By Scott Daloisio
(El Cajon, CA, March 12, 2024) In only his third start of 2024, newly turned 17-year-old Braden Chiaramonte outdistanced the field in the Imperial Valley Raceway 360/410 Sprint Cars main event last Saturday night. The triumph was the first of his young career in a 410 sprint car. Riding the crest of his victory wave, the talented teen driver will be back at Perris Auto Speedway this Saturday, March 16th.
Saturday’s victory came on the second straight night of racing during the California Mid-Winter Fair. Eighteen cars showed up for the race at the track that is located just north of the USA/Mexico border. Chiaramonte, debuting a bright red #73B paint scheme on the weekend, was the fourth-fastest car in hot laps. He followed that up by qualifying second fastest with a time of 12.594 in the 18 car field. That placed him in the second heat where he finished fifth.
By the time the cars came onto the track for the 30-lap Saturday main event, blustery winds and cool temperatures had taken over. Still, the track was very racy. Chiaramonte had some veteran heavy hitters from California, Arizona, and Ohio starting in front and behind him in the stacked finale. In his typical confident style that belies the fact that he is only 17, he showed all of the savvy of a longtime pro and steered his way to the front for the first 410 sprint car win of his career.
Last week’s victory came on the second weekend of racing during the annual fair. Before his Saturday win, he also competed Friday on the same track. Thirteen sprint cars were in the pits for the Friday show. As usual, Chiaramonte was fast from the first time he wheeled his #73B onto the racing surface. He was the fastest in hot laps with a time of 12.248. Moments later, he turned in the fastest qualifying time of the night at 12.335.
Later in the evening, he came home eighth in his heat and fifth in the 20-lap main.
Dating back to October of last year, Chiaramonte has competed in his 410 sprint car five times. Amazingly he has never finished worse than eighth. And, the night he finished eighth, he started 16th. The other finishes include a win, a fourth-place finish, and two fifth-place results.
This Saturday night Chiaramonte will return to Perris Auto Speedway for round #2 of the Avanti Windows and Doors USAC/CRA 410 Sprint Car Series. At the season opener three weeks ago, he qualified 17th fastest on the famous half-mile clay oval with a lap of 17.343. A sixth-place finish in his heat forced him into the 12-lap B main where he came home second. That was followed by another impressive performance when he came from 16th to eighth in the main. In that finale, only one of the 22 other drivers bettered his sizzling lap of 17.072.
Chiaramonte enters Saturday’s Perris race eighth in the USAC/CRA championship point standings. In addition, he is second in the series Rookie of the Year chase.
For fans who would like to see the rising young star take on the best non-wing drivers west of the Mississippi on Saturday, spectator gates will open at 5:00 p.m. with racing at 7:00. Adult tickets for the night of exciting dirt track racing and clean family fun are $30.00. Seniors 65 and over get in for $25.00. For kids 6-12 it is only $5.00, and children 5 and under are admitted free. Advance tickets are available online at https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/pas/7. They can also be ordered by phone at 1-800-595-4849. For fans who do not wish to purchase tickets in advance, there will be plenty available for everyone at the ticket window on Saturday.
Perris Auto Speedway is conveniently located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds (home of the Southern California Fair), one hour east of Los Angeles and one hour North of San Diego. To get to the track, take the 215 freeway, exit on the Ramona Expressway, and go three miles east to the fairgrounds. For directions online, the address to enter is: 18700 Lake Perris Drive and the zip code is 92571.
After this week’s race at Perris, Chiaramonte and his team will head east to Arizona’s Cocopah Speedway on March 23rd for the third USAC/CRA race of the 2024 campaign.
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, Tyner, and Keizer Wheels. If you would like to be a partner with one of America’s fastest rising racing stars, please contact Daniel Chiaramonte via email at mailto:dchiaramonte@rtltraffic.com or by calling (619) 988-7563.
Braden Chiaramonte’s 2024 Results
2/24/24 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 8th A Main
3/8/24 Imperial Valley Raceway Imperial Valley 360/410 Sprint Cars 5th A Main
3/9/24 Imperial Valley Raceway Imperial Valley 360/410 Sprint Cars 1st A Main