Rising teenage star Braden Chiaramonte scored a podium finish in the Tiner/Hirst-owned 94TH sprint car for the third time in eight days. His latest effort came when he placed second last Saturday night at the Marysville Raceway. The finish went along with his third-place result at the Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico on May 10th and a second-place finish at Placerville on the 11th. Chiaramonte will return to Marysville this Saturday with the Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour in the Mel and Marlyn Hall Memorial.
The most amazing aspect of Chiaramonte’s accomplishment from last week is that he had never seen the Marysville oval before. Yet, he performed flawlessly all night, from hot laps through the main event. The second-place finish sounds amazing, but it could have been more. The friendly young driver actually took the lead away on lap 20 of the main event. However, a yellow flag seconds after he took the lead reverted the lineup to the previous completed lap.
Fans began to sit up and take notice of Chiaramonte in qualifying. Even though he was pitted against 24 track regulars, he still qualified third fastest with a sizzling lap of 12.637 in the Slade Precision Shocks/Larry Davis Farms/System 1 Pro Ignition sponsored car. He backed that impressive performance up with a very exciting win in the third eight-lap heat race. After a slider fest with another car at the outset, the new kid on the block led all eight laps and raced across the line a half straightaway ahead of his closest pursuer. In addition to winning the heat, he also posted the fastest lap in the race at 13.325.
The newcomer to the track gave the regulars more to worry about when he pulled a two in the redraw for the 25-lap finale.
When the A main started, Chiaramonte was second to turn one on the start. The determined teen challenged the cushion lap after lap. When lapped traffic came into play on the 11th circuit, he tried to pass the leader on the inside coming off turn four. However, the surface was definitely “Cowboy Up” on the bottom, making it hard to pass.
Undeterred, Chiaramonte was relentless in his pursuit of the leader. Building up momentum on the wide line, he chased down his foe and inched ahead when that yellow waved as the pack roared into turn one on lap 20. That meant the field was reset to the last completed lap. Thus, Chiaramonte moved back to second.
Once the race restarted, the El Cajon, California teen kept the heat on until the checkered flag. In the end, he was forced to settle for second.
The impressive second-place finish endeared the newcomer to the crowd. He was spectacular on the outside and may have well won the race if not for the late-race yellow. Lap eight was Chiaramonte’s best circuit around the track in the main at 13.325. It was the second-fastest lap in the race, and identical to his best time in his heat race.
Going into this week’s SCCT show at Marysville, Chiaramonte is 13th in series points and is only 20 points out of fifth. The race will mark the beginning of four straight weeks of SCCT racing for the young driver and the remainder of the series regulars. On Friday, May 31st, it will be on to the Placerville Speedway, where Chiaramonte finished second two weeks ago in a non-SCCT race. A week later, on June 8th, he will be at the Petaluma Speedway before heading to Antioch Speedway on June 15th.
Adult tickets at Marysville Raceway on Saturday are $24.00. Juniors 12-15, seniors 62+, and military are $20. Kids 6-11 cost $10.00, and those five and under will be free. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or via https://www.eventsprout.com/event/marysville-raceway-2024. The front gate will open at 5:00 p.m. Cars hit the track at 5:30, with hot laps, Sierra Foothills Wine Services qualifying, and racing to follow.
Chiaramonte would like to thank all his sponsors who have made his racing efforts possible. RTL Traffic Control, AM Ortega, OCC Motorsports, 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:[email protected] or by calling (619) 988-7563.
Braden Chiaramonte PR
