California Lightning Sprints Take on the BCRA Saturday at Santa Maria Speedway Torrance, CA — July 21, 2025 — The California Lightning Sprint Car Series, presented by Motor City Buick/GMC, is gearing up for a high-stakes showdown this Saturday, July 26th, when it takes on the Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) in Round #2 of the 2025 Civil War Series at Santa Maria Speedway. Aiden Lange is shooting for his third straight CLS this Saturday at Santa Maria. CLS photo. This will mark the second meeting of the season between the two long-running organizations. In the opener at Merced Speedway on May 17th, CLS racers dominated, capturing seven of the top ten positions in the main event. Leading the charge was two-time series champion David Gasper of Goleta, who scored the win in the 25-lap feature. Current CLS point leader Eric Greco of Palmdale finished second, while Hunter Kinney of Citrus Heights led the BCRA effort with a third-place finish. Rounding out the top five were CLS standouts Bobby Michnowicz of Oak Hills and Jeff Dyer of Yucca Valley. The CLS also controlled Diablo Fabrication Qualifying at Merced, posting the six fastest times and seven of the top ten overall. Veteran Michnowicz set the fast time of the night with a blistering 12.207-second lap. While CLS owned qualifying and the main event, BCRA scored wins in two of the three heat races. Kinney and Elk Grove’s Matt Land claimed the Competition Suspension and Extreme Muffler heats, respectively. Gasper secured the final heat in the Advance Racing Suspension sponsored preliminary. Heading into Round #2, CLS holds seven of the top ten positions in the Civil War standings. Gasper leads the series with a narrow three-point advantage over Greco. Kinney is third, followed by Dyer and Michnowicz in fourth and fifth. Aiden Lange of Lakewood enters Saturday’s contest as the hottest driver in the CLS. The 23-year-old has won back-to-back series races, including the most recent stop at Santa Maria on July 5th. Adding his May 3rd victory at Ventura, Lange has won three of the first six races in 2025. Other feature winners this season include Greco, Gasper, and California Highway Patrol officer Dyer. Despite his three wins, Lange trails Greco by 80 points in the Motor City Buick/GMC CLS season-long championship standings. A pair of Riverside teenagers, Zate Legend and Drake Cardey, currently sit third and fourth, with Michnowicz in fifth. Cardey, who made waves recently in his debut with Keith Kunz Motorsports driving a 600 non-wing micro in the Midwest, currently leads the CLS Rookie of the Year standings. He is just 27 points ahead of Braydin Collie, a teenager from El Cajon. Saturday’s action-packed program will also feature the NARC King of the West Sprint Cars, IMCA Racesaver Sprint Cars, and Pro Dwarfs, promising fans a night full of wheel-to-wheel excitement. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticket Information: Adults (18+): $30.00 Seniors (65+) & Military (active and retired): $28.00 Students (11–17): $10.00 Kids (10 & under): FREE Gates open: 4:00 p.m. Racing begins: 6:00 p.m. Location: Santa Maria Speedway – 1800 Hutton Road, Santa Maria, CA Phone: (805) 609-0478 Website: Santa Maria Speedway on MyRacePass Live Stream: Available on Flo Ticket Information Adult 18 plus 30 dollars Seniors 65 plus and Military Active and retired $28 students 11 to $1710 Kids 10 and under free gates Open four PM Racing Kids 6:00 PM Location Santa Maria Speedway 1800 Hutton Rd Santa Maria CA 80560 904-7857 Santa Maria Speedway on my race plus live stream available on Flow Racing -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Up Next for the CLS: After Saturday’s Civil War clash, the CLS heads north for back-to-back races at Plaza Park Raceway in Visalia and Lemoore Jet Bowl Raceway on August 22nd and 23rd. 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