KENYON MIDGETS AND OTHER RACING SERIES RACE RESULTS AND NEWS AND NOTES

Aiden Lange, after setting Diablo Fabrication Fast Time in Qualifying at Santa Maria. CLS Photo.

Lange started his night with authority, setting the fast time in Diablo Fabrication Qualifying with a blistering lap of 13.225 seconds. He narrowly edged out rookie phenom Drake Cardey of Riverside (13.258), who is currently heading east to race a micro for Keith Kunz Motorsports. Point leader Eric Greco of Palmdale was third-fastest at 13.364, followed by Yucca Valley’s Jeff Dyer (13.583) and Braydin Collie of El Cajon (13.610).

In Racing Junk Heat Race #1, Lange charged from eighth to first to take the win, besting Leland Day of Bakersfield and Cardey. However, in Extreme Muffler Heat Race #2, Lange was forced to settle for second behind Cardey, with Greco finishing third.

The 30-lap main event featured Cardey and Day on the front row, with Collie and Lange behind them in row two. After an aborted initial start, Cardey surged to the early lead on the restart, trailed by Day and Collie. Lange quickly moved to third by the end of lap one and into second one lap later. Soon after, a caution for Collie, who stopped on the front straight, halted the action, bunching the field back up.

Cardey, sporting a new engine and seeking his first CLS win, reasserted his lead after the restart. Greco passed Day to claim third. By lap seven, Cardey had built a healthy advantage. That cushion evaporated on lap 11 when he encountered slower traffic, allowing Lange to close the gap.

When the two leaders got by the lapped car, Cardey inched away again and looked poised for his first lightning sprint car victory. However, disaster struck on lap 16 when his gorgeous red and white #59 machine began to smoke and coasted to a stop, bringing out a yellow flag. That handed the lead to Lange.

From there, Lange (Langeford Farms/Kopp’s Custom Guitars/Spirited By Brad/Vital Pack/Randallz Warranty Service/H2O Fire Protection/JDR Graphics/T-Shirts by Timeless/Jake Swanson Shock Technology/Collie Ollie Designs/iza.ini/Sweets by Tiffany/SRK Graphics/Triple X Chassis/2017 Kawasaki ZX10) controlled the remaining laps to notch his third win of the season and fifth of his CLS career. Greco, who finished fourth in both CLS races at Santa Maria in 2024, secured second, followed by Zate Legend or Riverside, Day, and “Rockstar” Jon Robertson of Torrance.

“You hate to get it like that, Cardey ran a fantastic race,” the cordial winner told the large crowd. “I don’t think I would have caught him. He nailed the start and took off. I was just following to see what I could learn from him. He did an amazing job. I feel for him. We blew up a motor two races ago. It hurts, and I am pretty sure that (Cardey) was a brand-new motor. That is rough.”

“I want to thank Motor City Buick/GMC for sponsoring the series, and American Racer and Hoosier Tire,” Lange continued. “We are very grateful to have a very talented club with a lot of very talented drivers. It feels great when we can stick it to them again.”

Legend, who is about to make his 360 sprint car debut at Ventura, earned the Eibach Spring Forward Award and the SpeedMart Hard Charger Award. Cardey’s bad fortune netted him the Hyper Racing and SpeedMart Hard Luck Awards.

The results shook up the Motor City Buick/GMC Championship point standings. With seven-time CLS champion Bobby Michnowicz sidelined due to illness, Greco extended his lead from 14 to 80 points. Lange surged from fifth to second, while Legend climbed to third. Cardey now sits fourth, with Michnowicz in fifth.

The California Lightning Sprint Car Series returns to Santa Maria Speedway on July 26 for Round #2 of the annual Civil War Series against the Bay Cities Racing Association—a can’t-miss showdown for fans of open-wheel excitement.

July 5th Motor City Buick/GMC California Lightning Sprint Car Series Santa Maria Speedway Results

Diablo Fabrication Qualifying: 1. Aiden Lang, 13.225; 2. Drake Cardey, 13.258; 3. Eric Greco, 13.364; 4. Jeffrey Dyer, 13.583; 5. Braydin Collie, 13.610; 6. Zate Legend, 13.761; 7. Leland Day, 13.769; 8. Jon Robertson, 14.114; 9. Roland Smith, 14.276

Racing Junk Heat #1: 1. Lange, 2. Day, 3. Cardey, 4. Collie, 5. Robertson, 6. Dyer, 7. Greco, 8. Legend, 9. Smith

Extreme Muffler Heat #2: 1. Cardey, 2. Lange, 3. Greco, 4. Legend, 5. Collie, 6. Robertson, 7. Day, 8. Smith. 9. Dyer

20-Lap Main Event (With starting positions and Distance Behind)

1. Aiden Lange, Lakewood, CA … (4th)

2. Eric Greco, Palmdale. CA … (5th) +2.060

3. Zate Legend, Riverside, CA … (7th) +5.226

4. Leland Day, Bakersfield, CA … (2nd) +5.580

5. Jon Robertson, Torrance, CA … (6th) +7.420

6. Roland Smith, (8th) … 1 Lap

7. Drake Cardey, Riverside, CA … (1st) + 5 Laps

8. Braydin Collie, El Cajon, CA … (3rd) + 9 Laps

DNS Jeff Dyer, Yucca Valley, CA

2025 CLS Contingency Awards

7/5/25 - Santa Maria

Heat Races	Award	Recipient
Racing Junk Heat Race #1 winner	Competition Suspension Inc. $50 product certificate	Aiden Lange
Extreme Muffler Heat Race #2 winner	Extreme Muffler $50 product certificate	Drake Cardey
ARS Heat Race #3 winner	Advanced Racing Suspensions $50 product certificate
Main Event	Award
Winner		Aiden Lange
2nd place	BR Motorsports - $25 product certificate	Eric Greco
3rd place	Joie of Seating - $250 product certificate	Zate Legend
4th place	Saldana Racing Products - $50 product certificate	Leland Day
5th place	King Racing Products $25 product certificate	Jon Robertson
6th place	Rebel Gear – 35% off product purchase	Roland Smith
Highest finisher with Hoosier tires on all 4 corners.	Hoosier – free tire	Aiden Lange

Quick time	Diablo Fabrication $50 product certificate	Aiden Lange
Spring Forward (Hard Charger)	Eibach - $100 product certificate SpeedMart - $50 product certificate	Zate Legend
Hard Luck Award	Hyper Racing - $50 product certificate SpeedMart - $50 product certificate	Drake Cardey

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

CLS Raffle News: The CLS is excited to announce that Outlaw Wings has donated a free top wing to be raffled off on October 25th. Raffle tickets are just $5 and will be available at all CLS events throughout the season.

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.

Motor City Buick/GMC California Lightning Series Points

1. Eric Greco … 721

2. Aiden Lange … 641

3. Zate Legend … 639

4. Drake Cardey … 591

5. Bobby Michnowicz … 580

6. Braydin Collie … 564

7. Jeff Dyer … 557

8. Leland Day … 523

9. Jon Robertson … 445

10. Cody Nigh … 400

CLS vs BCRA Point Standings

1. David Gasper, CLS … 133

2. Eric Greco, CLS … 130

3. Hunter Kinney, BCRA … 124

4. Jeff Dyer, CLS … 122

5. Bobby Michnowicz, CLS … 118

6. Cody Nigh, CLS … 102

7. Greg Dennett, BCRA … 95

8. Dakota Albright, BCRA … 94

9. Braydin Collie, CLS … 88

10. Zate Legend, CLS … 84

Heat Races

Award

Recipient

Criteria

Award

the 500 Sprint Car Tour features non-wing pavement sprint cars. These unique open-wheel race cars with extreme horsepower produce high-speed, side-by-side racing.