(Lakeside, CA, November 26, 2021) After his win in the prestigious “5th Annual Western States Lightning Sprint Car Championship” at the Bakersfield Speedway on November 16^th, red-hot AJ Bender of San Diego, California reeled off three straight second place finishes at the “Hangtown 100” at the Placerville Speedway.  That gives Bender two wins, three second place finishes, a third and a fifth in seven races with Sexton Gatlin Racing. 

Drivers accumulated points in qualifying, heats and preliminary main events the first two nights at Placerville.  Those points determined the driver’s starting positions for the beginning of Saturday’s program, which featured two qualifiers, two B mains and a 30 lap A main finale. 

Two days after Bakersfield, Sexton Gatlin Racing showed up at Placerville with a contingent of four drivers.  Father Brent Sexton, his sons Grant & Dalton and Bender represented the team on the track.  In addition, they had former racer Seth Kramer serving as crew chief for the high-status three-night race.

Night 1, Thursday, November 18

Bender opened things in a strong way for SGR when he was second fast qualifier out of 32-cars that participated in time trials when he clocked in at 12.624 on the red-clay quarter mile.  Grant, the youngest member of the Lakeside, California based team, was fourth quick at 12.722.  After flying up to the race, Brent and Dalton got caught in traffic on Interstate 5 and missed qualifying.  In fact, they were changing into their fire suits in the car on the way to the track and just made it in time to start the heat races.

After his impressive showing in qualifying, Bender turned in a nice performance in the second heat race taking the win after starting sixth. Dalton was in the third heat and due to not getting a qualifying lap, he started at the back of the pack in ninth and finished sixth. The final heat race matched Grant and Brent against each other.  Grant did the same as Bender did in heat race #1.  He started sixth, drove through the field and picked up the win.  Brent started in ninth and drove all the way to a third-place finish.

Bender, Grant and Brent all earned tickets straight into the main event.  Dalton had to contest the B feature but did not secure one of the transfer spots.

For the opening night 25-lap main event, Grant, and Bender shared row #2 for the start.  Brent was coming from the inside of row five.  To say Brent’s main event race was a short one is an understatement.  Coming down for the green flag to start the race, several cars bunched up near the front of the pack and the car starting next to Brent clobbered him causing both to flip without getting a lap in.  Brent was uninjured, but his race was over before it started with an 18^th place finish.  

Grant was running fourth early in the main when he bicycled and went over the cushion in turn one before coming to a stop.  The teen restarted at the back and a few laps later met with the same fate on the same part of the track.  He restarted at the back again and tipped it over, ending his night with a frustrating 16^th place finish. 

Bender flew the SGR colors and battled hard for a very impressive second-place finish.   

Night #2, Friday, November 18

The second night of the “Hangtown 100” saw 34-cars check into the pits.  Grant, who qualified fourth on Thursday, went two spots better on Friday with the second fastest time of 12.650.  Bender was right behind in third with a 12.657.  Dalton made it three SGR cars in the top 10 when he timed in seventh best at 12.789.  Brent’s lap of 13.236 was 20^th.  

For the second night in a row, Grant started in sixth in his eight-lap heat.  This time he drove forward to finish second.  Like Grant, Bender started sixth in his heat for the second time in 24 hours. Like his teenage teammate, he brought the #2J home in second.  Dalton was in the same heat and placed sixth.  Brent took advantage of his outside front row starting spot to win the last heat race. 

All four SGR cars started the main event.  This time Bender and Grant shared row three.  Brent was coming from the ninth spot and Dalton was coming from 16^th.  A bizarre scenario played out on a lap four restart, and it included the two Sexton siblings.  Grant was running fourth when the car in third hit a rut in turn one knocking him up the track directly in front of Grant. With nowhere to go, Grant clipped the car’s rear will and turned over.  Seconds later as the cars were slowing down for the red flag, Dalton got upside down in turn three.  Grant was able to get his car back to the pits quickly.  In the time it took to get Dalton’s car off the track, the crew repaired Grant’s car and he returned to action.

Once the green flag restarted the race, Grant dazzled the crowd driving all the way back to a thrilling fourth place finish.  Just ahead of him, it looked as though Bender was going to finish third.  However, when the second-place car went wide coming off turn four, Bender pounced to his inside, snatched the position away and finished second.  Brent ended up finishing ninth and that was nine spots better than he placed on Thursday night.

Night #3, Saturday, November 20

Unfortunately, the damage Dalton’s car suffered in Friday’s A main was too severe to be fixed.  Thus, he was unable to compete on Saturday night.  The show started off with the top 20 in points split into two qualifier races.  The top five from each qualifier went into the main event.  The remainder of the cars went to the B main.

Being high point man from the first two nights, Bender started on the pole in the first qualifier and bagged the win sending him to the A finale.  Grant started fourth but finished sixth meaning he would have to go to one of the two last chance B mains.  Brent started and finished seventh in his qualifier sending him into the other last chance B main.

The two B mains proved good for father and son.  Grant started on the pole to win the first one.  Brent started on the outside of the first row in the second B and he also took the win. The victories sent each into the main event.

For the 30-lap finale, Bender started on the outside of the third row.  Grant started 11^th and Brent started 12^th.  Unfortunately, Grant’s weekend came to a premature end when he blew a hole in the header on the eighth lap. 

Bender bided his time and slowly worked his way towards the front.   He took the fourth spot on lap 16 and three laps later he moved into third.  It looked like third was where he was going to finish, but driving his heart out, he caught the second-place car on lap 23.  From there, he engaged in a fierce battle for the runner up spot that included wheel rubbing.  By the time he secured second, it was too late to catch the leader and he finished second for the third night in a row.  Brent crossed the line in 12^th. 

“Running second all three nights kind of sucks to be honest,” Bender lamented after the race.  “I feel we were good and could have raced Logan (winner Logan Seavey).  I just did not get through traffic as good as he did.”

SGR will get this weekend off, before heading to the Imperial Valley Raceway for the POWRi Lucas Oil Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Series “Lettuce Cup” on December 3^rd and 4^th.

Teenager Grant will be the first SGR driver to be back in action after the early December weekend at Imperial when he wheels one of the Hyper house cars in three different classes at the “36^th Annual Tulsa Shootout” from December 29^th through January 1^st. The event takes place inside the massive SagNet Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is the biggest micro sprint race in the world and will be available to race fans around the globe on https://www.floracing.com/.

Even though the team is still competing in 2021, 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 or 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 2^nd – Grant Sexton 3^rd – Brent Sexton 8^th

March 27     Mojave Valley Raceway    Brent Sexton 1^st – David Bezio 3^rd – Rudy Padilla 4^th – Grant Sexton 6^th

April 3          Barona Speedway            Grant Sexton 2^nd – David Bezio 3^rd – Dalton Sexton 10^th

April 10       Bakersfield Speedway      Brent Sexton 4^th – Grant Sexton 5^th

April 17       Barona Speedway            Dalton Sexton 1^st – David Bezio 7^th – Grant Sexton 9^th

May 1          Barona Speedway            Grant Sexton 1^st – Dalton Sexton 2^nd – David Bezio 3^rd

May 15        Barona Speedway            Grant Sexton 1^st – David Bezio DNS

May 29        Central Missouri Speedway        Grant Sexton 19^th – Shane Sexton 8^th in B Main – Brent Sexton 9^th in B Main – Dalton Sexton 13^th in B Main

May 30        Central Missouri Speedway        Grant Sexton 3^rd – Brent Sexton 16^th – Shane Sexton 17^th – Dalton Sexton 19^th

June 12       Barona Speedway            Grant Sexton 1^st – David Bezio 2^nd

July 24        Santa Maria Raceway       Grant Sexton 4^th – Brent Sexton 5^th

August 7      Barona Speedway            David Bezio 1^st – Grant Sexton 3^rd – Brent Sexton 12^th

August 11    Norman County Raceway Grant Sexton 1^st – Dalton Sexton 4^th – Sheldon Creed 21^st – Brent Sexton 11^th B Main

August 13    River Cities Speedway     Sheldon Creed 6^th – Brent Sexton 7^th – Grant Sexton 8^th – Dalton Sexton 10th

August 14    Greenbush Race Park       Brent Sexton 6^th – Grant Sexton 7^th – Dalton Sexton 9^th – Sheldon Creed 10^th B Main

August 15    Buffalo River Speedway   Sheldon Creed 2^nd – Grant Sexton 4^th – Dalton Sexton 6^th – Brent Sexton DNS

August 21    Barona Speedway            Brent Sexton 1^st – David Bezio 5^th – Grant Sexton 6^th – Dalton Sexton 13^th

Sept. 18      Barona Speedway            Grant Sexton 1^st – Brent Sexton 3^rd – David Bezio 5^th – Dalton Sexton 15^th

October 2     Barona Speedway            Grant Sexton 2^nd – Brent Sexton 3^rd – David Bezio 8^th

October 14   Lemoore Raceway           A.J. Bender 5^th – Grant Sexton 10^th – Dalton Sexton 12^th – Brent Sexton 20^th

October 15   Lemoore Raceway           A.J. Bender 1^st – Brent Sexton 18^th – Grant Sexton 9^th B Main – Dalton Sexton 10^th B Main

October 16   Lemoore Raceway           A.J. Bender 3^rd – Brent Sexton 9^th – Dalton Sexton 13^th – Grant Sexton 18^th

Nov. 16       Bakersfield Speedway      AJ Bender 1^st – Grant Sexton 6^th – Brent Sexton 22^nd  

Nov. 18       Placerville Speedway       AJ Bender 2^nd – Grant Sexton 16^th – Brent Sexton 18^th – Dalton Sexton 12^th B Main

Nov. 19       Placerville Speedway       AJ Bender 2^nd – Grant Sexton 4^th – Brent Sexton 9^th – Dalton Sexton 19^th

Nov. 20        Placerville Speedway       AJ Bender 2^nd – Brent Sexton 12^th – Grant Sexton 18th – Dalton Sexton DNS

(Upland, CA, November 24, 2021) Logan Seavey won the three-night battle and his second main event in the California Lightning Sprint Car Series/Bay Cities Racing Association co-sanctioned “Hangtown 100” last Saturday night at the Placerville Speedway. At the same time, rookie David Gasper of Santa Barbara won the eight-month, 17 race war and was crowned 2021 California Lightning Sprint Car Series champion.

Driving the Kittle Motorsports/Gasper Racing/Valley Precision Products/#18, the 16-year-old became the 18th different champion in the 27-season history of the CLS. Not only did he win the season long CLS championship, but earlier in the week he sewed up the title in the annual four-race CLS vs BCRA “Civil /War Series.” In addition, he is the CLS “Rookie of the Year.”

The night started out with a pair of 10-car, 12-lap qualifying races featuring the top 20 in points from the first two nights. The odd number positions were in heat qualifier #1 and the even numbers were in qualifier two. The races were lined straight up by points with the top five finishers in each moving into the final night main event. Drivers finishing sixth on back in the qualifiers, went to a pair of B mains where they were joined by the drivers who were not among the top 20 in points.

San Diego’s A.J. Bender, who finished second in the main events on the first two nights, was the high-point driver and he won the first qualifier over Palmdale’s Eric Greco, Dominic Del Monte of Gardena, Jeff “Ponch” Dyer of Yucca Valley and 14-year-old Braden Chiaramonte of El Cajon.

Seavey, who was fresh off a win in the USAC National Sprint Car Series “Western World Championship” the week before at the Arizona Speedway, and Gasper were both in the second qualifier. Seavey captured the victory over Bellingham, Washington’s Alex Lewis. Gasper, Waterford’s Dakota Albright, and Langley, British Columbia’s Levi Klatt took the other two transfers.

The final 12 tickets to the 30-lap finale would be determined in two B main events. The first of the two went to Lakeside teenager Grant Sexton. Chris Crowder of Colorado Springs, Colorado, who won the main event the night before, track specialist Scott Kinney of Citrus Heights, Placerville local Brandon Leedy, James Turnbull of Indio and Rancho Cordova’s Craig Holsted nailed down the other transfer spots.

Emulating his son’s performance in the first B main, Lakeside’s Brent Sexton came home first in B main #2. Chasing the Tennessee native across the line in the final five transfer spots were Danika’Jo Parker of Oakdale, Doug Nunes of Kingsburg, Freemont’s Greg Dennett, and the Placerville duo of Tony Fedota and Tyler Gedes.

Gasper came into the final race of the year with a comfortable 76-point lead over Greco in the championship point standings. His advantage got a further boost when he was off the pole for the 30-lap main event. Del Monte was alongside on the front row. Row two featured Lewis and Greco. Seavey manned the inside of the third row and had Bender alongside. Row four featured Dyer and soon to be first time BCRA champion Albright.

When the race began Gasper was the first to arrive in turn one with Del Monte, Greco, and Lewis in tow. By the end of the fifth lap, Gasper was a half straightaway in front of the competition. Seconds later the first halt in the race, that ended up being plagued by yellow and red flags, took place. Chiaramonte, who was having a tough week, saw his night end when he flipped in turn four. Simultaneously there was a three-car tangle in turn two. All drivers were okay, and the race resumed a few minutes later.

When the race restarted Gasper immediately put some distance on the remainder of the field. The brilliant blue #18 had things fully under control and the championship was in his grasp, but suddenly disaster struck. One of the cars near the back of the pack slid to a stop in turn one bringing out a yellow. Gasper tried to drive around him on the top and stopped for one or two seconds. He quickly got going again and was driving back to his lofty position at the front when officials informed him that he would have to go to the rear for stopping. When Gasper went to the back, that gave a glimmer of hope to Greco’s title aspirations as the former leader was going to have to deal with a lot of cars and chaos at the rear.

Del Monte was the new leader and Greco was second. Seavey, who had moved up to the third-place spot before the yellow, immediately picked up the pace on the restart. Running the wide line, he steered the John Taylor/Bullet Motorsports/Eldorado Landscape/Adco Driveline and Custom Exhaust/Jake Morgan Graphics/Superior Machine Works #51 past Greco for second as they came off turn four on lap ninth. Keeping his momentum up on the quarter-mile red clay oval, he drove by Del Monte for the lead on the same spot on the track one lap later.

Chasing his first BCRA title, Albright moved by Lewis and into the fourth spot on lap 12. Two laps later he lost a battle with the turn four cushion and spun. Like CLS point leader Gasper earlier in the race, he had to go to the back.

Greco, who tied Bender for the most wins in the CLS this year with four, got past Del Monte for second and was doing a good job of staying close to leader Seavey. However, with three laps to go, he had to deal with Bender. Using the outside line, Bender had the #2J flying and became engaged in a fierce battle that included some wheel banging for the second-place spot. That battle eventually went to Bender, but it was too late to catch Seavey who took the checkered flag with an eight-length advantage. Bender placed second for the third straight night, with Greco, Kinney and Lewis rounding out the top five.

Kinney was the race “Hard Charger” finishing fourth after starting 15th.

After the race, Seavey jumped out of his car and began looking under the rear end. “I pushed on the brakes real hard to avoid a crashed car,” the happy winner told the crowd. “I ripped one of my brake mounts off and I could feel it dragging on the ground. I was just hoping we could make it to the end. John (car owner John Taylor) built one of the nicest Lightning Sprints in the world and he called and asked me to drive. Obviously, I was not going to tell him no. It was a really fun weekend and I won two races.”

Gasper’s 76-point lead going into the finale was whittled down to 29-points at the end. Greco ended up second in the final tally and was followed by Turnbull, Dyer and Bender in the top five. The second five in the season ending standings was comprised of Del Monte, “Rockstar Jon Robertson of Torrance, Chino’s Pat Kelley, Aiden Lange of Lakewood and five time series champion Bobby Michnowicz of Oak Hills.

“It was a long season,” Gasper said after getting out of his car. “We never did anything in circles (never raced on oval tracks), so it was a whole learning curve. A lot of people helped us out throughout the year. I cannot thank them enough. Kittle Motorsports, man, I cannot thank them enough. A lot of opportunities they have given to me. Of course, my mom and dad for everything they do. My Dad working in the garage all night getting this thing dialed in. My mom scheduling rooms at hotels and taking up shifts to be able to afford this. If it wasn’t for Rowdy and Dwain Granger having the set up right for qualifying and races, I don’t think I would be up here without them, so I cannot thank them enough.”

“My dad won a couple of car owner championships with me driving,” new BCRA king Albright said after the race. “So, it is an honor to join (to join him as a champion). We had a good run going. Just drove to hard in on the cushion in three and lost fourth. I thought we could have gotten up there a little higher. Congratulations to Logan, A.J. and Eric.”

The CLS would like to thank 2021 series sponsors Hoosier Tires, T Shirts by Timeless, TJ Forged Racing Wheels, and Walker Performance Filtration. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, please call Alex Grigoreas at (909) 437-3170.

To keep up with the CLS online, please visit the website at http://racecls.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/californialightningsprints

Bakersfield Speedway 25-Lap Main Event Finish (with starting positions)

1. Logan Seavey – Sutter, CA – 5th
2. A.J. Bender – San Diego, CA – 6th
3. Eric Greco – Palmdale, CA – 4th
4. Scott Kinney – Citrus Heights, CA – 15th
5. Alex Lewis – Bellingham, WA – 3rd
6. Dominic Del Monte – Gardena, CA – 2nd
7. Levi Klatt – Langley, BC, Canada – 9th
8. Jeff Dyer – Yucca Valley, CA – 7th
9. Brandon Leedy – Placerville, CA – 17th
10. Chris Crowder – Colorado Springs, CO –12th
11. Dakota Albright – Waterford, CA – 8th
12. Brent Sexton – Lakeside, CA – 12th
13. David Gasper – Santa Barbara, CA – 1st
14. Doug Nunes – Kingsburg, CA – 16th
15. Greg Dennett – Freemont, CA – 18th
16. Danika’Jo Parker – Oakdale, CA – 12th
17. Tony Fedota – Placerville, CA – 20th
18. Tyler Gerdes – Placerville, CA – 22nd
19. Grant Sexton – Lakeside, CA – 10th 11th
20. Braden Chiaramonte – El Cajon, CA – 8th
21. James Turnbull – Indio, CA – 19th
22. Craig Holsted – Rancho Cordova, CA – 21st

Lightning Sprint Car Series Points

1. David Gasper ® – Santa Barbara, CA – 1846
2. Eric Greco – Palmdale, CA – 1817
3. James Turnbull – Indio, CA – 1713
4. Jeff Dyer – Yucca Valley, CA – 1629
5. A.J. Bender – San Diego, CA – 1472
6. Dominic Del Monte – Gardena, CA – 1359
7. Jon Robertson – Torrance, CA – 1046
8. Pat Kelley – Chino, CA – 871
9. Aiden Lange – Lakewood, CA – 815
10. Bobby Michnowicz – Oak Hills, CA – 807

CLS/BCRA Civil War Series Point Standings

1. Dave Gasper – CLS – 461
2. James Turnbull – CLS – 410
3. Eric Greco – CLS – 391
4. Brandon Leedy – BCRA – 372
5. Jeff Dyer – CLS – 337
6. Terry Bergstrom – BCRA – 331
7. Dominic Del Monte – CLS – 312
8. Dakota Albright – BCRA – 306
9. Bobby Michnowicz – CLS – 276
10. Aiden Lange – CLS – 235

2021 California Lightning Sprint Car Series Schedule

March 13 Bakersfield Speedway – Eric Greco

April 10 Bakersfield Speedway – Bobby Michnowicz

April 24 Merced Speedway (Wayne Albright Memorial – Round #1 of the Civil War Series with BCRA – Wingless) – James Turnbull

May 15 Bakersfield Speedway – A.J. Bender

June 5 Ventura Raceway – A.J. Bender

June 19 Keller Auto Speedway (Hanford) – Postponed due to heat.

July 3 Santa Maria Speedway – Eric Greco

July 24 Santa Maria Speedway (Wing Madness #1) Santa Maria – A.J. Bender

August 7 Merced Speedway (Civil War Series #2 with BCRA – Winged) – Dave Gasper

August 28 Ventura Raceway – Eric Greco

September 18 Bakersfield Speedway (Civil War #3 with BCRA – Winged) – Kevin Michnowicz

September 19 The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – David Gasper

October 2 Ventura Raceway – Eric Greco

October 30 Ventura Raceway – Jeff Dyer

November 16 Bakersfield Speedway (Civil War #4 with BCRA – Winged – Western States Lightning Sprint Car Championship) – A.J. Bender

November 18 Placerville Speedway Hangtown 100 – (Co sanctioned with BCRA and in companion with the USAC National Midgets) – Logan Seavey

November 19 Placerville Speedway Hangtown 100 – (Co sanctioned with BCRA and in companion with the USAC National Midgets) – Chris Crowder

November 20 Placerville Speedway Hangtown 100 – (Co sanctioned with BCRA and in companion with the USAC National Midgets) – Logan Seavey

PAST CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONS

1994 Tony Everhart

1995 Gary Sexton

1996 Rob Sczymczak

1997 Jon Rahe

1998 Chris Rahe

1999 Brent Sexton

2000 Greg Bragg

2001 Greg Bragg

2002 Greg Bragg

2003 David Cardey

2004 Keith Janca

2005 Johnny Bates

2006 Donny Gansen

2007 Shane Rossen

2008 Brent Sexton

2009 Stuart Hielschier Sr.

2010 Jarrett Kramer

2011 Tim Brown

2012 Bobby Michnowicz

2013 Stephen Limon

2014 Bobby Michnowicz

2015 Bobby Michnowicz

2016 Bobby Michnowicz

2017 Bobby Michnowicz

2018 Jarrett Kramer

2019 Jarrett Kramer

2021 David Gasper