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Welcome To The Official Website Of The California Lightning Sprints! 

California Lightning Sprints
JUNE 3:
BAKERSFIELD SPEEDWAY
Bakersfield, California
(CLS/BCRA Civil War)
JUNE 17:
VENTURA RACEWAY
Ventura, California
(Wagsdash)
JULY 8:
VENTURA RACEWAY
Ventura, California

2023 CLS Membership Application Form (pdf format)

CLS VS BCRA CIVIL WAR KICKS OFF SATURDAY AT THE BAKERSFIELD SPEEDWAY
(Torrance, CA, May 31, 2023)
The California Lightning Sprint Cars and the Bay Cities Racing Association kick off the annual Civil War Series this Saturday, June 3, at Scott Schweitzer’s Bakersfield Speedway. The race will be the first of four that pits two of the best lightning sprint car series in the nation against each other.....(more)

BOBBY MICHNOWICZ WINS HIS SECOND CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINT CAR MAIN EVENT IN A ROW
(Torrance, CA, May 23, 2023)
The hottest lightning sprint car racer in the nation, Bobby Michnowicz, continued his impressive season last Saturday night when he won the California Lightning Sprint Car/POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car “Best of the West” main event at Scott Schweitzer’s Bakersfield Speedway. The win was his second in a row and allowed him to extend his lead in both the CLS and the “Best of the West” series....(more).

CLS POINT STANDINGS (AFTER MAY 20)
1. 21X BOBBY MICHNOWICZ 796, 2. 8g ERIC GRECO 692, 3. 4 JEFF DYER 594, 4. 42 JON ROBERTSON 569, 5. 22 A.J. BENDER 533, 6. 3 PAT KELLEY 482, 7. 57 CONNOR SPEIR 477, 8. 4x SETH DYER 459, 9. 44 BRENT SEXTON 388, 10. 13x AIDEN LANGE 358, 11. 45 CODY NIGH 355, 12. 56k CODY GRIGGS 299, 13. 18 ROBBY BROCKMAN 260, 14. 21k JARRETT KRAMER 240, 15. 97 LELAND DAY 197...(more)

MAY 20 BAKERSFIELD RACE RESULTS

BOBBY MICHNOWICZ WINS HIS FIRST CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE OF 2023
(Torrance, CA, May 17, 2023) Through the first four races of 2023, five-time California Lightning Sprint Car Series champion Bobby Michnowicz got off to a phenomenal start with three second-place finishes and a third. Last Saturday night at Jim Naylor’s Ventura Raceway, the wily veteran nabbed his first win of the year and extended his lead to 69 points in the championship standings. This Saturday night, the CLS joins forces with the POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Cars for round #4 of the “Best of the West Series” at Scott Schweitzer’s Bakersfield Speedway....(more).

CLS POINT STANDINGS (AFTER MAY 13)
1. 21X BOBBY MICHNOWICZ 658, 2. 8g ERIC GRECO 589, 3. 22 A J BENDER 533, 4. 4 JEFF DYER 471, 5. 42 JON ROBERTSON 463, 6. 3 PAT KELLEY 414, 7. 44 BRENT SEXTON 388, 8. 57 CONNOR SPEIR 381, 9. 4x SETH DYER 379, 10. 18 ROBBY BROCKMAN 260, 11. 13x AIDEN LANGE 247, 12. 45 CODY NIGH 229, 13. 56k CODY GRIGGS 205, 14. 20 KEVIN BATES 158, 15. 20 RYAN DUMAS 157....(more)

MAY 13 VENTURA RACE RESULTS

CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINT CARS AT VENTURA SATURDAY WITH NEW SPONSORS AND SCHEDULE UPDATE
(Torrance, CA, May 9, 2023)
After a month off in the schedule, the California Lightning Sprint Car Series returns to action this Saturday, May 13th, when it makes the first of six 2023 appearances at Jim Naylor’s Ventura Raceway. While the CLS has been idle since AJ Bender outdistanced the competition at the last race on April 8th at the Bakersfield Speedway, things behind the scenes have been busy with a race added to the “Best of the West Series” and a pair of new sponsors have come on board....(more).

CLS MEMBER COMMUNICATION
(
Torrance, CA, April 25, 2023) Greetings and Felicitations fellow racers! Just a brief note during our short hiatus between events. I hope everyone is taking this interlude between races to empty out those old coin jars, cash in the aluminum cans and get your cars all serviced and ready for the next phase in our schedule. Change the oil, grease those torsion bars, clean the injectors, polish the muffler bearings and freshen up your blinker fluid because our next event is May 13th . It's our first chance this season to party at the beach at Ventura Raceway!!! Summer is on it's way and so is a plethora of great racing. Your not going to want to miss out on a single race as we've got a lot of exciting events coming up..(more)

CLS MEMBER COMMUNICATION
(Torrance, CA, April 14, 2023)
Yet another quick note to bring everyone more exciting news! California Lightning Sprints is pleased to announce 2 new additions to our 2023 contingency sponsors. King Racing Products and BR Motorsports have both returned to provide contingency award certificates at all CLS racing events for 2023....(more)

AJ BENDER TRIUMPHS IN CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINT CAR RACE AT BAKERSFIELD
(Torrance, CA, April 11, 2023) When the competitors in the California Lightning Sprint Car Series heard the old saying “the band is getting back together again” last week, they initially paid no attention to it. However, when they found out it meant that star driver AJ Bender was again teaming up with long-time car owner Mike Schweitzer for last Saturday’s race at the Bakersfield Speedway, it struck fear in their hearts. As it turned out, that was rightfully so as Bender smashed the competition to win his second CLS main of the 2023 season...(more).  

CLS POINT STANDINGS (AFTER APRIL 8)
1. 21X BOBBY MICHNOWICZ 522, 2. 8g ERIC GRECO 463, 3. 22 A J BENDER 399, 4. 44 BRENT SEXTON 388, 5. 57 JEFF DYER 384, 6. 42 JON ROBERTSON 365, 7. 3 PAT KELLEY 328, 8. 4x SETH DYER 285, 9. 18 ROBBY BROCKMAN 280, 10. 25 CONNOR SPEIR 271, 11. 56k CODY GRIGGS 205, 12. 13x AIDEN LANGE 171, 13. 4 KEVIN BATES 158, 14. 3 BRADEN CHIARAMONTE 140, 15. 20 RYAN DUMAS 137...(more).

APRIL 8 BAKERSFIELD RACE RESULTS

SEXTON BEATS MICHNOWICZ IN CLS MAIN AT MOHAVE – BAKERSFIELD THIS WEEK
(Torrance, CA, April 3, 2023) The statement “Youth Must Be Served” proved to be an April Fool’s joke when the California Lightning Sprint Cars and the POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Cars co-sanctioned round #3 on Saturday night at the Mohave Valley Raceway. Geezers Brent Sexton, Bobby Michnowicz, and Jeff Dyer, who have a combined age of 149 years, claimed the top three spots in the 20-lap main event on the 1/3 mile banked clay oval...(more).  

BEST OF THE WEST POINT STANDINGS (AFTER APRIL 1)
1. BOBBY MICHNOWICZ 388, 2. BRENT SEXTON 388, 3. ERIC GRECO 371, 4. ROBBY BROCKMAN 280, 5. JEFF DYER 280, 6. CONNOR SPEIR 271, 7. SETH DYER 262, 8. A J BENDER 261, 9. JON ROBERTSON 254, 10. PAT KELLEY 240, 11. CODY GRIGGS 205, 12. KEVIN BATES 158, 13. RYAN DUMAS 137, 14. DEE JAY DUMAS 109, 15. BRENT HORN 105..(more).

CLS POINT STANDINGS (AFTER APRIL 1)
1. BOBBY MICHNOWICZ 388, 2. BRENT SEXTON 388, 3. ERIC GRECO 371, 4. JEFF DYER 280, 5. ROBBY BROCKMAN 280, 6. CONNOR SPEIR 271, 7. SETH DYER 262, 8. A J BENDER 261, 9. JON ROBERTSON 254, 10. PAT KELLEY 240, 11. CODY GRIGGS 205, 12. KEVIN BATES 158, 13. RYAN DUMAS 137, 14. DEE JAY DUMAS 109, 15. BRENT HORN 105...(more).

APRIL 1 MOHAVE VALLEY CLS/SWLS BEST OF THE WEST RACE RESULTS

THE OLD GUARD LEADS THE CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINT CARS INTO MOHAVE VALLEY RACEWAY THIS SATURDAY
(Torrance, CA, March 27, 2023) Shaking off the disappointment of a rainout at the Bakersfield Speedway two weeks ago, the California Lightning Sprint Car Series continues its 29th season this Saturday night, April 1st, at Arizona’s Mohave Valley Raceway. The race will be round #3 of the “Best of the West” series that is co-sanctioned by the CLS and the POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Cars. Spectator gates at the track that is located just across the Colorado River from Needles, California, will open at 5 PM and the first race will be at 7:00....(more).

BRADEN CHIARAMONTE GETS AN UNEXPECTED RIDE AND WINS BEST OF THE WEST SERIES RACE AT IMPERIAL
(Torrance, CA, March 18, 2023)
Sixteen year old racer Braden Chiaramonte went to the Imperial Valley Raceway with plans to race his 360 sprint car in the Southern California Open Competition Non Wing Sprint Car race. After getting there, the rising star was offered a chance to drive one of Sexton Gatlin Racing’s potent cars in the lightning sprint car portion of the show and he parlayed the opportunity into his first win of the 2023 season....(more).

SATURDAY’S CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINT CAR RACE AT THE BAKERSFIELD CANCELED DUE TO SATURATED CONDITIONS

(Torrance, CA, March 16, 2023)
Due to saturated conditions from recent storms, this Saturday’s California Lightning Sprint Car Series race at the Bakersfield Speedway has been canceled. The CLS race will not be rescheduled....(more).

CLS MEMBER COMMUNICATION
(Torrance, CA, March 15, 2023)
Attention all racers..... just received word from the track that the event at Bakersfield Speedway this weekend has been cancelled, it's hard to fight Mother Nature and win. The good news is this gives everyone a couple of weeks to get your stuff together for the April 1st show at Mohave Speedway! Be ready for round 3 of the CLS/SWLS Best of the West series! If it's anything like the last 2 races at Imperial it should be a pretty racy event!..(more).

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, 2020 No Award, 2021 David Gasper, 2022 David Gasper

 
 
 

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