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LANGE AND BENDER WIN BATTLES AT VENTURA – KRAMER WINS THE
WAR
(Torrance, CA, November 5, 2019) Aiden Lange and A.J.
Bender won the POWRi Lucas Oil California Lightning Sprint Car Series
main events on October 26 at the Ventura Raceway, but it was Jarrett
Kramer who won the season-long CLS war. For the third time in his
career and second year in a row, the Spring Valley, California veteran
was crowned series champion.
Nineteen cars showed up on the night and Palmdale’s Eric
Greco proved to be the fastest of the group in qualifying when he turned
in a lap of 12.743. New father Bender was second quick at 12.833 and
Lange was third at 12.881.
After “Rockstar” Jon Robertson of Torrance and San
Diego’s Jason Arnolde won the two heat races, it was time for the makeup
main event. That was necessitated by a blown transformer at the track
on October 5th that plunged the back straightaway into darkness and
forced postponement of the race.
Only drivers who qualified for the October 5th main could
start the makeup race. Ventura local Robb Pelmear was slated to be on
the pole for the main event, but he was forced away fighting one of the
wildfires that were ripping through California. That put Lakewood’s
Aiden Lange on the pole in his Langeford Farms/Kopps Custom
Guitars/Spirited by Brad Motorsports/Randall Z Warranty Services/Nurse
Lady Wendy Morell/T Shirts by Timeless/Team Cossey/JDR
Graphics/Camplight Trailer/JST Shocks/Simpson Race
Products/Henchcratf/08 GSXR 1000. Outside Lange was Robertson with soon
to be champ Kramer and teenager James Turnbull of Indio in row two.
Fresh off his heat race win, Robertson stormed into the
lead at the drop of the green flag for the 20-lapper. However, when he
pushed up in turn two on the first lap, Lange blew by him on the inside
for the lead. From that point on the teenage driver led every inch of
the way.
Turnbull was 3rd on the start but was relegated back one
spot on the second lap when Kramer went by. Normally at that point, it
would be a stretch to think the youngster would get back by Kramer.
Especially at Ventura which Kramer has essentially owned in 2019.
Perhaps, with youthful effervescence not allowing him to know any
better, Turnbull would come back at the veteran. Driving a wider line
than most, he picked up momentum over the next couple laps. He then
thrilled everyone when he drove around not only Kramer, but Robertson as
well in one daring swoop to go from fourth to second in turns three and
four on lap five.
While Turnbull’s flashy move caught the crowd's
attention, he was still going to have to do a lot to catch leader Lange
who had built up a sizable advantage. Meanwhile, behind the first two
place cars, changes were happening. Both Kramer and Bender had gotten by
Robertson to move into the third and fourth spots by the end of lap
seven.
As Turnbull had did to him earlier in the race, Kramer
chased the teenager down. The two combatants then engaged in a
crowd-pleasing side by side battle for second that went on for two
laps. That war would have gone on for longer but Turnbull, on the
outside, bicycled big time in turn one on the 11th circuit. By the time
his #2J was on all 4 wheels again, Kramer had moved away.
After Kramer took second back, he had another tough task
at hand because Lange had built up nearly a full straightaway lead. That
advantage quickly dissipated due to a couple lap cars racing
side-by-side as the leaders approached on lap 14. Kramer zeroed in on
Lange and was directly on his tail. When the lappers finally provided
some room, Lange blazed through. But, when Kramer tried to go around
the outside, one of the lappers pushed wide forcing him to take evasive
action and he lost valuable ground as Lange opened a good size lead once
again.
Kramer refused to give up and by the time there were only
two laps to go, he was nipping at the back of Lange’s car again.
Nevertheless, Lange kept the multi-time champ at bay over the final two
circuits and captured his first win of the year by one car length in the
green to checkered main event. Behind the lead duo, San Diego’s Bender
survived a late-race battle to claim third just ahead of Turnbull, who’s
fourth-place finish was his best of the year, and Cody Nigh of
Camarillo.
“The track was kind of rutty and we missed the setup,”
Lange said upon climbing out of his car after the race. “However, due
to track position, we were fortunate enough to hold Jarrett off. He
gave me a helluva’ race.”
Bender was the “Hard Charger” in the first main after
starting fifth.
The regular main event was 25 laps. It started Robertson
on the pole, with Gardena’s Dominic Del Monte on the outside of the
front row. Bender was on the inside of the second row with Nigh next to
him. The third row featured California Highway Patrol officer Jeff
“Ponch” Dyer of Yucca Valley and race #1 winner Lange.
From the outside of the front row, Del Monte got the jump
when the green flag started the race and led the 17-car field into turn
one. Nigh followed Del Monte and momentarily moved into second before
he hit a rut and slipped all the way back to fourth. That put Robertson
in second and Bender in third.
Robertson’s tenure in second did not last for long as
Bender raced around him at the end of the second lap. Three laps later,
Nigh, who had recovered from his first lap bobble, also got by Robertson
for third. Meanwhile out front, Del Monte, who was seeking his first win
of the year, built up a near full straightaway lead.
Del Monte, who was having it all go his way, saw his time
at the point come to a screeching halt when he got into the back of a
lapped car in turn three on the 11th circuit. That moved Bender into the
lead and Nigh up to 2nd.
Lapped traffic was proving brutal for the leaders in the
second main. At times it was on the inside, outside and in the middle
to boot. Despite that, 2018 CLS Rookie of the Year grant Sexton of
Lakeside, worked his way from eighth up to third when he passed Lange on
lap 15. However, Bender had a massive lead in the Abacus/bakersfieldhomeforsale.com/Van’s
Lodging/R-Tillery Powersports/Automotive Radiator Service/Watkins
Construction #41 and nobody was going to catch him. Despite all the
wild lapped traffic, the main event again went green to checkered with
Bender winning by a full straightaway. Nigh placed second with Sexton,
Kramer and Lange finishing third through fifth. Treble champ Kramer was
the “Hard Charger” after starting 11th.
“It is tough to get a win here,” Bender said when joined
on the infield by his fiancé and infant daughter. “This is not even the
car I usually drive. The Schweitzer team worked its butt off. It is
pretty cool to get a win with my newborn here. She is a month old.”
The CLS season is down to one race. The 3rd Annual Lucas
Oil POWRi California Lightning Sprints Western States Championship at
the Bakersfield Speedway on November 23rd. While Kramer has his third
title wrapped up going into that one, three positions are still up for
grabs in the top-10. Bender is second but is only 17-points ahead of
Nigh. The battle for fourth is even tighter as Greco is a mere
three-markers in front of Lange. Six-place is also still to be decided
as Del Monte is just 31-points ahead of Kingsburg’s Doug Nunes.
October 26 Main Event (with starting positions)
1. A.J. Bender – San Diego, CA – 3rd
2. Cody Nigh – Camarillo, CA – 4th
3. Grant Sexton – Lakeside, CA – 8th
4. Jarrett Kramer – Spring Valley, CA – 11th
5. Aiden Lange – Lakewood, CA – 6th
6. James Turnbull – Indio, CA – 12th
7. Jeff Dyer – Yucca Valley, CA – 5th
8. Dominic Del Monte – Gardena, CA – 2nd
9. Brent Sexton – Lakeside, CA – 10th
10. Jon Robertson – Torrance, CA – 1st
11. Jason Arnolde – San Diego, CA – 7th
12. Eric Greco – Palmdale, CA – 9th
13. Chase Gaal – O’Neals, CA – 14th
14. Brent Horn – Alpine, CA – 13th
15. Mark Henry – Rosamond, CA – 16th
16. Greg Sandling – Anza, CA – 17th
17. Larry Hanson – Orange, CA – 15th
October 5 Make Up Main Event
1. Aiden Lange – Lakewood, CA – 1st
2. Jarrett Kramer – Spring Valley, CA – 3rd
3. A.J. Bender – San Diego, CA – 8th
4. James Turnbull – Indio, CA – 4th
5. Cody Nigh – Camarillo, CA – 5th
6. Eric Greco – Palmdale, CA – 6th
7. Dominic Del Monte – Gardena, CA – 9th
8. Jon Robertson – Torrance, CA – 10th
9. Mark Henry – Rosamond, CA – 13th
10. Greg Sandling – Anza, CA – 11th
11. Larry Hansen – Orange, CA – 12th
12. Frank Ditmar – Lakewood, CA – 7th
13. Jason Arnolde – San Diego, CA – 10th
POWRi Lucas Oil California Lightning Sprint Car Standings
1. Jarrett Kramer – Spring Valley, CA – 1983
2. A.J. Bender – San Diego, CA – 1761
3. Cody Nigh - Camarillo, CA - 1744
4. Eric Greco – Palmdale, CA – 1611
5. Aiden Lange - Lakewood, CA – 1608
6. Dominic Del Monte – Gardena, CA – 1570
7. Doug Nunes -Kingsburg, CA – 1539
8. Jeff Dyer – Yucca Valley, CA – 1368
9. Bobby Michnowicz - Lomita, CA – 1295
10. Jon Robertson - Torrance, CA – 1192
The POWRi Lucas Oil California
Lightning Sprint Car Series would like to thank the following sponsors
for helping make the 2019 season possible: Lucas Oil, All Coast
Construction, Christian Stover Foundation, Circle Track Performance,
Cold Fire West, Fast Undercar, Hoosier Tire, Keizer Wheels, Outlaw
Wings, Racing Optics, Rod End Supply, Speed Partz, Super Shocks, T
Shirts by Timeless and Woodland Auto Display.
If you or your company would like to become part of the
series for its 26th season in 2019, please call Bobby Michnowicz at
(310) 320-5569.
To keep up with the CLS online, please visit the website
at
http://racecls.com/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/californialightningsprints/
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