Aiden Lange Scores Second Straight CLS Victory in Front of a Large Crowd at Santa Maria Torrance, CA – July 8, 2025 — Aiden Lange continued his red-hot run in the Motor City Buick/GMC California Lightning Sprint Car Series by capturing his second consecutive main event victory—and third in just six starts this season—on Saturday night at a packed Santa Maria Speedway. The 23-year-old Lakewood, California native’s commanding performance also catapulted him from fifth to second in the series’ championship point standings. Aiden Lange, after setting Diablo Fabrication Fast Time in Qualifying at Santa Maria. CLS Photo. Lange started his night with authority, setting the fast time in Diablo Fabrication Qualifying with a blistering lap of 13.225 seconds. He narrowly edged out rookie phenom Drake Cardey of Riverside (13.258), who is currently heading east to race a micro for Keith Kunz Motorsports. Point leader Eric Greco of Palmdale was third-fastest at 13.364, followed by Yucca Valley’s Jeff Dyer (13.583) and Braydin Collie of El Cajon (13.610). In Racing Junk Heat Race #1, Lange charged from eighth to first to take the win, besting Leland Day of Bakersfield and Cardey. However, in Extreme Muffler Heat Race #2, Lange was forced to settle for second behind Cardey, with Greco finishing third. The 30-lap main event featured Cardey and Day on the front row, with Collie and Lange behind them in row two. After an aborted initial start, Cardey surged to the early lead on the restart, trailed by Day and Collie. Lange quickly moved to third by the end of lap one and into second one lap later. Soon after, a caution for Collie, who stopped on the front straight, halted the action, bunching the field back up. Cardey, sporting a new engine and seeking his first CLS win, reasserted his lead after the restart. Greco passed Day to claim third. By lap seven, Cardey had built a healthy advantage. That cushion evaporated on lap 11 when he encountered slower traffic, allowing Lange to close the gap. When the two leaders got by the lapped car, Cardey inched away again and looked poised for his first lightning sprint car victory. However, disaster struck on lap 16 when his gorgeous red and white #59 machine began to smoke and coasted to a stop, bringing out a yellow flag. That handed the lead to Lange. From there, Lange (Langeford Farms/Kopp’s Custom Guitars/Spirited By Brad/Vital Pack/Randallz Warranty Service/H2O Fire Protection/JDR Graphics/T-Shirts by Timeless/Jake Swanson Shock Technology/Collie Ollie Designs/iza.ini/Sweets by Tiffany/SRK Graphics/Triple X Chassis/2017 Kawasaki ZX10) controlled the remaining laps to notch his third win of the season and fifth of his CLS career. Greco, who finished fourth in both CLS races at Santa Maria in 2024, secured second, followed by Zate Legend or Riverside, Day, and “Rockstar” Jon Robertson of Torrance. “You hate to get it like that, Cardey ran a fantastic race,” the cordial winner told the large crowd. “I don’t think I would have caught him. He nailed the start and took off. I was just following to see what I could learn from him. He did an amazing job. I feel for him. We blew up a motor two races ago. It hurts, and I am pretty sure that (Cardey) was a brand-new motor. That is rough.” “I want to thank Motor City Buick/GMC for sponsoring the series, and American Racer and Hoosier Tire,” Lange continued. “We are very grateful to have a very talented club with a lot of very talented drivers. It feels great when we can stick it to them again.” Legend, who is about to make his 360 sprint car debut at Ventura, earned the Eibach Spring Forward Award and the SpeedMart Hard Charger Award. Cardey’s bad fortune netted him the Hyper Racing and SpeedMart Hard Luck Awards. The results shook up the Motor City Buick/GMC Championship point standings. With seven-time CLS champion Bobby Michnowicz sidelined due to illness, Greco extended his lead from 14 to 80 points. Lange surged from fifth to second, while Legend climbed to third. Cardey now sits fourth, with Michnowicz in fifth. The California Lightning Sprint Car Series returns to Santa Maria Speedway on July 26 for Round #2 of the annual Civil War Series against the Bay Cities Racing Association—a can’t-miss showdown for fans of open-wheel excitement. July 5th Motor City Buick/GMC California Lightning Sprint Car Series Santa Maria Speedway Results Diablo Fabrication Qualifying: 1. Aiden Lang, 13.225; 2. Drake Cardey, 13.258; 3. Eric Greco, 13.364; 4. Jeffrey Dyer, 13.583; 5. Braydin Collie, 13.610; 6. Zate Legend, 13.761; 7. Leland Day, 13.769; 8. Jon Robertson, 14.114; 9. Roland Smith, 14.276 Racing Junk Heat #1: 1. Lange, 2. Day, 3. Cardey, 4. Collie, 5. Robertson, 6. Dyer, 7. Greco, 8. Legend, 9. Smith Extreme Muffler Heat #2: 1. Cardey, 2. Lange, 3. Greco, 4. Legend, 5. Collie, 6. Robertson, 7. Day, 8. Smith. 9. Dyer 20-Lap Main Event (With starting positions and Distance Behind) 1. Aiden Lange, Lakewood, CA … (4th) 2. Eric Greco, Palmdale. CA … (5th) +2.060 3. Zate Legend, Riverside, CA … (7th) +5.226 4. Leland Day, Bakersfield, CA … (2nd) +5.580 5. Jon Robertson, Torrance, CA … (6th) +7.420 6. Roland Smith, (8th) … 1 Lap 7. Drake Cardey, Riverside, CA … (1st) + 5 Laps 8. Braydin Collie, El Cajon, CA … (3rd) + 9 Laps DNS Jeff Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA 2025 CLS Contingency Awards 7/5/25 - Santa Maria Heat Races Award Recipient Racing Junk Heat Race #1 winner Competition Suspension Inc. $50 product certificate - Aiden Lange Extreme Muffler Heat Race #2 winner Extreme Muffler $50 product certificate - Drake Cardey ARS Heat Race #3 winner Advanced Racing Suspensions $50 product certificate Main Event Award Winner Aiden Lange 2nd place BR Motorsports - $25 product certificate - Eric Greco 3rd place Joie of Seating - $250 product certificate - Zate Legend 4th place Saldana Racing Products - $50 product certificate - Leland Day 5th place King Racing Products $25 product certificate - Jon Robertson 6th place Rebel Gear – 35% off product purchase - Roland Smith Highest finisher with Hoosier tires on all 4 corners.Hoosier  free tire - Aiden Lange Quick time Diablo Fabrication $50 product certificate - Aiden Lange Spring Forward (Hard Charger) Eibach - $100 product certificate SpeedMart - $50 product certificate - Zate Legend Hard Luck Award Hyper Racing - $50 product certificate SpeedMart - $50 product certificate - Drake Cardey Criteria Award CLS Member - Extreme Mufflers 10% off purchase CLS Member - EZ Up 30-40% off purchase CLS Member - RC Fuel Injection 50% off products and services to all race series participants CLS Member - Rod End Supply $30 off each $100 for CLS participants CLS Member - Series Champion - Triple X Race Components $500 off any chassis or chassis kit CLS Raffle News: The CLS is excited to announce that Outlaw Wings has donated a free top wing to be raffled off on October 25th. Raffle tickets are just $5 and will be available at all CLS events throughout the season. For more updates and series information, follow the California Lightning Sprint Car Series on social media and visit the official website at racecls.com. The CLS would like to thank the following companies for being partners in the 2025 season. Motor City Buick/GMC, American Racer Tires, T Shirts By Timeless, Advanced Racing Suspension, BR Motorsports, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Diablo Fabrication and Design, Eibach Springs, Extreme Mufflers, EZ UP, Hoosier Tires, The Joie of Seating, King Racing Products, Outlaw Wings, RacingJunk.com, RC Fuel Injection, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, SpeedMart, and Triple X Race Components. If you would like to join the CLS and be a marketing partner in 2025, please contact Jon Robertson via email at jon.robertson@sbcglobal.net or by calling (310) 367-9050. Motor City Buick/GMC California Lightning Series Points 1. Eric Greco … 721 2. Aiden Lange … 641 3. Zate Legend … 639 4. Drake Cardey … 591 5. Bobby Michnowicz … 580 6. Braydin Collie … 564 7. Jeff Dyer … 557 8. Leland Day … 523 9. Jon Robertson … 445 10. Cody Nigh … 400 CLS vs BCRA Point Standings 1. David Gasper, CLS … 133 2. Eric Greco, CLS … 130 3. Hunter Kinney, BCRA … 124 4. Jeff Dyer, CLS … 122 5. Bobby Michnowicz, CLS … 118 6. Cody Nigh, CLS … 102 7. Greg Dennett, BCRA … 95 8. Dakota Albright, BCRA … 94 9. Braydin Collie, CLS … 88 10. Zate Legend, CLS … 84 2025 California Lightning Sprint Car Series Schedule April 12 Bakersfield Speedway Eric Greco May 3 Ventura Raceway Aiden Lange May 17 Merced Speedway David Gasper (CLS vs BCRA Civil War) May 31 Ventura Raceway Postponed June 7 Bakersfield Speedway Jeff Dyer June 21 Ventura Raceway Aiden Lange July 5 Santa Maria Speedway Aiden Lange July 26 Santa Maria Speedway CLS vs BCRA Civil War With NARC Sprint Car Series on Flo August 22 Plaza Park Raceway August 23 Lemoore Jet Bowl Raceway August 30 Ventura Raceway September 12 Bakersfield Speedway CLS vs BCRA Civil War With World of Outlaws on Dirt Vision September 13 Merced Speedway CLS vs BCRA Civil War Albright Memorial October 4 Ventura Raceway October 25 Ventura Raceway November 25 Bakersfield Speedway Western Lightning Sprint Car Championship with USAC National Midgets on Flo 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, 2024 Bobby Michnowicz Special Thanks to Wendy Michnowicz This press release was produced by Scott Daloisio Sports (909) 226-7768 mailto:sdaloisiosports@gmail.com