Mohave Militia

Charlie Johnson (from CLS web-site http://www.calightningsprint.com/index.html )

With the Best of the West series coming down to one last race, and the 2007 CLS Season Championship at stake, it was all up for grabs, as the mini sprint  teams from California, Washington, Canada, New York, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Colorado all converged on the Mohave Valley Raceway for one final shootout on October 11th thru the 13th.People flocked from near and far to meet up with their teams to take part in this highly prestigious event to determine who will earn the bragging rights for another year.

With most teams rallying at the Colorado Belle Hotel & Casino, and others choosing to stay at the various other hotels, Thursday afternoon was really a great day to be able to relax after the long drives, have a few ****tails, gamble a bit, and welcome fellow racers and friends as they made their way to the hotel check-in counter.

Everywhere you looked, you would see someone you knew, whether they were from the CLS crew , BCRA crew, Deming crew or other, but you could always tell they were racers by the T-shirts they wore. It surely seemed that the hotel was filling up quickly, with a slightly rowdier crowd of patrons (compared to the usual Senior Crowd) and it just felt like a powder keg was being filled... NO...over-filled with a highly volatile formula for MAYHEM !

Every couple of hours, we'd step out the front door to see how many new trailers were filling up the parking lot.

It was like a couple of great military forces massing troops at their borders in anticipation of a great battle. A battle that will surely result in carnage and great bodily harm, the likes of that which has never been seen before. It truly was a feeling of respect, with great honor being given to all the new allies that had traveled long distances to share in this warfare.
It was going to be majestic...at it's very best!

Thursday night went long into the darkness, with the libations flowing heavy, and the tables and slots being the general meeting grounds for all these warriors, and some were gambling like it was their last night to live... The tension was already building!

Friday morning sunlight hit hard and cruel to some as they arose from their rooms, only to slither downstairs to get some much needed grub. It was with no surprise that you could still see some friends shaking the dice, holding their black jack hands close, or slumped over a slot machine, most, still sipping on a glass of something or other.

Finally, we arrived at the track for our first look at the new Mohave Valley Raceway, and it looked great.

The surface of the track was well groomed, yet soaked, but it appeared to be a very workable track. Once we received our wrist bands, we all scrambled for our pit positions, trying to align ourselves with friends and teammates. Thirty-three cars had traveled the distances to attend this event!

Another great turnout for this race!

After setting up our pit areas, we were informed that the mini sprints would be doing the wheel packing.

This should have let us know that it was going to be a crazy night, as each car came off the track with about 90 lbs of mud attached to it.
Then...we went directly into hot laps, then, only about 10 minutes before they sent the mini sprints out for single car qualifying.

No time for adjustments or changes, so if you were an early qualifier, you went out on a wing, a hope and a prayer that you were fairly close on your guessing.

This situation brought about many complaints to our Director of Competition, Mark Maus, and it became very apparent that he was being thrown under the bus tonight.

Mark & Stacy Wilson handled themselves very well, all things considered, and the show went on, though bitter words were heard all night long.

Heat races were staged and run, with top finishers automatically advancing to the Main. The B-main was also run, with the top finishers here also qualifying .

We had a couple of wicked wrecks and tumbles, with Tim Brown #22r,doing a triple flip, catapulting somersault, finally landing against the tire wall on his side.

Tim, I heard that they had you on their radar screen at "Vegas Ground Control" for just a brief moment.

"Aah....Browny Airways flight #22r...we have you on final approach"." You are cleared to land on runway...Turn #4 Mohave".
"Aah...roger that Vegas Control...we're coming in HOT, alert the ground crews"

It was very scary , yet he popped outta his car in a fit of rage...still alive ,still breathing...yet mad as hell!

Shane Rosson #2 was also involved in a "Crumble it up & Throw it away" wreck, where he was forced to borrow a car from TEAM Stuart Hielscher & Son to complete his weekend of racing. Thanks Guys !

These races was all about amassing the greatest amount of points throughout each night, with points being given for qualifying, starting positions and passing points, so it turned out to be a very tactical weekend.

Friday night had David Bezio #37, Brent Sexton #x44, Brock Lemley #10, Stuart Hielscher #, Drake #22b, Cody Anderlini #15c, Bloodgood #6x, Holmwood #17x, Christain Stover #18r, Shane Rosson #2, Aaron Fell #15 all picking up the automatic transfer positions with their outstanding results and finishes in the Heat Races.

The B-main, a tightly fought, last chance entry race, had Harvey#44x, Seth Kramer #12,Christain Stover #18r (no qualifying time-broken motor), Johnson #44b, Guy Maresch #50r and Dale Gamer #17 making the field, in a race of heavy attrition.

The Friday Night A-Main turned into a great race, with Stuart Hielscher #6, Brent Sexton #x44, David Bezio #37, Holmwood #17x and Drake #22b taking the top 5 positions in a hotly contested race, on a very quick track! It was a superb race to watch.

It was truly a sign of the competitive racing that would follow during the Saturday night races.

Everyone left the track that night wondering what would become of tomorrow, and many cars & teams were left to do damage control and repairs late into the night, after the Friday night races ended.

Saturday night, with everyone struggling to get their set-ups right, and flush the cob-webs out from the night before, it was back to the track.

Mark Maus (DOC) & Stacy (smiley) Wilson (I love this girl, she's so cool) made a commitment to "take over the show"... and that they did! Special Thanks should go out to you both for your outstanding job that night.

With them in control now, the show ran so much smoother tonight.

We'll truly miss you MARK MAUS !

They kept everyone going and doing the right thing all night long.

Heat races on Saturday night were more casual, with the field already narrowed down due to the "total points accumulated" system.

With only a couple of positions in the A-Main for tonites race still open, it was all about being quick and consistent in the B-Main.

Mike Valentine #78, Darren Hillberg #82, Lil Bones Kramer #71, Ernie Bartley #14, Shane Rosson #36, and Bill Johnson #99 battled it out in another race of attrition, to earn and qualify themselves for the BIG SHOW.

With the field set now, it was out onto the track for the A-Main...The BIG SHOW.

Twenty cars filtered out of the pits, lined up in their starting positions, and cruised around the oval for a beautiful parade lap to honor their fans and their team support and crews. They charged hard out of turn 4, looking for the green flag and they were off for the big 30 lapper.

David Bezio #37 grabbed the lead early on, battling with a quick charging Brent Sexton #X44, and held onto first till the field started to come around to lapped traffic. Brent Sexton made a quick move to the low side coming out of turn #4, whipped his HenchCraft around everyone there and came out swinging.

Powering his car to a slight lead at turn #1, he continued to build on that lead as the laps rolled off. David Bezio #37 held his ground, staying close enough to be a threat to Brent, yet never being able to close that all important gap to capitalize on any slight mistakes that Brent Sexton would make.

Brock Lemley #10 worked his way through the field too, closing the gaps with every lap, but never getting within striking distance.

With this many cars on the track, and 30 laps being the benchmark for this event, it was really exciting to watch.

Everywhere you looked on the track there was a battle going on with these warriors. Fighting for positions and catching someone running off their marks was the main ticket. If you got caught sleeping, if you got caught hesitating for a fraction of a second while passing lapped traffic, you would get passed by someone coming harder than you.

Positions changed on every single lap...at every corner...at every second, and it was very difficult keeping up with who was doing what as the race progressed into the later laps.

At the bitter end of this "Classic Duel" between Brent Sexton x44, David Bezio #37 and Brock Lemley #10, they finished in that order.

It seemed like the race was over so fast , yet it was racing at its greatest, for such an extended period of time.

Very intense, very exciting, very quick! ...and then it was over! Geez...kinda like great sex....we wanted more...though we just needed a little time to recover from what had just happened...but we still wanted more!

Brent Sexton #x44 had just run a masterful race, beating out two of the best drivers I have ever witnessed in the mini-sprints !

It took 2 very intense nights of racing to crown this Champion!

Brent was simply exhausted with excitement after the race. After 13 years of racing with the California Lightning Sprints, racing against the Best of the Best, the Best of the West, and the greatest competition available, he wanted to mention how great it was to be able to have his father, Gary Sexton, along with him for this adventure and most important win of his career. You see, Brent has always had to race against his father, throughout all these years, as Gary has been a racing member of CLS, even longer than Brent.

Gary was our CLS President, and a great President he is, until last year, when Brent stepped up to the position to allow Gary some much needed time off to be with his "FAMILY".  Gary...Brent dedicated this race to you...and said "it was the most fun he has ever had racing".

What a proud Father you must be ! He Dun Well... (Brent's probable spelling, LOL)!!!!

Starting in the 4th position, driving thru lapped traffic, and with a great setup by his crew...Gary, Tom & Darrel, Brent was able to get a huge victory here.

Special Thanks go out to his wife, Holly, and his children, who he was able to get into the front page picture with him.

Brent had made a "special bet" before this event, with fellow racer, Don Harvey #44 of New York fame, who has won their 2007 Season Championship this year. The bet would allow the winner of this race to use the #44 plate for all of next year, and the loser would be required to wear the #x44.

Well B-Sex, I guess youre bringing Sex-y back now!

Brent wanted to thank all the great racers he raced against this year, Brock, Aaron Fell, David Bezio, Shane Rosson and Don Harvey, only to name a few. He also wanted to thank the Mohave Valley Raceway track owner/promoter Joe M. for allowing him to help make this event an even better event than before, and we all look forward to doing it again next year.

He thanks Sunset Glazing, Performance by Rosson Racing, Danny Clark Snap-On Tools, Buck Petroleum, Scott & Jimmy Keyes, Antonellis Deli, H2H PHOTO and all the rest of his sponsors who have made it easier for him to race harder than ever this year.

Also, thanks to his new 2008 sponsor of Greg Dawson & Aero Bridge Works...Welcome aboard...lets do it again Greg !
It's amazing what kind of business transpires over the crap tables and a few drinks....

David Bezio #37, a regular winner in the CLS, captured the 2nd. Place finish in a race that pitted him against the best competition he has ever faced.

Driving a hard fought race and getting the finish, he wanted to thank his fiancée, Inga, his daughter, his Dad, his Family and friends for the great support they have given him throughout the year.

On a Special Note: David Bezio used this great weekend of family, friends and racing fun to propose to Inga, his long-time love, on Friday night.

The answer was...YES!

Congratulations to David on your 2nd. Place finish at Mohave...but somehow, I believe your memories of this race will never surpass your SPECIAL MOMENT with Inga.

Congrats to you both...from: ALL OF US IN The CLS !
You guys are loved by all!

Besides... It's about friggin time.....LOL Brock Lemley #10 (Deming crew & national sprint car fame) was able to fight his way towards the front and captured the 3rd. place finish on the podium.

Brock Lemley, a regularly mentioned driver in our racers bible..."Sprint Car & Midget Magazine", drove another wonderfully exciting race, doing his best to catch the front runners. His masterful skills allowed him to weave and bob his way thru lapped traffic, almost making it a very close three way race for the lead and win!

A nationally acclaimed driver like Brock is always exciting to watch and learn from, and to see him perform his magic against our CLS club racers made it all the more special for the racers and fans who were fortunate enough to be able to attend this race.

Brock wanted to thank all his regular sponsors, and especially the one sponsor who made it all possible to attend these last 2 races, Marysville and Mohave, for without that added extra boost of money, it would not of been possible!

I was able to do a very short interview with Brock after the race, yet there was so much madness going on, I wasn't able to remember the names of his sponsors.

For that, Brock...I am truly sorry!

Though I would rather not mention any sponsors with the "wrong names or spellings", he did state that "he is truly grateful to all of you who have sponsored his racing this year".

It was an honor to be able to finally meet Brock Lemley and briefly speak with him, I came away with the sense that he is destined for fame beyond our class of racing.

Congratulations to our Top 3 finishers....

This weekend was filled with loads of fun and camaraderie, just seeing some of the old friends again, meeting and making new friends, seeing the improvements to the New Mohave Valley Raceway, witnessing the great changes from the Friday night format to the Saturday night format, and watching the best drivers put on the best show ever, made the long 9 hour drive worth every bit of it.

I'd like to thank every team for attending the event this year, and especially those teams that traveled the extremely long distances so that they could be a part of this great race at Mohave Valley Raceway along with all the fun at the COLORADO BELLE Hotel & Casino.
If you have never attended this event before....well ya just don't know what you are missing.

Besides...Dorothy, Toto, and The Wicked Witch of the East weren't able to make it this year...Thank God!

That's my story...and I'm sticking with it !
Charlie Johnson Team # 99 CLS
Lug-Nut-Twister & Teller-Of-Tall-Tales