Michnowicz Doubles Up in CLS Central California Weekend, Dennett Wins Civil War Title Torrance, CA — September 18, 2025 — As the old saying goes, “let sleeping dogs lie.” Unfortunately for his rivals, Bobby Michnowicz was wide awake and last Saturday night, the seven-time California Lightning Sprint Car Series (CLS) champion scored his second win in as many nights, capturing the Albright Memorial and final round of the CLS vs. BCRA Civil War Series at Kevin Lockwood’s Merced Speedway. While Michnowicz swept the weekend’s main events, it was BCRA’s Greg Dennett who clinched the Civil War Series championship after the four-race battle. Bobby Michnowicz went back to back at Bakersfield and Merced last weekend. CLS photo. Michnowicz backed up his Friday night triumph at Bakersfield Speedway—where he led every lap—by doing the same again at Merced. Since returning last month from a serious illness, the Oak Hills, California star has been on a tear with two wins and a runner-up finish in three starts. 2025 Civil War Series champion, Greg Dennett. CLS photo. He set the tone early, topping the 23-car field in Diablo Fabrication Qualifying. His only hiccup of the night came in Racing Junk Heat #1, where he settled for second behind Yucca Valley’s Jeff Dyer. Bakersfield’s Leland Day claimed third. In Extreme Muffler Heat #2, BCRA drivers Jason Schostag of Hangtown and Matt Land of Elk Grove finished first and second, with CLS rookie standout Drake Cardey of Riverside third. ARS Heat #3 went to BCRA’s Dakota Albright of Waterford, followed by Dennett and CLS point leader Aiden Lange of Lakewood. When the main rolled to the grid, the front row mirrored Friday’s lineup with Michnowicz and California Highway Patrol Officer Dyer side by side. BCRA’s Albright and Dennett filled row two, while Schostag and Land started from row three. Cardey and Lange made up row four. For the second night in a row, Michnowicz grabbed the lead entering turn one and never looked back. His Outlaw Wings/Super Shox/Bondio Fabrication/Fabozi Metal Works/Fast Time Studios/Keizer/TJ Forged/Timeless T-Shirts/Triple X Chassis/Kawasaki ZX10/21k sprinter steadily pulled away as battles raged behind him. Early action saw Land and Cardey trade the fifth spot before the first of four yellow flags slowed the pace. On lap 12, Dennett slipped past Albright for third, setting up a fierce duel between Cardey and Albright for fourth. Another caution on lap 13 bunched the field again, giving Dennett repeated shots at Dyer for second. Each time, Dyer successfully defended before yet another yellow interrupted the fight. The final six laps ran clean, and predictably, Michnowicz motored away to score his second straight flag-to-flag victory. His margin at the checkers was 10 car lengths over Dyer, who held off Dennett. Albright and Cardey completed the top five. Dennett’s third-place run was enough to secure the 2025 Civil War Series crown. BCRA’s Justin Norton of Ceres earned the Eibach Spring Forward Award after charging from 20th to 13th. Albright collected a free Hoosier Tire certificate as the highest finisher on four Hoosiers, and Kennedy Ramirez was awarded the Hyper Racing/SpeedMart Hard Luck honors after losing a left rear wheel in the main. “It is kind of cool to watch the tv monitor and see what the track is doing and be able to make changes to your car,” Michnowicz said after the win. “So I tightened it up and it was good. I never really thought of running the top in three and four. It looked like marbles. You never know when you are in the lead how close everybody is. It was good on the top down here (one and two). All of a sudden I seen the lapped cars were making good speed and pushing the front end. I knew there was rubber down there, so I decided to go down there before Jeff, Dennett, Dakota or somebody would go by me.” Dennett was the lone BCRA driver to finish inside the top seven of the final Civil War standings—but he occupied the most important spot, first place. Just two points back in second was CLS point leader Aiden Lange. Rookie sensation Drake Cardey claimed third overall, making him the top first-year driver in the four-race series. Michnowicz and Jeff Dyer rounded out the top five. The 31st season of the California Lightning Sprint Car Series presented by Motor City Buick/GMC is rapidly nearing its conclusion. Only three races remain on the 2025 calendar: October 4 at Ventura, October 25 at Ventura, and the season finale on November 25 at Bakersfield. Lange currently holds a 99-point advantage over Cardey in the regular season championship chase. Zate Legend sits third, 125 markers behind the leader. Dyer is fourth—and the only driver in the top five older than 23—while El Cajon rookie Braydion Collie occupies fifth overall and ranks second in rookie points. 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. 2025 CLS Contingency Awards 9/13/25 - Merced Heat Races Award Recipient Racing Junk Heat Race #1 winner - Competition Suspension Inc. $50 product certificate Jeff Dyer Extreme MufflerHeat Race #2 winner - Extreme Muffler $50 product certificate Jason Schostag ARS Heat Race #3 winner - Advanced Racing Suspensions $50 product certificate Dakota Albright 2nd place - BR Motorsports - $25 product certificate Jeff Dyer 3rd place - Joie of Seating - $250 product certificate Greg Dennett 4th place - Saldana Racing Products - $50 product certificate Dakota Albright 5th place - King Racing Products $25 product certificate Drake Cardey Highest finisher with Hoosier tires on all 4 corners. - Hoosier – free tire Dakota albright Quick time - Diablo Fabrication $50 product certificate Bobby Michnowicz Spring Forward (Hard Charger) Eibach - $100 product certificate - SpeedMart - $50 product certificate Justin Norton Hard Luck Award - Hyper Racing - $50 product certificate - SpeedMart - $50 product certificate Kennedy Ramirez 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 September 13 CLS vs BCRA Civil War/Albright Memorial Results Racing Junk Heat #1: 1. Jeff Dyer, 2. Bobby Micchnowicz, 3. Leland Day, 4. Zate Legend, 5. Hunter Kinney, 6. Scott Kinney, 7. Jon Robertson, DNS Kennedy Ramirez Extreme Muffler Heat #2: 1. Jason Schostag, 2. Matt Land, 3. Drake Cardey, 4. Braydon Collie, 5. Bradley Schmidt, 6. Justin Norton., 7. Cody Dayton ARS Heat #3: 1. Dakota Albright, 2. Greg Dennett, 3. Aiden Lange, 4. Marshall Sexton, 5.Jose Feroloti, 6. Mike Scrivner, DNS Cody Nigh Albright Memorial Main Event (With Starting Positions) 1. Bobby Michnowicz, Oak Hills, CA (1st) 2. Jeff Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA (2nd) 3. Greg Dennett, Livermore, CA (4th) 4. Dakota Albright, Waterford, CA (3rd) 5. Drake Cardey, Riverside, CA (7th) 6. Aiden Lange, Lakewood, CA (8th) 7. Zate Legend, Riverside, CA (12th) 8. Jason Schostag, Hangtown, CA (5th) 9. Scott Kinney, Citrus Heights, CA (15th) 10. Braydin Collie, El Cajon, CA (9th) 11. Matt Land, Elk Grove, CA (6th) 12. Leland Day, Bakersfield, CA (11th) 13. Justin Norton, Ceres, CA (20th) 14. Jon Robertson, Torrance, CA (16th) 15. Cody Dayton, Placerville, CA (21st) 16. Marshall Sexton, Ceres, CA (10th) 17. Hunter Kinney, Citrus Heights, CA (19th) 18. Cody Nigh, Camarillo, CA (17th) 19. Bradley Schmidt, Placerville, CA (13th) 20. Josef Ferolito, Modesto, CA (18th) 21. Kennedy Ramirez, Placerville, CA (22nd) 22. Mike Scrivner, San Jose, CA (14th) Motor City Buick/GMC California Lightning Series Points 1. Aiden Lange … 1362 2. Drake Cardey … 1263 3. Zate Legend … 1237 4. Jeff Dyer … 1173 5. Braydin Collie … 1160 6. Bobby Michnowicz … 1100 7. Eric Greco … 1073 8. Leland Day … 1010 9. Jon Robertson … 919 10. Cody Nigh … 786 CLS vs BCRA Civil War Series Final Points 1. Greg Dennett, BCRA … 427 2. Aiden Lange, CLS … 425 3. Drake Cardey, CLS … 401 4. Bobby Michnowicz, CLS … 391 5. Jeff Dyer, CLS … 381 6. Braydin Collie, CLS … 377 7. Zate Land, CLS … 373 8. Matt Land, BCRA … 367 9. Leland Day, CLS … 352 10. Eric Greco, CLS … 328 Central California Shootout Final Points 1. Aiden Lange …242 2. Drake Cardey … 225 3. T.J. Smith … 224 4. Jeff Dyer … 221 5. Leland Day … 213 6. Braydin Collie … 207 7. Hunter Kinney ... 206 8. Zate Legend … 199 9. Jon Robertson … 187 10. Eric Greco … 139 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 Aiden Lange August 22 Plaza Park Raceway Eric Greco August 23 Lemoore Jet Bowl Raceway Hunter Kinney August 30 Ventura Raceway Jeff Dyer September 12 Bakersfield Speedway CLS vs BCRA Civil War Bobby Michnowicz September 13 Merced Speedway CLS vs BCRA Civil War Bobby Michnowicz 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