2021 POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Series Champion Grant Sexton has his eyes set on another title for 2023. The teenage racer kicks off his season with the first full of 410 sprint car racing and launches a “Rookie of the Year” campaign when the USAC/CRA sprints are held. The Car Series will visit Cocopa Speedway in Arizona on Friday and Saturday, January 27th.^th and 28^thIt will be his first time racing on a circuit called ‘Desert Diamonds’.

Sexton, who lives in Lakeside, California, has done a few runs in 2022 in a full-size sprint car. His four events with USAC/CRA, three shows including the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura, and Imperial Valley Raceway. The talkative teen made his first start in a full-size sprinter at Ventura on April 16th.^thHis second best result came at the Imperial Valley in October when he scored his third podium.

The much-talked-about teen’s first effort in a full-size Sprinter was in an older car.

“I ran the old Elise (first) and then the new Elise,” the 18-year-old said with a laugh earlier this week. “Well, it was new to us, but it was pretty much the same car.”

Last year, his father, Brent Sexton, decided it was time for a major upgrade. The patriarch, a three-time Lightning Sprint car title list (including his POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint his championship last year), realized his youngest son was ready for the promotion and decided to launch his brand new Triple X I bought a chassis. He hid the new chassis in the rafters until he thought Grant was ready. The time has come and the youngster will make his car debut at Cocopa on Friday. The team headed to Perris for the first shakedown of the car on Thursday before heading straight to the Speedplant in Arizona.

Sexton will be a new truck new car for its first run of 2023.

“I haven’t practiced with the new Triple X car, but I will be testing it at Perris Auto Speedway tomorrow,” the teenager said on Wednesday. I know there are wider turns, so I should be a little more forgiving if I make a mistake. not.

“I watch a lot of movies,” continued the young racer. “I mean, I sit on YouTube for hours and go back to old Flo events. Sadly Iracing doesn’t have a California track, but we hop on simulators whenever we can, mainly because we want to make every main event we attend successful and hopefully get the car home safely. Just use patience and learn the car itself before you get a little more bullish.”

In addition to some new venues, Sexton will be competing at several tracks that have raced lightning sprints over the past few years. These tracks include Perris, Bakersfield Speedway, Mojave Valley Raceway, Ventura Raceway and Santa Maria Raceway. When asked which track he was looking forward to going to, he quickly named it Bakersfield. Another part of that answer could have to do with his thrilling victory at the ‘Okie Bowl’ when the CLS competed on the same card as World of Outlaws on his March 24th.^th2022. The teenager stole the show with a cushion on the rim in a daring display of bravery that saw him take the lead and win by less than a foot to enter the race. rice field.

Like many young drivers, Sexton had some challenges early in his Lightning Sprint Car career. Some nights he was fast, some nights he wasn’t so fast. He tore some equipment along the way. There was a flash of brilliance that shone through it all. However, things changed midway through the 2019 season.He was 15 years old at the time and could only do better than his 14-year-old^th Once in the first seven races of the year. Near the end of June, he began to turn things around. Six starts from June 29th^th and August 24th^th, where he entered the top ten four times. It also includes his second place finish at his CLS race in Santa Maria on July 27th.^thBut the best was yet to come.

On August 24, 2019, he won the Open Comp race at Barona Speedway. Not surprisingly, it wasn’t expected yet. What happened next was shocking and completely unexpected for anyone. In other words, everyone except yourself. Two weeks after Barona’s win, the family team headed to Missouri and Lake Ozark Speedway for his POWRi Lightning Sprint Car Nationals. There they met some of the state’s top drivers and cars. On the first night of the two-day show, Sexton easily won his event in Maine, shocking the world of his car with the Lightning Sprint. A teenage up-and-comer comes to a track he has never raced before and races against veteran drivers, many of whom are on his home ground, beating them and ultimately becoming a fan favourite. Did. Surely the victory must have been a fluke. No teen could repeat that performance. He then surprised everyone again by leading his 23 laps to finish second. In less than 24 hours, he went from obscurity to North America’s hottest Lightning Sprint car his driver.

Like everyone else, Covid pretty much ruined Sexton’s 2020 season. He has proven his adaptability by winning the POWRi Southwest Series four times, including winning his third of his last seven main events in a row. Two of his victories were running with wings and the remaining two were without wings. He won the championship with a comfortable 122 points when the checkered flag waved at the final race of the series. In addition to his prowess in SWLS, he returned to Missouri and finished 3rd in the finale.The team also traveled to the upper Midwest for the ‘Minkota Nationals.’ Again competing with several provincial and Canadian veteran drivers on his four new tracks, Sexton won the season opener and finished in the top eight in all four races.

2022 has not been a normal season for Sexton. Perhaps more important than the race was that he graduated from high school. So I took a little break from racing at every festival that you can only attend once in your life. Also, instead of running a Lightning Sprint Car-only schedule, he was transitioning to a full-size sprint car, after all, he visited his winning circle four times that year.

Sexton would like to thank 2011 USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year David Veggio, Tava Lopez, Cody Griggs, Nita “Nanna” Gatlin and father Brent as crew chief. They are all working hard to get their Triple X Chassis, Johnny Motorhead 410 ready for this week’s season opener at Cocopa.

SGR spends the winter preparing for new successes in 2023. If you or your company are interested in partnering with this frontline team, please call (619) 454-6945 or email us. This email address is being protected from spambots. JavaScript must be enabled to view. Also This email address is being protected from spambots. JavaScript must be enabled to view.

Sexton/Gatlin Racing would like to thank the following companies for making the 2022 season possible: Keys Brothers, East County Electric Works, Maxima Oil, Automated Interiors, Sexton Fire Protection, BK Wings, Johnny Motorhead, Troy Dirt, Victory Graphix, Swift Powdercoat.

This release was produced by Scott Daloisio. Contact (909) 226-7768 This email address is being protected from spambots. JavaScript must be enabled to view.

SGR PR