Sexton/Gatlin Racing
[email protected]
[email protected]
(619) 454-6945
For Immediate Release
GRANT SEXTON GETS BEST EVER CLS MAIN EVENT FINISH AT PERRIS!
(Lakeside, CA, August 23, 2018) Fourteen-year-old rookie Grant Sexton recorded his best ever California Lightning Sprint Car finish when he placed fourth, just ahead of his father, at the “California Racer’s Hall of Fame Night” last Saturday at Perris Auto Speedway. Up until the race, his best finish had been a seventh which he accomplished two times earlier in the year. This Saturday night, August 25th, Sexton/Gatlin Racing will be racing closer to their Lakeside, California base at the Barona Speedway.
Competing on the famous Riverside County half-mile clay oval, the biggest track on the CLS schedule, family patriarch Brent Sexton started the night off by setting the fastest time in the 17-car field in qualifying with a lap of 18.064. Dalton Sexton, the oldest of Brent’s two sons, was eighth fastest with a lap of 18.712 and Grant was 11th with a time of 18.796.
Before contesting the scheduled 20-lap main event, the CLS had two six-lap heat races. Starting on the outside of the third row in the first heat, Brent easily outdistanced the field and won the race by over a half straightaway. Grant was in the same heat race and finished fourth. Dalton was in the second heat race, which had 8 cars, and he finished fifth.
For the 20-lap main event, Dalton had the best starting spot on the inside of row two. Fast qualifier Brent started in eighth and Grant was one row behind him in ninth. In a race that was plagued by yellow and red flags, Brent was the first of the Sexton trio to get bitten. Contact with another car on the second circuit saw him slam his right rear off the crash wall and get entangled with the other car. Fortunately, track officials pulled apart the two cars in Brent was able to continue but had to restart at the back.
Not as fortunate as his father, Dalton ran third early in the race, but became ensnared in one of the many race tangles and was done after only a pair of laps at the track located at the base of the Lake Perris Dam. He was saddled with an 11th place finish. Grant had moved his way up to fourth and Brent, after restarting at the rear, got all the way back up the fifth. That is just how they finished.
Brent’s fast qualifying time, heat race win and 5th place finish in the main allowed him to leapfrog from 4th place in the championship standings all the way up to second. Grant maintained his 10th place position in the standings and Dalton is only three spots behind his brother in 13th.
This Saturday night, August 25th, the racing trio will be literally competing in their backyard at the Barona Speedway. For fans wishing to attend Saturday’s race, the track is located at 1754 Wildcat Road in Lakeside. The office phone number is (619) 749-8115 and the track website is www.baronaspeedway.com.
To keep up with all the exploits of the Sexton/Gatlin Racing Team, be sure to visit it’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Sexton-Gatlin-Racing-1173560279445564/
Sexton/Gatlin Racing would like to thank the following companies for making the 2018 season possible. Sexton Fire Protection, Scotty and Jimmy Keys, BK Wings, Victory Graphics, Henchcraft, Sam Coe Performance and Swift Powdercoat. If you or your company would like to be a part of the Sexton/Gatlin team for the 2018 campaign, please call (619) 454-6945 or E-mail [email protected]
SEXTON/GATLIN 2018 CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINT CAR SERIES RACING SCHEDULE
March 31 – Placerville Speedway – BCRA – Brent 2nd - Grant 14th - Dalton 17th
April 14 – Ventura Raceway – USAC National – Brent 5th – Grant 7th – Dalton DNS
April 21 – Bakersfield Speedway – USAC National – Brent 7th – Dalton 9th – Grant 18th
May 5 – Ventura Raceway – USAC National – Brent 2nd – Dalton 10th – Grant 12th
May 19th – Barona Speedway – Jim Squire Memorial – Brent 4th – Dalton 8th – Grant 18th
May 26 – Perris Auto Speedway – USAC National – Salute to Indy – Brent 11th – Dalton 12th – Grant 16th
June 16 – Bakersfield Speedway – Civil War vs BCRA – Brent 6th – Grant 12th – Dalton 21st
July 7 – Ventura Raceway – USAC National – Grant 7th – Dalton 11th – Brent 19th
July 21 – Santa Maria Raceway – Civil War vs BCRA – Grant 17th – Dalton 18th – Brent 19th
August 1 – Ventura Raceway – USAC National – Ventura County Fair – Brent 2nd – Grant 14th
August 11 – Merced Speedway – BCRA – Brent 8th – Grant 13th
August 18 – Perris Auto Speedway – USAC National – Grant 5th – Brent 5th – Dalton 11th
August 25 – Barona Speedway
September 8 – Bakersfield Speedway – USAC National
September 21 – Placerville Speedway – Civil War vs BCRA
September 22 – Placerville Speedway – Civil War vs BCRA
October 6 – Ventura Raceway – USAC National
October 20th – Barona Speedway
October 27 – Ventura Raceway – USAC National
November 17- Bakersfield Speedway USAC National with USAC National and Western Midgets
December – River City Expo Center – Tulsa, Oklahoma
This release produced by Scott Daloisio. Contact (909) 226-7768 mailto:[email protected]
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