BCRA’s Greg Dennett Wins First Civil War Race of 2026 — CLS Drivers Place Second Through Fourth Torrance, CA — June 30, 2026 — Greg Dennett, the defending Civil War Series champion, scored the victory when the California Lightning Sprint Car Series presented by Motor City Buick/GMC visited Merced Speedway for the first CLS vs. BCRA Civil War race of 2026 last Saturday night. CLS drivers Bobby Michnowicz, Aiden Lange, and rookie Liam Coffey placed second through fourth. The CLS returns to action this Saturday, July 4, at the Doug Fort Memorial at Santa Maria Speedway. 2025 CLS champion Aiden Lange of Lakewood opened the night by recording the fastest lap in Keizer Aluminum Wheels Qualifying with a sizzling 12.547. Michnowicz, the legendary seven-time CLS champion from Oak Hills, was second quickest at 12.648. Dennett, who hails from Livermore, turned in the third-fastest lap with a 12.767. Citrus Heights driver Hunter Kinney and Dakota Albright of Waterford rounded out the top five with laps of 12.812 and 12.814, respectively. Albright, who earlier this year won the Wayne Albright Memorial honoring his father, captured Extreme Muffler Heat Race #1 ahead of Lange and CLS rookie Liam Coffey of San Bernardino. Michnowicz won Advanced Racing Suspension Heat Race #2 over his nephew, Cody Nigh of Camarillo, and BCRA’s Justin Norton. For the main event on the popular Central California track, Dennett started on the pole with Albright alongside. Seven-time CLS champion Michnowicz was on the inside of row two, with defending series champion Lange to his right. Row three featured Nigh and Kinney. Dennett steered his Greg’s Hardwood Floors/Tonya Dennett Realtor #47 into the lead at the start, led every lap, and was only briefly challenged by Michnowicz. Early on, Albright held second and maintained the runner-up spot until lap three, when Michnowicz flew by. By that time, Dennett was nearly a half-straightaway in front. Dennett caught the lappers on the ninth circuit while still holding a sizable lead. By lap 11, his advantage was 1.3 seconds over Michnowicz. However, Michnowicz began chipping away at Dennett’s lead, and by lap 18, he had cut the deficit to 0.7 seconds. But things were about to change quickly. On lap 19, with Michnowicz closing in, Dennett encountered two lapped cars racing side by side. What had once been more than a one-second lead completely disappeared. Michnowicz took full advantage of the situation. First, he tried the high side, and then he went to the bottom. However, Dennett was equal to each challenge, and once he reached clear sailing ahead, he pulled away for a convincing win. Michnowicz stayed second. Late-race passes saw Lange and Coffey get by Albright to finish third and fourth, with Albright coming home fifth. Rookie Coffey earned the Eibach Spring Forward and SpeedMart Hard Charger awards. Kinney, who pulled off on lap one, received the Hyper Racing and SpeedMart Hard Luck awards. Heading into the next rounds of the Civil War Series at Plaza Park and the Lemoore Jet Bowl on August 7 and 8, Dennett and Michnowicz are deadlocked at the top of the four-race series point standings. Lange is third, with Albright and Coffey tied for fourth. This Saturday, the CLS heads to Santa Maria Speedway for the second and final time in 2026. The first race there this year was on April 4, when Grant Sexton won the main event. Joining the CLS at Santa Maria will be the Avanti Windows and Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Cars, USAC Western States Midgets, and the Creations Coastal Financial Dwarf Cars. Gates will open at 4:00 p.m., with racing at 6:00. For more information or to order advance tickets, visit the track website at santamariaspeedway.net.  The office phone number is (805) 619-0478. Santa Maria Speedway is located at 1900 Hutton Road in Nipomo, California. For updates and complete series information, follow the California Lightning Sprint Car Series on Facebook or visit the official website at racecls.com. Keizer Aluminum Wheels Qualifying: 1. Aiden Lange, 12.547; 2. Bobby Michnowicz, 12.648; 3. Greg Dennett, 12.767; 4. Hunter Kinney, 12.812; 5. Dakota Albright, 12.814; 6. Cody Nigh, 12.963; 7. Liam Coffey, 12.992; 8. Justin Norton, 13.471; 9. Kyndal Barstow, 13,972; Bryan Key, 14.035 Extreme Muffler Heat #1: 1. Albright, 2. Lange, 3. Coffey, 4. Dennett, 5. Barstow Advanced Racing Suspension Heat #2: 1. Michnowicz, 2. Nigh, 3. Norton, 4. Keys, 5. Kinney Main Event (with starting positions) 1. Greg Dennett, Livermore, CA … 1st 2. Bobby Michnowicz, Oak Hills, CA … 3rd 3. Aiden Lange, Lakewood, CA … 4th 4. Liam Coffey, San Bernardino, CA … 7th 5. Dakota Albright, Waterford, CA … 2nd 6. Cody Nigh, Camarillo, CA … 5th 7. Justin Norton, Cares, CA …8th 8. Bryan Keys, Waterford, CA …19th 9. Hunter Kinney, Citrus Heights, CA … 6th DNS Kyndal Barstow, Denair, CA Heat Races - Award Recipient Racing Junk Heat Race #1 winner Competition Suspension Inc. $50 product certificate Dakota Albright Extreme Muffler Heat Race #2 winner Extreme Muffler $50 product certificate Bobby Michnowicz ARS Heat Race #3 winner Advanced Racing Suspensions $50 product certificate Main Event Award Winner 2nd place BR Motorsports - $25 product certificate Bobby Michnowicz 3rd place Saldana Racing Products - $50 product certificate Aiden Lange 4th place King Racing Products $25 product certificate Liam Coffey 5th place Rod End Supply - Dakota Albright 6th place Smith titanium - Cody Nigh 7th place West Evans - Justin Norton Quick time Keizer Aluminum Wheels- $50 product certificate Aiden Lange Spring Forward (Hard Charger) Eibach - $100 product certificate SpeedMart - $50 product certificate Liam Coffey Hard Luck Award Hyper Racing - $50 product certificate SpeedMart - $50 product certificate Hunter Kinney 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 Series Champion Triple X Race Components $500 off any chassis or chassis kit Motor City Buick/GMC California Lightning Sprint Car Point Standings 1. Jeff Dyer … 790 2. Tyler Warner ® … 725 3. Aiden Lange … 720 4. Liam Coffey … 671 5. Jon Robertson … 581 6. Cody Nigh … 563 7. Brent Sexton … 413 8. Bobby Michnowicz … 364 9. Shane Sexton … 340 10. Braydin Collie … 332 CLS vs SCLS California Clash Points 1. Aiden Lange … 252 2. Jeff Dyer … 235 3. David Taft … 224 4. Peter Benker … 223 5. Shane Sexton … 216 6. Braydin Collie … 206 7. Cody Benker … 195 8. Brent Sexton … 189 8. Cody Nigh … 189 9. AJ Bender … 189 CLS vs BCRA Civil War Points 1. Grege Dennett … 135 1. Bobby Michnowicz … 135 3. Aiden Lange … 130 4. Dakota Albright … 117 4. Liam Coffey … 117 6. Mike Nigh … 109 7. Justin Nortin … 101 8. Hunter Kinney … 93 8. Bryan Key … 93 10 Kyndal Barstow … 28 The CLS would like to thank the following companies for being marketing partners in the 2026 season. Series sponsor Motor City GMC Associate Sponsors American Racer Timeless Enterprises R&R Racing Quick Change Liquid Energy - The Official Energy Drink of CLS Contingency sponsors ARS BR Motorsports CSI Shocks Eibach Extreme Mufflers Keizer Wheels King Racing Optics Rebel Gears Racing Junk Rod End Supply Smith Titanium Speedmart West Evans If you would like to join the CLS and be a marketing partner in 2026, please contact Jon Robertson via email at jon.robertson@sbcglobal.net or by calling (310) 367-9050. 2026 Motor City Buick/GMC California Lightning Sprint Car Series Schedule March 6 CLS/SCLS Clash #1 Imperial Valley Raceway - Jeff Dyer March 7 CLS/SCLS Clash #2 Imperial Valley Raceway – David Taft March 21 CLS Ventura Raceway – Cody Nigh April 4 CLS & 305 Sprint Cars Santa Maria Speedway – Grant Sexton May 2 CLS Bakersfield Speedway/Kern – Jeff Dyer May 30 CLS Ventura Raceway – Bobby Michnowicz June 13 CLS Ventura Raceway _ Aiden Lange June 27 CLS vs BCRA Civil War Race (None Points) Merced Speedway – Greg Dennett July 4 CLS & USAC/CRA Sprint Cars Santa Maria Speedway August 7 CLS vs BCRA Civil War Race (None Points) Plaza Park Visalia August 8 CLS vs BCRA Civil War Race (None Points) Lemoore Jet Bowl August 29 CLS/SCLS Clash Race #3 Perris Auto Speedway September 19 CLS vs BCRA Civil War Race (None Points) Merced Speedway September 25 CLS with World of Outlaws CLS/SCLS Clash #4 Bakersfield Speedway September 26 CLS with World of Outlaws CLS/SCLS Clash #5 Ventura Raceway October 17 CLS Ventura Raceway October 24 CLS Ventura Raceway November 21 CLS/SCLS Clash Race #6 Barona Speedway 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 2025 Aiden Lange Special thanks to Wendy Michnowicz and Ed Haney Video. This press release was produced by Scott Daloisio Sports (909) 226-7768 mailto:sdaloisiosports@gmail.com