By Gary Thomas
Antioch, CA…Rebounding from engine issues in his heat race, 17-year-old Braden Chiaramonte marched through the field in the feature, netting his first career Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour victory on Saturday at Antioch Speedway.
After losing an engine while running second in his heat, it forced the El Cajon driver to start from the final row in the 35-lap contest. The driver of the Tiner-Hirst Ent. / Larry Davis Farms No. 94TH then proceeded to put together a memorable performance for the fans on hand.
By way of being a full-time SCCT team the youngster went home with $3,000 thanks to the Shop Kyle Larson Bonus. Chiaramonte also took over the Sprint Car Challenge Tour point lead in the process.
“I knew we had a fast car all night and just had that engine issue in the heat race that put us at the rear for the main event,” Chiaramonte said in victory lane.” Starting from 17th I knew it would be tough, but I just drove this thing as hard as I could. Following people wouldn’t have got the job done so I just searched around for different lines. I want to thank this entire Tiner-Hirst team for working so hard and giving me great cars every race.”
The main event began with Sacramento’s Austin Wood jumping into the lead after winning the High Sierra Industries Dash. The Winged Sprint Car Rookie put together solid laps up front early on. Track conditions created some of the best racing seen all season with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour, as drivers utilized every inch of the Antioch bullring.
Roseville veteran Sean Becker then pounced to take over the top-spot on lap nine and held the point for several circuits. With multiple competitors battling it out Chiaramonte was on the move from his 17th starting spot and blasted into second with 16 circuits complete.
He then went to work on Becker and officially took command on lap 23. He would lead the remaining distance to cross under the Ron Stahl checkered flag. Becker brought the Dan Monhoff owned No. 35 home in second to record his best result of the SCCT season. The 43-year-old has been ultra consistent, with a trio of top-five finishes in the six events held.
Cotati’s Jake Haulot made a late move to earn his first career podium finish in Sprint Car Challenge Tour action. He also started the evening by setting the Sierra Foothills Wine Services Fast Time with a lap of 12.733 around the one-third mile oval. It was great to see the former Petaluma champion have a strong outing.
Dunnigan’s Luke Hayes also scored a career best SCCT finish with a solid fourth place run, while Austin Wood completed the top-five, also securing his career best tour result.
Rounding out the top-10 in the feature were Colby Johnson, Michael Faccinto, Brad Bumgarner, Chance Grasty and Travis Labat. With his drive from 17th to 1st Chiaramonte took home the Pit Stop USA Hard Charger Award.
The Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour will now get set for Western Speedweek, which encompasses six straight nights of racing at six different tracks. It all begins on Monday July 15 at Cottage Grove Speedway and wraps up on Saturday July 20th at Placerville Speedway.
Results
Sprint Car Challenge Tour –
Antioch Speedway
June 15, 2024
A Main 35 Laps
1. 94TH-Braden Chiaramonte[17]; 2. 35-Sean Becker[3]; 3. 7H-Jake Haulot[6]; 4. 9L-Luke Hayes[8]; 5. 2A-Austin Wood[1]; 6. 38-Colby Johnson[2]; 7. X1-Michael Faccinto[5]; 8. 88-Brad Bumgarner[11]; 9. 1-Chance Grasty[7]; 10. 61-Travis Labat[14]; 11. 92-Andy Forsberg[10]; 12. 88A-Joey Ancona[9]; 13. 14-Mariah Ede[13]; 14. 75-Bill Smith[12]; 15. 2S-Jayce Steinberg[16]; 16. 5V-Connor Mewhirter[15]; 17. 21-Michael Ing[4]; 18. 82J-Steve Jaquith[18]
Dash 6 Laps
1. 2A-Austin Wood[3]; 2. 38-Colby Johnson[2]; 3. 35-Sean Becker[4]; 4. 21-Michael Ing[1]; 5. X1-Michael Faccinto[6]; 6. 7H-Jake Haulot[5]
Heat 1 10 Laps
1. X1-Michael Faccinto[2]; 2. 1-Chance Grasty[1]; 3. 92-Andy Forsberg[3]; 4. 7H-Jake Haulot[4]; 5. 61-Travis Labat[5]; 6. 2S-Jayce Steinberg[6]
Heat 2 10 Laps
1. 2A-Austin Wood[2]; 2. 9L-Luke Hayes[1]; 3. 21-Michael Ing[4]; 4. 75-Bill Smith[5]; 5. 5V-Connor Mewhirter[6]; 6. 94TH-Braden Chiaramonte[3]
Heat 3 10 Laps
1. 35-Sean Becker[2]; 2. 88A-Joey Ancona[1]; 3. 88-Brad Bumgarner[3]; 4. 14-Mariah Ede[5]; 5. 38-Colby Johnson[4]; 6. 82J-Steve Jaquith[6]
Qualifying
1. 7H-Jake Haulot, 00:12.733[1]; 2. 21-Michael Ing, 00:12.885[14]; 3. 38-Colby Johnson, 00:12.956[18]; 4. 1-Chance Grasty, 00:12.985[15]; 5. 9L-Luke Hayes, 00:12.997[2]; 6. 88A-Joey Ancona, 00:12.999[4]; 7. X1-Michael Faccinto, 00:13.041[13]; 8. 2A-Austin Wood, 00:13.081[16]; 9. 35-Sean Becker, 00:13.159[17]; 10. 92-Andy Forsberg, 00:13.291[7]; 11. 94TH-Braden Chiaramonte, 00:13.309[11]; 12. 88-Brad Bumgarner, 00:13.318[6]; 13. 61-Travis Labat, 00:13.322[3]; 14. 75-Bill Smith, 00:13.422[10]; 15. 14-Mariah Ede, 00:13.574[9]; 16. 2S-Jayce Steinberg, 00:13.589[5]; 17. 5V-Connor Mewhirter, 00:13.959[12]; 18. 82J-Steve Jaquith, 00:14.411[8]