(Lakeside, CA, December 15, 2021) Lakeside, California-based Sexton Gatlin Racing has put the wraps on its most successful year in racing to date. Over the stretch of eight months, SGR drivers won a total of 11 main events and a season-long series championship.2021 Lucas Oil POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car champion Grant Sexton.
The biggest accomplishment of the year came when 17-year-old racing star Grant Sexton won the championship in the Lucas Oil POWRi Southwest Lightning Series. For the talented teen, it was his first-ever Lightning Sprint Car title and he joins his father and grandfather who won a combined three championships in the California Lightning Sprint Car Series dating back to 1995.
2021 was by far the busiest racing season for the team. Crammed into eight months, SGR contested 26 races in five different states (California, Arizona, Missouri, Minnesota, and South Dakota). Seven different drivers raced SGR cars over the course of the season. They were Grant Sexton, his brother Dalton, his father Brent, Colton’s Rudy Padilla, San Diegans David Bezio, and A.J. Bender and Sheldon Creed, the 2020 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion from Alpine.
Of the 26 races, SGR drivers made 79 main event starts. That is an average of 3.03 SGR cars in every main. In the 79 starts, the team rolled to 40 top-five finishes. The breakdown on that 40 shows the team with 11 wins, nine runner-up finishes, and nine third-place showings, giving it 29 top threes. The other top-five placings saw the team gather six fourth-place results and five fifth-place finishes.
As well as winning the CLS title, Grant led the team in wins with five. His father Brent and Bender each took home two winner’s trophies. Dalton Sexton and Bezio accounted for one win each. The victories came in three different states (California, Arizona, and Minnesota).
Four of Grant’s five wins came at the team’s hometown track, the Barona Speedway. The other came at the Norman County Speedway in Minnesota. Brent’s wins came at Arizona’s Mojave Valley Raceway and Barona. Bender’s triumphs came in California at the Bakersfield Speedway and the Lemoore Raceway. Dalton and Bezio’s wins came at Barona.
In the Lucas Oil POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Series standings, Grant finished first and Bezio was third. Brent and Dalton did not contest every race and they finished 13th and 14th respectively.
In August’s four-race “Min-Kota Summer Shoot-Out” series, Grant ended up second overall. Dalton finished seventh, Creed was 12th and Brent ended up 21st.
Keep an eye on these spaces for updates on Grant who will be headed for the Tulsa Shootout at the end of the month to drive in three classes in Hyper House cars.
Plans are already underway for another busy season in 2022. If you or your business wants to partner up with one of the most visible Lightning Sprint teams on the West Coast, please call (619) 454-6945. You can also E-mail mailto:sextonfire@cox.net or mailto:sextonfire@gmail.com.
To keep up with all the exploits of the Sexton/Gatlin Racing Team, be sure to visit the team Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Sexton-Gatlin-Racing-1173560279445564/
Sexton/Gatlin Racing would like to thank the following companies for making the 2021 season possible. Sexton Fire Protection, BK Wings, Troy Dirt, Victory Graphix, Swift Powdercoat, Maxima Oil, Infiniti Shocks and an extra special thanks to Scotty and Jimmy Keys.
Sexton Gatlin Racing 2021 Results
March 26 Mojave Valley Raceway David Bezio 2nd – Grant Sexton 3rd – Brent Sexton 8th
March 27 Mojave Valley Raceway Brent Sexton 1st – David Bezio 3rd – Rudy Padilla 4th – Grant Sexton 6th
April 3 Barona Speedway Grant Sexton 2nd – David Bezio 3rd – Dalton Sexton 10th
April 10 Bakersfield Speedway Brent Sexton 4th – Grant Sexton 5th
April 17 Barona Speedway Dalton Sexton 1st – David Bezio 7th – Grant Sexton 9th
May 1 Barona Speedway Grant Sexton 1st – Dalton Sexton 2nd – David Bezio 3rd
May 15 Barona Speedway Grant Sexton 1st – David Bezio DNS
May 29 Central Missouri Speedway Grant Sexton 19th – Shane Sexton 8th in B Main – Brent Sexton 9th in B Main – Dalton Sexton 13th in B Main
May 30 Central Missouri Speedway Grant Sexton 3rd – Brent Sexton 16th – Shane Sexton 17th – Dalton Sexton 19th
June 12 Barona Speedway Grant Sexton 1st – David Bezio 2nd
July 24 Santa Maria Raceway Grant Sexton 4th – Brent Sexton 5th
August 7 Barona Speedway David Bezio 1st – Grant Sexton 3rd – Brent Sexton 12th
August 11 Norman County Raceway Grant Sexton 1st – Dalton Sexton 4th – Sheldon Creed 21st – Brent Sexton 11th B Main
August 13 River Cities Speedway Sheldon Creed 6th – Brent Sexton 7th – Grant Sexton 8th – Dalton Sexton 10th
August 14 Greenbush Race Park Brent Sexton 6th – Grant Sexton 7th – Dalton Sexton 9th – Sheldon Creed 10th B Main
August 15 Buffalo River Speedway Sheldon Creed 2nd – Grant Sexton 4th – Dalton Sexton 6th – Brent Sexton DNS
August 21 Barona Speedway Brent Sexton 1st – David Bezio 5th – Grant Sexton 6th – Dalton Sexton 13th
Sept. 18 Barona Speedway Grant Sexton 1st – Brent Sexton 3rd – David Bezio 5th – Dalton Sexton 15th
October 2 Barona Speedway Grant Sexton 2nd – Brent Sexton 3rd – David Bezio 8th
October 14 Lemoore Raceway A.J. Bender 5th – Grant Sexton 10th – Dalton Sexton 12th – Brent Sexton 20th
October 15 Lemoore Raceway A.J. Bender 1st – Brent Sexton 18th – Grant Sexton 9th B Main – Dalton Sexton 10th B Main
October 16 Lemoore Raceway A.J. Bender 3rd – Brent Sexton 9th – Dalton Sexton 13th – Grant Sexton 18th
Nov. 16 Bakersfield Speedway AJ Bender 1st – Grant Sexton 6th – Brent Sexton 22nd
Nov. 18 Placerville Speedway AJ Bender 2nd – Grant Sexton 16th – Brent Sexton 18th – Dalton Sexton 12th B Main
Nov. 19 Placerville Speedway AJ Bender 2nd – Grant Sexton 4th – Brent Sexton 9th – Dalton Sexton 19th
Nov. 20 Placerville Speedway AJ Bender 2nd – Brent Sexton 12th – Grant Sexton 18th
