Dalton Gauthier : American Flattrack Racer

Winter Throwdown Vol. 8: Dalton Gauthier Goes to War in Callahan

The winter off-season doesn’t mean the intensity drops — it just means the battles happen under lights, in tighter windows, and on surfaces that change by the lap. Winter Throwdown Vol. 8 (January 15–17, 2026) at Callahan Speedway in Callahan, Florida delivered exactly that: a stacked field, a fast-evolving track, and a weekend that reminded everyone why Dalton Gauthier is always a threat when the gate drops.

What Winter Throwdown Is (and Why It Hits Different)

Winter Throwdown isn’t your typical “show up and race one class” weekend — it’s a full-on off-season proving ground. The weekend kicks off with the King of the Throwdown 1v1 bracket, then rolls straight into two full days of racing with a morning amateur program and a night pro show.

In the King format, it’s two riders head-to-head, no traffic, no excuses. Each matchup is a best-of-three battle, with three races total, and each race is a three-lap sprint. That means there’s almost no time to settle in — you have to be sharp immediately, make the right move instantly, and adapt fast as the track changes from run to run. It’s raw, high-pressure racing, and it rewards riders who can execute on command.

Thursday night is where the weekend officially turns into a fight. Three laps. Best of three. Every mistake is amplified, and every adjustment matters because the track can change from one round to the next.

Qualifying: Fighting From the Middle of a Stacked Field

With a deep lineup of talent in attendance, 53 riders to be exact, qualifying was tight from top to bottom. Dalton put himself in the mix with a 9th-place qualifying effort in one session with a fastest lap time of 14.714, then went into the next qualifying and landed 13th with a fastest lap time of 14.660 — which meant the bracket wasn’t going to be “easy” by any definition.

But that’s kind of the point. Winter Throwdown doesn’t reward comfort — it rewards execution.

King of the Throwdown 1v1 Bracket Warfare

Dalton opened the bracket against Evan Kelleher, advanced out of that one, then went straight into Chad Cose — but that matchup was different. Chad and Dalton are longtime best friends, but once the visor drops, none of that matters. It was one of the toughest battles of the night: close, aggressive, and the kind of race where both riders know exactly what the other is capable of. Dalton came out on top, and then followed it with another win over Ryder Reese, which ultimately punched his ticket to the showdown with Briar Bauman.

The Bauman vs. Gauthier matchup – a true three-round battle:

• Round 1: Dalton came out sharp and won the first round, proving immediately he had the pace to take the matchup.
• Round 2: Dalton tried to cut tight to the inside underneath Briar into the corner, but Briar closed the door, sending Dalton into the sandy cushion, where Dalton ultimately had to lay the bike down.
• Round 3: The final round started off tight, but as the hard-grooved track collected extra dust, the main line became slippery with less traction. Dalton slowly lost grip as the surface went away, a gap opened between the riders, and Briar was able to pull it in.

Briar advanced out of that battle, and the bracket kept delivering. In the end, Walker Porter took the King of the Throwdown crown — winning it with his new Honda Turner Racing team.