 10. Leland Day, Bakersfield, CA … 640 CLS vs BCRA Civil War Points 1. Bobby Michnowicz, CLS … 345 2. Connor Speir, CLS … 334 3. Eric Greco, CLS … 329 4. Greg Dennett BCRA … 309 5. Zate Legend, CLS … 276 6. Seth Dyer, CLS … 274 7. Leland Day, CLS … 263 8. Jon Robertson, CLS … 256 9. Matt Land, BCRA … 219 9. Jeff Dyer, CLS … 219 2024 CLS Lap Leaders Michnowicz, Bobby … 118 Greco, Eric … 65 Dyer, Jeff … 39 Speir, Connor … 33 Kinney, Hunter … 25 Dyer, Seth … 17 Lange, Aiden … 16 Bender, AJ … 15 Dyer, Seth … 9 Albright, Dakota … 9 Graham, Broedy … 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 Dakota Albright October 26 Ventura Raceway CLS Eric Greco 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