Sexton/Gatlin Racing
[email protected]
[email protected]
(619) 454-6945
For Immediate Release
CREED GETS THIRD PLACE LIGHTNING SPRINT CAR FINISH DRIVING FOR SEXTON/GATLIN RACING!
(Lakeside, CA, April 12, 2019) NASCAR Truck Series regular Sheldon Creed raced to a third-place finish for Sexton/Gatlin Racing last Saturday night in the POWRi California Lightning Sprint Car Series main event at the Barona Speedway. The finish came in Creed’s first appearance with the CLS in several years.
As is the usual situation, Sexton/Gatlin Racing fielded three-cars for the event. Team regulars Dalton and Grant Sexton joined forces with Creed on the night while Brent Sexton was out due to mechanical issues.
A stellar 28-car field showed up for opening night at the longtime San Diego County dirt oval. All three Sexton/Gatlin drivers qualified in the top 10 with Creed being the fastest of the trio with a lap of 14.787. That was good enough for the fourth fastest time. Last year’s CLS Rookie of the Year, 14-year-old Grant, was sixth quick at 14.913 and Dalton, now 16, was ninth when he timed in at 15.000.
All three of the drivers finished third in their respective heat races and that put all of them straight into the 25-lap feature without having to compete in the B main.
For the feature, Dalton had the best starting spot as he was coming from the outside of the front row. Grant was on the inside of the third row and Creed was on the inside of row four. Once the green flag waved to begin the race, Dalton settled into second. Grant and Creed were not far behind. Things moved smoothly until lap six when in turn four, fourth place running Grant caught a rut in the track and suffered a broken radius rod. Unable to steer, the likable teen clipped the wall and turned over on the front straight. The red came out and Grant crawled from the car uninjured, but the car was done for the night.
Once the race restarted, Dalton maintained his lofty run in the second spot with Creed sweeping his way past the competition and into third. Creed, 21, and Dalton immediately became involved in a crowd-pleasing battle for the runner up spot. Creed, from nearby El Cajon, and Dalton swapped the spot back and forth on lap 11. Three laps later Creed took if for keeps.
Dalton was set for his best ever CLS finish until he got bounced into the back straight wall late in the race ending his night with a frustrating 18th place finish. In the waning laps, Creed stayed near the front and eventually finished third.
The night may have had frustrating finishes for the Sexton siblings as circumstances out of their control affected their outcomes. However, when on the track they shined. Impressive qualifying times, good heat race finishes and running in the top four when they were knocked out of the main, made track siders take notice once again.
After taking this weekend off, Grant, Dalton and family patriarch Brent will be back in action four round #4 of the 2019 POWRi California Lightning Sprint Car Series at the Bakersfield Speedway on April 20th.
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. Scotty and Jimmy Keys, Sexton Fire Protection, BK Wings, Troy Dirt, Victory Graphix, Swift Powdercoat, Maxima Oil and Infiniti Shocks. If you or your company would like to be a part of the Sexton/Gatlin team for the 2019 campaign, please call (619) 454-6945 or E-mail [email protected]
2019 POWRi California Lightning Sprint Car Series
March 16 Bakersfield Speedway – Brent 12th B – Dalton 10th A – Grant 19th A
March 23 Ventura Raceway – Brent DNS – Dalton 11th A – Grant 7th A
April 6 Barona Speedway – Dalton 18th – Grant 20th – Sheldon 3rd – Brent DNR
April 20 Bakersfield Speedway
May 4 Ventura Raceway
May 18 Barona Speedway
June 1 Ventura Raceway
June 15 Bakersfield Speedway
June 29 Barona (Open Comp)
July 6 Ventura Raceway
July 13 Barona (Open Comp)
July 27 Santa Maria Raceway
July 27 Barona (Open Comp)
August 10 Barona Speedway
August 24 Ventura Raceway
September 7 Ventura Raceway
September 21 Bakersfield Speedway
September 21 Barona (Open Comp)
October 5 Ventura Raceway
October 26 Ventura Raceway
November 17 Bakersfield Speedway
Photo courtesy of Pit Princess Photography
This release produced by Scott Daloisio. Contact (909) 226-7768 mailto:sdal
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