Thirteen-Year-Old Blayden Graham Wins Lemoore Race – Michnowicz Takes Bullring Nationals Title Torrance, CA — August 17, 2026 — Driving Mike Schweitzer’s #41, 13-year-old Blayden Graham scored the win in round two of the Bullring Nationals on a scorching hot night at Lemoore Jet Bowl Raceway. While Graham won the battle, CLS G.O.A.T. Bobby Michnowicz won the war, outscoring the field over the two-night event with a third-place finish the previous night at Keller Auto Center Plaza Park Raceway in Visalia and a second in the finale at the Jet Bowl. Blayden Graham with family, crew and friends after his 1st CLS win at Lemoore. Michnowicz, who has seven CLS championship trophies sitting on his mantle, started the night by setting fast time in Keizer Aluminum Wheels Qualifying with a lap of 10.650. Defending CLS champion Aiden Lange turned in the second-best time around the famous oval at 10.732. Third-quick was Bakersfield-based Graham with a 10.825. In only his second CLS start of the year, Boise State College student Eric Greco was fourth at 10.868, and Cody Nigh was fifth with a 10.912. CLS rookie Liam Coffey took the honors in Racing Junk Heat #1, with Nigh and Graham chasing him home. For the second night in a row, Lange won Extreme Muffler Heat #2. BCRA’s lone representative on the night, Greg Dennett of Livermore, placed second with Greco third. When the field rolled out for the 25-lap main, Bakersfield’s Leland Day was on the pole with Greco alongside. Michnowicz and Graham occupied row two, with Nigh and Lange in row three. On the original start, Greco jumped and the race was yellow-flagged, moving him back to row two. That put Graham, driving a car powered by a Kawasaki ZX12 engine 13 years older than he is and a Henchcraft chassis six years older than him, on the outside of the front row for the restart. When the green flag flew, Graham blasted into the lead with Greco right behind. Despite bunny-hopping through turn three on the opening circuit, Graham quickly pulled away. By the end of lap three, he had built nearly a half-straightaway advantage over Greco. By lap five, the youngster was still running roughshod over the field. However, that came to a screeching halt when Lange, who had battled brake issues earlier, stopped on the back chute with a throttle problem. His night was over with a frustrating ninth-place finish. For the restart with 19 laps remaining, Graham had the Bill Mell & Associates Real Estate Services/World Famous Tom Downing/M-P Environmental/3N1 Sports/Elite Signs/Abacus/TRB/Circle 8 Services/Quick Time Design/Hot Rod Engineering #41 out front. Greco, Michnowicz, Nigh and “Rockstar” Jon Robertson lined up behind him. Graham, looking like a seasoned veteran, nailed the restart. Michnowicz dove under Greco entering turn one, slid up the track in turn two and grabbed second. Greco tried to return the favor in turn three, but wily veteran Michnowicz held the spot. Behind the lead duo, Nigh worked the bottom while Greco rode the top in a crowd-pleasing side-by-side battle for third that Greco eventually won. Meanwhile, the 13-year-old up front was putting on a clinic. Hitting his marks lap after lap, Graham was nearly a half-straightaway ahead again by the end of lap 10. That meant one thing — barring a yellow or red, lapped traffic was coming. Sure enough, on lap 14 he caught three cars battling for position. Graham disposed of the first lapper on the high side, then went low for the next. Things got sketchy in turn four on lap 17 when he nearly got into the back of the third lapper while the car he had just passed came back underneath. Graham suddenly found himself the meat in a three-wide sandwich. They sorted it out on the front stretch, but Graham remained trapped between the two lapped cars for another couple of circuits. Finally, the third lapper bobbled in turn four and Graham shot past. The lapped car tried to fight back coming off the corner, but Graham powered away and resumed his romp. From there, it was smooth sailing. Graham raced to his first-ever CLS victory, with Michnowicz second, Greco third, Nigh fourth and Coffey fifth. Rookie Coffey, who started ninth and finished fifth, earned both the Eibach Spring Forward and SpeedMart Hard Charger awards. Lange was the recipient of the Rebel Gears Hard Luck Award. “A huge thank‑you to the sponsors who stepped up and made this event special for racers and fans alike,” CLS President Jon Robertson said. “Motor City GMC, American Racer, TJ Forged, Quick Change Liquid Energy, R&R Racing, Greg’s Hardwood Floors, Sexton Fire Protection, A&G Sand Cars, PJ Benedetti the Italian Stallion, Schweitzer, Cakes by Kim, and especially TShirts by Timeless — Bobby and Wendy’s (Michnowicz) hard work made this entire weekend possible.” The CLS returns to action on August 29th in a co-sanctioned California Clash Series race with the SoCal Lightning Sprints on the quarter mile at Perris Auto Speedway. There has been a change to the CLS schedule. The California Clash race #6 at Barona moved to Oct 10 (from Nov 21). 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. Bobby Michnowicz, 10.650; 2. Aiden Lange, 10.732; 3. Blayden Graham, 10.825; 4. Eric Greco, 10.868; 5. Cody Nigh, 10.912; 6. Leland Day, 10.983; 7. Jon Robertson, 11.033; 8. Greg Dennett, 11.104; 9. Liam Coffey, 11.294 Racing Junk Heat #1: 1. Coffey, 2. Nigh, 3. Graham, 4. Robertson, 5. Michnowicz Extreme Muffler Heat #2: 1. Lange, 2. Dennett, 3. Greco, 4. Day Main Event – 25 Laps (With Starting Position and Distance Behind 1. Blayden Graham, Bakersfield, CA (4th) 2. Bobby Michnowicz, Oak Hills, CA (3rd) … +2.761 3. Eric Greco, Palmdale, CA (2nd) … +4.189 4. Cody Nigh, Camarillo, CA (5th) … +7.779 5. Liam Coffey, San Bernardino, CA (9th) … +1 Lap 6. Jon Robertson, Torrance, CA (7th) … +1 Lap 7. Greg Dennett, Livermore, CA (8th) … +1 Lap 8. Leland Day, Bakersfield, CA (1st) … +1 Lap 9. Aiden Lange, Lakewood, CA (6th) … +19 Laps Aug 8th– Lemoore Heat Races - Award - Recipient Racing Junk Heat Race #1 winner Competition Suspension Inc. $50 product certificate - 22 Liam Coffey Extreme Muffler Heat Race #2 winner Extreme Muffler $50 product certificate - 47 Greg Dennett ARS Heat Race #3 winner Advanced Racing Suspensions $50 product certificate Main Event Award Winner 2nd place BR Motorsports - $25 product certificate - 21k Bobby Michnowicz 3rd place Saldana Racing Products - $50 product certificate - 8g Eric Greco 4th place King Racing Products $25 product certificate  - 45 Cody Nigh 5th place Smith titanium - 22 Liam Coffey Quick time Keizer Aluminum Wheels- $50 product certificate - 21k Bobby Michnowicz Spring Forward (Hard Charger) Eibach - $100 product certificate West Evans - $25 product certificate - 22 Liam Coffey Hard Luck Award Rebel Gear - 13x Aiden Lange 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 … 928 2. Tyler Warner ® … 855 3. Aiden Lange … 842 4. Liam Coffey ® … 691 5. Jon Robertson … 690 6. Cody Nigh … 681 7. Brent Sexton … 505 8. Lealand Day … 436 9. Braydin Collie … 432 10. Bobby Michnowicz … 364 Bullring Nationals Points 1. Bobby Michnowicz … 261 2. Cody Nigh … 251 3. Eric Greco … 238 4. Blayden Graham … 231 5. Aiden Lange … 211 6. Greg Dennett … 209 7. Liam Coffey … 208 8. Jon Robertson … 206 8. Leland Day … 184 10. Dakota Albright … 135 CLS vs BCRA Civil War Points 1. Bobby Michnowicz … 396 1. Cody Nigh … 364 3. Greg Dennett … 344 4. Aiden Lange … 341 5. Liam Coffey … 325 6. Dakota Albright … 252 7. Eric Greco … 248 8. Blayden Graham … 231 8. Jon Robertson … 206 10 Leland Day … 184 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 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 – Jeff Dyer August 7 CLS vs BCRA Civil War Race (None Points) Plaza Park Visalia – Dakota Albright August 8 CLS vs BCRA Civil War Race (None Points) Lemoore Jet Bowl – Blayden Graham 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 10 CLS/SCLS Clash Race #6 October 17 CLS Ventura Raceway October 24 CLS Ventura Raceway 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