After Another Impressive Run in a 410 Sprint Car, Braden Chiaramonte Takes on Usac Midget Western Swing - Speedway Digest

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 21^st and 22^nd, at the Merced Speedway and Saturday, November 25^th at the 82^nd 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 16^th, 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 10^th the remainder of the way before crossing under the checkers 10^th.

Chiaramonte made two more appearances in Streeter cars last year placing seventh at Ventura on May 21^st and 10^th at Merced on June 18^th.

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 21^st and 22^nd, at the Merced Speedway. The season will wrap up with the 82^nd running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Jim Naylor’s Ventura Raceway on November 25^th.

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 16^th 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:[email protected] or (619) 988 7563.

Braden Chiaramonte PR