NUNES SWEEPS CLS RACE AT BAKERSFIELD

6/21/2019

POWRi

NUNES SWEEPS CLS RACE AT BAKERSFIELD

TORRANCE, CALIF. (June 20, 2019) - Doug Nunes ended a two-month long winless streak when he swept the show at the POWRi Lucas Oil California Lightning Sprint Car Series race at the Bakersfield Speedway last Saturday night. The win was the third of the year for the Kingsburg, California resident.

Nunes, 42, served early notice on what was going to come on the night the out-qualified the 25-car field with a lap of 13.566 on the 1/3 of a mile high banked clay oval. CLS newcomer Jacob Williams was second quick with a lap of 13.711 and five-time series champion Bobby Michnowicz of Lomita timed in third fastest with a time of 13.918.

Nunes, in the Superior Machine Works/Aslan Cold Storage/Snap-on/J.B. Critchley Trucking/CEP/Valley Metal Finishing/Wicked Race Products/Penske Racing Shocks/Simpson #7, continued his rampage when he won the first of the three eight-lap heat races. Chase Gaal of O’Neals and San Diego’s A.J. Bender won the other two heats.

The B main was a showcase for some of the CLS’ best young talent with teenagers Aiden Lange of Lakewood, Gardena’s Dominic Del Monte and Eric Greco of Palmdale taking the top three spots.

For the 25-lap main event, Spring Valley’s Jarrett Kramer, fresh off a win at the Ventura Raceway two weeks earlier, was on the pole. “Rockstar Jon” Robertson of Torrance was on the outside of Kramer. Row two was made up of Bender and teen James Turnbull of Indio. Cody Nigh of Camarillo and Santa Clarita’s Gage Cheek sat in the third row, with Jeff Dyer of Bermuda Dunes and Michnowicz making up row four. Quick qualifier Nunes was starting outside the fifth row in 10th.

Predictably when the initial green flag opened the 25-lap affair, Kramer raced into the lead and led the first lap over Bender and Nigh. Kramer was inching away from the pack and by the end of the fourth circuit, he was a half straight ahead of Bender who had his hands full trying to hold Nigh at bay.

By lap six, the streaking leader had caught up to the cars at the back of the pack. Nigh was in jeopardy of falling out of the top three on the eighth lap. He tried, and successfully fended off his uncle, Michnowicz, and three laps later he relieved Bender of the second-place spot.

Michnowicz came into the night as the point leader, but his tenure at the top was about to expire. On the 14th-go around, he was all over Bender and was trying to steal third. But, coming off turn two, he suddenly slowed and coasted to a stop in the infield with a broken clutch. Moments later, Lange was also slowed by clutch issues. He stopped and brought out the yellow flag and wiped out Kramer’s commanding lead.

For the restart, the top five was Kramer, Nigh, Bender, Nunes and Dyer. Up to that point in the race, Nunes had been quietly working his way forward. That changed as soon as the green light was turned back on. Kramer got a good restart and quickly put some distance between himself and Nigh. Nunes went to the wide line and relegated Bender back to fourth on lap 15 and used the same line to relieve Nigh of second one lap later.

By the time Nunes had raced into the runner-up spot, Kramer had built up a quarter of a straightaway lead. That changed in a hurry as Nunes quickly whittled Kramer’s advantage down to a car length on the 17th lap, but before he could mount a challenge for the lead, the yellow reared its ugly head once again when a car stopped on the front straight. Before that yellow, Dyer was trying to emulate Nunes as he raced by Bender for fourth and was all over Nigh for third.

When racing resumed, Nunes did not waste a lot of time. He ventured to the outside of Kramer as they came off turn four on lap 19 and sped by for the lead. Within two laps he advanced that lead to a half straightaway. The race was reminiscent of Nunes first win of the year at Barona where he methodically worked his way toward the front and then left the others in his wake once he took the top spot. The only remaining question was would he win by more than a half-track.

The possibility of Nunes winning by a half-track went out the window with four laps to go when another yellow came out for a spin on the slick track. That was child’s play compared to what happened on lap-24 when Ramona’s Bill Dodd and another car got together going into turn one. Dodd flipped hard and brought out a red flag. Fortunately, he climbed out of the car unscathed.

A green, white, checkered situation was on tap after Dodd’s wrecked car was towed back to the pits and the handwriting was on the wall. The only things that could prevent Nunes from his third win of the year were mechanical failure, a spin or a crash. None of those things happened and Nunes crossed the line seven lengths ahead of Kramer. Bender clawed his way back to a third-place finish late in the race and was followed by Nigh and Dyer in fourth and fifth.

In addition to the win, Nunes was also the “Hard Charger” in the main event.

The race produced a big shakeup at the top of the point standings. Michnowicz, who came into the race as the points leader, fell back to third. Nunes jumped from third to second. Kramer, who led much of the early going, retook the lead after trailing Michnowicz for two races. Greco and Nigh are fourth and fifth.

Three San Diego County drivers rank first through third in the Rookie of the Year standings. Jason Arnolde holds down the top spot but is only three-markers ahead of Shane Sexton. Bill Dodd is third.

The CLS will enjoy a two-week break before reaching the halfway point in the 2019 season on July 6th at the Ventura Raceway.

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/

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Bakersfield Speedway Main Event (with starting positions)