AFTER ANOTHER IMPRESSIVE RUN IN A 410 SPRINT CAR, BRADEN CHIARAMONTE TAKES ON USAC MIDGET WESTERN SWING
2023-11-16 13:15
dirtFan website https://dirtfan.com/dirtfan/assets/graphics/dirtfan-200x200.jpg
(El Cajon, CA, November 13, 2023) After another stunning performance where he finished fifth in his second 410 sprint car start, teenage sensation Braden Chiaramonte is teaming up with noted West Coast car owner Matt Streeter for the USAC National Midgets Western Swing beginning Tuesday at the famous Bakersfield Speedway. The duo will follow Tuesday's event with races Thursday and Friday at the Placerville Speedway, next Tuesday and Wednesday, November 21st and 22nd, at the Merced Speedway and Saturday, November 25th at the 82nd running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix at the Ventura Raceway.
Chiaramonte, who lives in El Cajon, California, first teamed up with Streeter at the Bakersfield Speedway on April 16th, 2022. To the fans in the stands at the start of that night, the teen was just another name on the roster. That all changed in his first-ever USAC Midget heat race. After qualifying ninth, he started fourth in the hotly contested prelim. Using the outside line like a seasoned pro, he passed two cars in turn two on the first lap to move up to second. By the end of the first circuit, he had procured the lead and proceeded to move away from the pack. He led the race until lap seven when the defending series champion chased him down and got by. Chiaramonte finished second in that heat.
By the time the main came around that night, the track was shot after being pounded by five other divisions. Chiaramonte, who was 15 at the time, started the main in ninth. By lap eight, he steered Streeter's #14 car up to fourth. A trip up to the wide line a few laps later saw him slip back and he ran from sixth to 10th the remainder of the way before crossing under the checkers 10th.
Chiaramonte made two more appearances in Streeter cars last year placing seventh at Ventura on May 21st and 10th at Merced on June 18th.
After the show at Bakersfield, Chiaramonte and Streeter will head north for two nights of racing this Friday and Saturday in the Hangtown 100 at the Placerville Speedway. After that, the team will be back in action next Tuesday and Wednesday, November 21st and 22nd, at the Merced Speedway. The season will wrap up with the 82nd running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Jim Naylor's Ventura Raceway on November 25th.
Young Chiaramonte comes into the California swing after another impressive showing in a 410 sprint car at the Western World Championships at Arizona's Cocopah Speedway. It was not only Chiaramonte's second and third appearances in a 410 but it was the first time he had ever raced at Cocopah. Three weeks earlier he shocked the 410 world by qualifying third fastest and finishing fourth at Mohave. The trip to Cocopah proved to be even more impressive as it was against a larger and tougher field that included several National drivers.
Opening night of the Western World Championships saw Chiaramonte qualify 16th of the 33 cars on hand with a lap of 17.151. By the time he came onto the track for his 10-lap heat, the track was pretty much gone and had turned into a tire-eating monster. The teen initially steered the immaculate #73B into second and ended up placing fourth. That earned him a direct ticket into the A main event.
When Chiaramonte returned to the pits after the heat, there was oil everywhere on the car. As the crew poured over the engine to find out where the oil was coming from, they found that a bolt for the valve cover had stripped out. Unfortunately, the team did not have a helicoil to make the repairs and they were done for the night.
Saturday, with repairs made and with vastly improved track conditions, Chiaramonte cut .407 off of his qualifying time and ended up seventh fastest of the 28 sprint cars on hand. He again earned a direct ticket to the main event by placing fourth in his heat.
For the main, Chiaramonte started seventh. Early on, the youthful driver slipped back a few spots before he began steering his white and bright orange sprint car forward. Around the halfway point he was seventh. Soon thereafter he moved up to fifth and stayed there for the duration giving him two top five finishes in the first two 410 sprint car starts in his career.
Spectator gates at Bakersfield will open at 4:00 p.m. with racing at 6:00. Adult tickets are $20.00. Seniors 65 and over and military with proper ID get in for $18.00. Kids 6-12 are $10.00 and children 5 and under are free. Parking is free. The track is located at 5001 North Chester Ext. Ave., Bakersfield (93308). The track website is http://www.bakersfieldspeedway.com/ and the office phone number is (661) 393-3373.
Gates will open each day at 3:00 p.m. with racing at 6:00 at Placerville. As well as tickets being available at the track before the races, they are also available in advance at the following link online https://www.placervillespeedway.com/. The track is located at 100 Placerville Drive, Placerville, California. The office phone number is (530) 344-7592.
Chiaramonte would like to thank all his sponsors who have made his racing efforts possible. RTL Traffic Control, AM Ortega, Hyper Racing, Chop Design, Adams Motors, Hacienda Casa Blanca Fine Mexican Dining, Evil Plus Injection, King Racing Products, Tiner-Hirst Enterprises, and Keizer Wheels.
Chiaramonte and his team are in the midst of a busy racing season. If you are interested in becoming a marketing partner with one of the most talented and personable young drivers in the sport, please feel free to call or e-mail Daniel Chiaramonte mailto:dchiaramonte@rtltraffic.com or (619) 988 7563.
Braden Chiaramonte 2023 Results
January 13 Tulsa SageNet Center Chili Bowl Midget Nationals 14th A Main
January 14 Tulsa SageNet Center Chili Bowl Midget Nationals 12th C Main
March 11 Imperial Valley Raceway So Cal Non Wing Open Comp Sprints 9th A Main
March 11 Imperial Valley Raceway Best of the West Lightning Sprints #2 1st A Main
March 18 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 16th A Main
March 24 Placerville Speedway Sprint Car Challenge Tour 10th B Main
April 1 Mohave Valley Raceway USAC/CRA Sprint Car DNS
April 8 Adobe Mountain Speedway 600 Outlaw Winged Micro 1st A Main
April 21 Adobe Mountain Speedway 600 Outlaw Non Wing Micro 6th A Main
April 22 Adobe Mountain Speedway 600 Outlaw Winged Micro 1st A Main
May 11 US 24 Raceway All Transportation A Wingless Clash 5th Qualifier
May 12 US 24 Raceway All Transportation A Wingless Clash 10th A Main
May 13 US 24 Raceway All Transportation A Wingless Clash 15th Qualifier
May 19 Kings Auto Raceway At Plaza Park 600 Non Wing Micro 4th A Main
May 20 Thunderbowl Raceway Kings of Thunder 360 Sprint Cars 7th A Main
June 3 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprints 16th A Main
June 23 Delta Speedway 600 Non Wing Micro 5th A Main
June 24 Delta Speedway 600 Non Wing Micro 21st A Main
July 7 Ocean Speedway Taco Bravo 360 Sprints DNS
July 15 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 20th A Main
July 22 Deuce of Clubs Thunder Raceway Open 360 Sprint Cars 12th A Main
August 5 Placerville Speedway Winged 360 Sprint Cars 12th A Main
August 25 Silver Dollar Speedway Winged 360 Sprint Cars 10th A Main
September 7 Sweet Springs Motorplex 600cc POWRi Non Wing Micros 7th A Main
September 8 Sweet Springs Motorplex 600cc POWRi Non Wing Micros 24th A Main
September 9 Sweet Springs Motorplex 600cc POWRi Non Wing Micros 24th A Main
September 22 Lil Texas Motor Speedway 600cc POWRi Non Wing Micros 1st A Main
September 23 Lil Texas Motor Speedway 600cc POWRi Non Wing Micros 2nd A Main
September 28 US 24 Raceway 600cc Non Wings Micros 8th A Main
September 29 US 24 Raceway 600cc Winged Micros 8th Qualifier
September 30 US 24 Raceway 600cc Winged Micros 19th A Main
September 30 US 24 Raceway 600cc Non Winged Micros 6th Qualifier
October 14 Mohave Valley Raceway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 4th A Main
October 19 Port City Raceway 600cc Non Wing Micro 6th A Main
October 21 Port City Raceway 600cc Non Wing Micro 9th B Main
November 3 Cocopah Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars DNS
November 4 Cocopah Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 5th A Main
This release was produced by Scott Daloisio. You can contact him online at mailto:sdaloisiosports@gmail.com or by calling (909) 226-7768.