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ROOKIE BRENT SEXTON HAS SEASON-BEST USAC/CRA FINISH AT PERRIS - RACING VENTURA THIS SATURDAY

2024-07-21 19:14

(Lakeside, CA, July 18, 2024) Avanti Windows and Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car rookie driver Brent Sexton scored his best series finish of the season when he placed ninth in the 30-lap main event last Saturday night at Perris Auto Speedway. This Saturday, Sexton and his 20-year-old son Grant will head to the Ventura Raceway for the Ultimate Sprint Car Series, presented by Inland Rigging, "Surecam Showdown."

Flying solo last week as Grant was home ill, Sexton, 52, began the night with a 17.482 lap in qualifying. That was the 14th fastest of the cars on hand. He followed that up with an eighth-place finish in his 10-lap heat. Needless to say, the night was not going the way he had planned.

Sexton was slated to start the 30-lap main event in the 13th starting position. Then things began to improve. Before a lap was officially recorded, he moved up a couple of spots due to the extracurricular activities of some of the others in the field before a lap was completed. When things finally got sorted out, Sexton, driving the flashy white and fluorescent orange #22 Triple X Chassis powered by a former Rico Abreu Shaver 360, was very racy and was battling in the top 10.

Sexton got hooked up in a great side-by-side duel with Yucca Valley, California veteran Jeff Dyer. The two have raced against each other for years in the lightning sprints and they kept the crowd entertained by racing side by side for nearly ten thrilling laps. In the end, Lakeside, California-based Sexton avoided the chaos and brought the #22 car home ninth. It was his first USAC/CRA top 10 of 2024 and his second-best lifetime series finish. The only better one came on June 10, 2023, when he made his debut in the series at Perris and shocked everyone by coming home sixth.

"I think I was up to starting sixth when the race got going," Sexton laughed about last Saturday's main. "There was a lot of attrition, and that helped. Also, staying out of the wrecks helped a lot. I am happy with it. I will take it and get ready for this week's race."

"The biggest kick for me was the battle I had with Jeff Dyer," Sexton said. "We raced side by side for a lot of laps. We have raced against each other for years in lightning sprint cars, so it was a lot of fun racing hard with him on Saturday."

Unfortunately, Dyer was involved in a serious crash when another car flipped and landed on top of him near the end of the race. The blow knocked Dyer out, and his foot pushed the pedal down. He hit the wall with a Titanic force and then flipped. While he quickly regained consciousness, it took EMTs quite some time to get him out of the car as they were immobilizing an arm he broke in the crash. Sitting in his car, Sexton was worried about his friend.

"I was sitting in the car and heard over the radio it was Jeff," Sexton recalled. "It was taking some time to get him out, so it was kind of scary and worrisome wondering what was wrong and why it was taking so long. It was a relief when they said it was an arm injury and they were just being careful getting him out."

Sexton is a three-time Lightning Sprint Car Series champion, and he still dabbles with the smaller cars when he does not have a full-size sprint car series race. In fact, he won a SoCal Lightning Sprint Car Series race on San Diego County's Barona Speedway on May 25th. However, he has the time of his life in the full-size cars and wishes he had made the jump up a long time ago.

"I am having so much fun," Sexton said when asked about driving the larger, more powerful cars. "I wish I would have bitten the bullet and done it before so I could have raced against some of the legends. Guys like David Cardey, Rickie Gaunt, and others."

The wily veteran, who is third in the USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year standings, is 13th in the season-long championship points chase after 10 of 23 races.

Sexton Will make the transition from the big half-mile at Perris to the 1/5-mile Ventura oval this Saturday. It will be his third race in the USCS. His best finish so far was a 10th at Ventura on June 1st. His other outing in the club came in May at the Bakersfield Speedway. Unfortunately, he left that one early after slapping the turn 4 wall and finishing 20th. He goes into Saturday's dirt track war 22nd in USCS points.

Saturday will be Grant's first race since a July 6th affair at the Santa Maria Speedway. That night, he was knocked out of the main event on lap two and finished 20th. He was slated to compete at Perris last week but scratched due to feeling under the weather. In his first three appearances with the USCS, the 2023 USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year has a third, a fifth, and a 16th-place finish. He will be in a tie for 15th when he arrives at the beachside oval on Saturday.

Spectator gates for Saturday's USCS race at Ventura will open at 3:00 p.m., with racing at 5:30. Adult tickets are $22.00. Seniors 60 and over, military with ID, and students with an ID get in for $18.00. Children 12 and under are free when they are accompanied by an adult. The track is located on the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 W. Harbor Boulevard (93001). The website is http://venturaraceway.com/, and the office phone number is (805) 648-RACE.

Sexton Gatlin Racing would like to thank the following companies for making the 2024 season possible. East County Electric Works, Keys Brothers, BR Motorsports, Maxima Oil, Automated Interiors, Sexton Fire Protection, BK Wings, Troy Dirt.

If you or your company are interested in becoming a marketing partner with Sexton Gatlin Racing in 2024, please call (619) 454-6945 or E-mail mailto:sextonfire@cox.net or mailto:sextonfire@gmail.com.

Brent Sexton 2024 Results

2/24/24 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 15th A Main

3/1/24 Imperial Valley Raceway SoCal Lightning Sprints 4th A Main

3/2/24 Imperial Valley Raceway SoCal Lightning Sprints 2nd A Main

3/8/24 Imperial Valley Raceway Imperial Valley 360/410 Sprint Cars 12th A Main

3/9/24 Imperial Valley Raceway Imperial Valley 360/410 Sprint Cars 16th A Main

3/16/24 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 13th A Main

3/23/24 Cocopah Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 14th A Main

4/6/24 Mohave Valley Raceway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 17th A Main

4/20/24 Bakersfield Speedway USCS Sprint Cars 25th A Main

4/20/24 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprints 6th A Main

4/27/24 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 16th A Main

5/18/24 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprints 6th A Main

5/25/24 Barona Speedway SoCal Lightning Sprints 1st A Main

6/1/24 Ventura Raceway USCS Sprint Cars 10th A Main

6/8/24 Barona Speedway SoCal Lightning Sprints 5th A Main

6/22/24 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 13th A Main

7/6/24 Santa Maria Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 15th A Main

7/13/24 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 9th A Main

Grant Sexton 2024 Results

2/24/24 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 18th A Main

3/8/24 Imperial Valley Raceway Imperial Valley 360/410 Sprint Cars 9th A Main

3/9/24 Imperial Valley Raceway Imperial Valley 360/410 Sprint Cars 5th A Main

3/16/24 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 21st A Main

3/23/24 Cocopah Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 16th A Main

4/6/24 Mohave Valley Raceway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 11th A Main

4/20/24 Bakersfield Speedway USCS Sprint Cars 16th A Main

4/27/24 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 19th A Main

5/11/24 Barona Speedway So Cal Lightning Sprints 3rd A Main

5/18/24 Bakersfield Speedway USCS Sprint Car Series 5th A Main

6/1/24 Ventura Raceway USCS Sprint Cars 3rd A Main

6/22/24 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 6th A Main

7/6/24 Santa Maria Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 20th A Main

Braydin Collie 2024 Results

7/6/24 Santa Maria Speedway California Lightning Sprints 6th A Main

This release was produced by Scott Daloisio. Contact (909) 226-7768 mailto:sdaloisiosports@gmail.com