Lakeside, CA — November 19, 2025 – In a race that looked like a lost episode of The Twilight Zone, three-time Lightning Sprint Car champion Brent Sexton threaded his way through the mayhem to score a hard-earned fourth-place finish in the Bay Cities Racing Association Lightning Sprint Car portion of the Hangtown 100 at Placerville Speedway.
Originally scheduled as a two-night show, Sexton made the long 540-mile haul solo from his home in Lakeside, California, near San Diego, to Placerville, which is located 100 miles northeast of San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge. The trip nearly seemed for nothing as heavy rains drenched the quarter-mile on Friday the 14th, washing out the opening night and putting Saturday the 15th in serious doubt. Track crews waited until Saturday morning to decide whether the oval could even be made raceable.
Fortunately for Sexton and the rest of the field, officials opted to push ahead—and immediately went to work whipping the surface into shape. With another storm looming, the program was moved up by several hours to beat the incoming weather.
Sexton struggled to find his rhythm early, posting an uncharacteristic 13th-fastest lap in the 17-car qualifying field at 16.986. His heat race offered little improvement, as he started and finished seventh.
Lining up 14th for the 20-lap main, Sexton looked buried in traffic—but that starting spot turned out to be a blessing. Before a full lap could be completed, multiple red flags flew for flips and pileups. When the pre-race chaos settled, Sexton found himself leaping forward eight spots to start sixth before the race officially had a single lap on the board—one of the strangest statistical quirks of his long career.
Once the race finally went green for good, the remaining laps clicked off cleanly. Sexton clawed his way forward two more positions and powered his #3 to a strong fourth-place finish.
When asked how he managed to sneak through the bizarre early carnage, he summed it up perfectly: “Avoid, Avoid, Avoid.”
While most teams across the nation have already parked their cars for winter, Sexton Gatlin Racing still has three shows left. This Saturday, Brent’s youngest son, Grant, returns to action in a new winged sprint car at Merced Speedway. Then on Tuesday, Brent, Grant, and rookie teammate Braydin Collie of El Cajon will tackle the California Lightning Sprint Car Series 9th Annual Western Lightning Sprint Car Championship on the Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.
Collie—fresh off competing in the Baja 1000 and currently sixth in California Lightning Sprint Car Series points—sits just one point out of fifth entering Bakersfield. Grant Sexton, the 2021 POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car champion and 2023 USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year, will debut a brand-new Diablo Chassis and sends thanks to Brian Fonseca and Samantha Sproull for the opportunity.
Brent and Grant will then close out their 2025 campaign in the sprint car portion of the 84th Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura Raceway on November 28th and 29th.
For more updates, follow Sexton Gatlin Racing on social media and stay tuned for results throughout the 2025 season.
Sexton Gatlin Racing would like to thank the following companies for making the 2024 season possible. East County Electric Works, Keys Brothers, Geoff Dale, BR Motorsports, Maxima Oil, Automated Interiors, Valley Lubricant Services, Sexton Fire Protection, BK Wings, and Troy Dirt.
If you or your company are interested in becoming a marketing partner with Sexton Gatlin Racing in 2025, please call (619) 454-6945 or E-mail mailto:sextonfire@cox.net or mailto:sextonfire@gmail.com.
Brent Sexton 2025 Results
3/8/25 Ventura Raceway USCS Sprint Cars 13th A Main
3/14/25 Imperial Valley Raceway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars DNS
3/15/25 Imperial Valley Raceway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 14th A Main
3/28/25 Ocean Speedway USCS Sprint Cars 5th A Main
3/29/25 Merced Speedway USCS Sprint Cars 12th A Main
4/12/25 Bakersfield Speedway USCS Sprint Cars 12th A Main
5/17/25 Santa Maria Speedway Ultimate Sprint Cars 21st A Main
6/3/25 Circle City Speedway (Indianapolis) 410 Sprint Cars 14th A Main
6/4/25 Paragon Speedway (Indiana) 410 Sprint Cars 11th B Main
6/5/25 Lincoln Park Speedway (Indiana) 410 Sprint Cars Rained Out
6/6/25 Bloomington Speedway (Indiana) 410 Sprint Cars Rained Out
6/7/25 Tri State Speedway (Indiana) 410 Sprint Cars Rained Out
6/8/25 Kokomo Speedway (Indiana) 410 Sprint Cars 8th B Main
8/1/25 Barona Speedway SoCal Lightning Sprints 21st A Main
8/2/25 Barona Speedway SoCal Lightning Sprints DNS
8/10/25 Buffalo River Speedway Minkota Lightning Nationals 7th A Main
8/10/25 Buffalo River Speedway Minkota Lightning Nationals 13th A Main
8/22/25 Plaza Park Raceway California Lightning Sprints DNS
9/12/25 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprints 19th A Main
9/13/25 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 21st A Main
9/20/25 Ventura Raceway Ultimate Sprint Cars 3rd A Main
10/4/25 Mohave Valley Raceway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 18th A Main
10/24/25 Central Arizona Raceway USAC National Sprint Cars DNS
10/25/25 Central Arizona Raceway USAC National Sprint Cars 19th B Main
11/15/25 Placerville Speedway Bay Cities Racing Association 4th A Main
Braydin Collie 2025 SGR Results
3/14/25 Imperial Valley Raceway SoCal Lightning Sprints 11th A Main
3/15/25 Imperial Valley Raceway SoCal Lightning Sprints 11th A Main
4/12/25 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprints 11th A Main
5/17/25 Merced Speedway CLS vs BCRA Civil War 9th A Main
6/7/25 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprints 3rd A Main
6/21/25 Ventura Raceway California Lightning Sprints 6th A Main
7/5/25 Santa Maria Speedway California Lightning Sprints 5th A Main
7/26/25 Santa Maria Speedway California Lightning Sprints 6th A Main
8/1/25 Barona Speedway SoCal Lightning Sprints 5th A Main
8/2/25 Barona Speedway SoCal Lightning Sprints 10th A Main
8/7/25 Norman County Raceway Minkota Lightning Nationals 10th A Main
8/10/25 Buffalo River Speedway Minkota Lightning Nationals 12th A Main
8/10/25 Buffalo River Speedway Minkota Lightning Nationals 3rd A Main
8/22/25 Plaza Park Raceway California Lightning Sprints 7th A Main
8/23/25 Lemoore Jet Bowl Raceway California Lightning Sprints 7th a Main
8/30/25 Ventura Raceway California Lightning Sprints 7th A Main
9/12/25 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprints 8th A Main
9/13/25 Merced Speedway California Lightning Sprints 10th A Main
10/4/25 Ventura Raceway California Lightning Sprints 6th A Main
10/25/25 Ventura Raceway California Lightning Sprints 7th A Main
Grant Sexton 2025 Results
2/22/25 Mohave Valley Raceway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 20th A Main
3/8/25 Ventura Raceway USCS Sprint Cars 8th A Main
3/14/25 Imperial Valley Raceway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 19th A Main
4/12/25 Bakersfield Speedway USCS Sprint Cars 17th A Main
5/17/15 Santa Maria Speedway USCS Sprint Cars DNS
8/1/25 Barona Speedway SoCal Lightning Sprints 13th A Main
8/2/25 Barona Speedway SoCal Lightning Sprints 10th A Main
8/7/25 Norman County Raceway Minkota Lightning Nationals 5th A Main
8/10/25 Buffalo River Speedway Minkota Lightning Nationals 21st A Main
8/10/25 Buffalo River Speedway Minkota Lightning Nationals 18th A Main
9/12/25 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprints 6th A Main
9/20/25 Ventura Raceway Ultimate Sprint Cars 17th A Main
10/4/25 Mohave Valley Raceway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 10th A Main
Dalton Sexton 2025 Results
8/1/25 Barona Speedway SoCal Lightning Sprints 14th A Main
8/2/25 Barona Speedway SoCal Lightning Sprints 20th A Main
AJ Bender 2025 SGR Results
3/15/25 Imperial Valley Raceway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 23rd A Main
