By Lance Jennings
IMPERIAL, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 14, 2025… Regaining the lead from Braden Chiaramonte on lap twenty-six, Ricky Lewis (Oxnard, CA) earned his second Avanti Windows and Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car win of the season. Piloting his #41 Coyote Candle Company / Mesilla Valley Transportation DRC, Lewis was running away from the field and Chiaramonte chased down the leader. The pair sliced their way through heavy slower traffic and Braden grabbed the top spot on the twenty-third circuit. With Chiaramonte out front, heavy traffic became a factor once again and Lewis took the Friday night non-stop feature at Imperial Valley Raceway. Chiaramonte, point leader Jake Swanson, Logan Calderwood, and “The Cadillac” Cody Williams rounded out the top-five.
Williams opened the program by posting the twenty-first Woodland Auto Display / WC Friend Company Fast Time Award of his career. Driving his #44 WC Friend Company / Trench Shoring DRC, Williams earned the top spot on the charts with a time of 12.257 seconds over the 28-car roster.
Defending champion R.J. Johnson, A.J. Bender, “The Bull” Tye Mihocko, and Brody Wake claimed the checkered flags in their 10-lap heat races.
After flipping in time trials, Blake Bower sliced his way to victory in the 12-lap semi-main. Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm, Grant Sexton, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Connor Lundy, and Shon Deskins earned the final transfer spots to the 30-lap feature.
Bower also earned the In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award with a ninth place run from twenty-second. As a bonus, Blake earned an extra $100 cash from Steve Lafond / Tear-Off Heaven Fotos.
Tomorrow, March 15th, the USAC/CRA Sprint Cars are back at the historic Imperial Valley Raceway during the California Mid-Winter Fair. The event goes back to 1957 with the original California Racing Association (CRA).
For more information on the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC/CRA Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: March 14, 2025 – Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, California – “California Mid-Winter Fair”
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY / WC FRIEND COMPANY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-12.257; 2. Braden Chiaramonte, 73B, OCC-12.373; 3. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-12.459; 4. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-12.550; 5. R.J. Johnson, 33P, Petty-12.567; 6. J.J. Yeley, 2, Yeley-12.601; 7. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-12.646; 8. Jake Swanson, 17X, Dunkel-12.705; 9. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-12.786; 10. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-12.811; 11. Dayton Shelton, 4D, Shelton-12.811; 12. Caleb Stelzig, 21S, Stelzig-12.821; 13. Connor Lundy, 97, Lundy-12.976; 14. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-12.989; 15. Tye Mihocko, 5, Mihocko-13.047; 16. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-13.069; 17. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-13.102; 18. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-13.122; 19. Brent Sexton, 44S, Sexton-13.128; 20. Brody Wake, 78B, Wake-13.131; 21. Lonnie Oliver, 22AZ, Oliver-13.384; 22. Shon Deskins, 20, Deskins-13.655; 23. Austin Ervine, 21X, Ervine-13.656; 24. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-13.708; 25. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-13.823; 26. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-13.883; 27. Brecken Guerrero, 98B, Guerrero-14.119; 28. Blake Bower, 17, Dunkel-NT.
IN HONOR OF WILEY MILLER SR. & WILEY MILLER II FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, Top 4 Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. R.J. Johnson, 2. Cody Williams, 3. Logan Williams, 4. Austin Williams, 5. Connor Lundy, 6. Lonnie Oliver, 7. Elexa Herrera. NT.
WC FRIEND COMPANY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, Top 4 Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. A.J. Bender, 2. Braden Chiaramonte, 3. J.J. Yeley, 4. David Gasper, 5. Shon Deskins, 6. Verne Sweeney, 7. Tommy Malcolm. NT.
SILBERMANN SOLAR THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, Top 4 Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. Tye Mihocko, 2. Dayton Shelton, 3. Ricky Lewis, 4. Austin Ervine, 5. Brecken Guerrero, 6. Grant Sexton, 7. Brent Sexton. NT.
SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, Top 4 Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. Brody Wake, 2. Caleb Stelzig, 3. Logan Calderwood, 4. Jake Swanson, 5. Charles Davis Jr., 6. Blake Bower, 7. Jeff Dyer. NT.
FACTORY WRAPS SEMI: (12 laps, Top 6 Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. Blake Bower, 2. Tommy Malcolm, 3. Grant Sexton, 4. Charles Davis Jr., 5. Connor Lundy, 6. Shon Deskins, 7. Lonnie Oliver, 8. Verne Sweeney, 9. Elexa Herrera, 10. Brecken Guerrero. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Ricky Lewis (4), 2. Braden Chiaramonte (5), 3. Jake Swanson (8), 4. Logan Calderwood (3), 5. Cody Williams (6), 6. R.J. Johnson (2), 7. Tye Mihocko (15), 8. A.J. Bender (14), 9. Blake Bower (22), 10. Austin Williams (9), 11. Charles Davis Jr. (16), 12. Caleb Stelzig (12), 13. David Gasper (18), 14. Brody Wake (19), 15. Connor Lundy (13), 16. Dayton Shelton (11), 17. Logan Williams (17), 18. Austin Ervine (21), 19. Grant Sexton (7), 20. Tommy Malcolm (10), 21. J.J. Yeley (1), 22. Shon Deskins (20). NT.
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**Blake Bower flipped during qualifications. Brent Sexton flipped during lap 1 of the third heat. Jeff Dyer flipped during lap 1 of the fourth heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-22 Ricky Lewis, Laps 23-25 Braden Chiaramonte, Laps 26-30 Ricky Lewis.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Blake Bower (22 to 9)
NEW AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS:
NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: March 15 – Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, California – “California Mid-Winter Fair”