(Lakeside, CA, January 12, 2021) The 2021 Lucas Oil POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Series “Rookie of the Year “, Braden Chiaramonte, scored an impressive 9th place finish in the Non-Wing Micro Class at the prestigious Tulsa Shootout. The impressive top-10 finish came against a whopping roster that totaled 436 entries.
Joining 14-year-old Chiaramonte in the “Sooner State” event was 2021 Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Series champion Grant Sexton of Lakeside, California. Sexton made it all the way to one of the B mains in the Outlaw Non-Wing division before bowing out of the star-laden competition on the last day.
Driving Hyper house cars, each of the So Cal-based teens began their first appearance at the Shootout in Tuesday’s practice session. They followed that up 24-hours later with their initial heat race appearances of the four nights of intense competition. The highlight of opening night for the young duo came when Sexton started third and finished second in his Outlaw Non-Wing Heat race. Chiaramonte, who lives in El Cajon, California, started and finished seventh in his Outlaw Non-Wing heat. Also, on opening night in the Winged Micros, Chiaramonte started ninth and finished eighth in his eight-lapper. Sexton came from eighth at the start to finish seventh in his.
The second night of action saw Chiaramonte notch his first of two wins on the week when he came from his third-place starting spot to win his Non-Wing Micro heat. In Grant’s Non-Wing Micro heat, he started 10th and finished sixth. Both drivers also contested Micro Wing heats with Grant starting fourth and finishing third in his. Chiaramonte placed 9th in his outing in the class.
Night #3, which happened to be New Year’s Eve, saw Chiaramonte notch his second win at the Shootout when he won a Micro Non-Wing 10-lap Qualifier from the pole. That put him straight into Saturday’s main event, which is a tough feat for a newcomer considering there were 435 other entries in the class. Sexton’s qualifier saw him finish ninth. He also placed 11th in his Outlaw Non-Wing Qualifier.
The four-day competition, which drew a record-setting 1,700 total entries, ended on New Year’s Day. Chiaramonte was seated straight into the main event for the Non-Wing Micros. That was going to be his only race of the night. Sexton was still trying to fight his way into the Outlaw Non-Wing main event by transferring out of the B Main. Starting ninth in a stacked 12 lap, 14 car race he had to finish second to continue. With time working against him and on a track that was hard to pass on, he only advanced one position to eighth, thus ending his rookie foray at the Tulsa Shootout.
The 30-lap, 24-car Micro Non-Wing main was Chiaramonte’s last race at the Tulsa Shootout. The teen started 11th in the race. By the midway point, he had slipped back six or seven spots, but he shined in the second half of the affair. He steered clear of a multi-car tangle in front of him and maneuvered his way back to 11th. In the race’s waning moments, he advanced another couple of spots forward for a very impressive ninth-place finish in his first voyage at Tulsa.
This Saturday, January 15th, Sexton, and Chiaramonte will gather with other drivers, teams, officials, and fans for the 2021 Lucas Oil POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Series Awards Banquet. The casual affair will take place at 5:00 p.m. at 9632 Pine Blossom, in El Cajon, CA 92021. The night will include awards, raffles, smack talk, BBQ, drinks (BYOB) and the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals will be shown live. For more details, use the contact email or phone number in the sponsor section below in this release.
The Lucas Oil POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Series will kick off its third season during the California Mid-Winter Fair on March 4th and 5th at the Imperial Valley Raceway. The following week the tour will head to Arizona’s Mojave Valley Raceway for races on Friday, March 11th, and Saturday, March 12th.
The Lucas Oil POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Series would like to thank the Sexton Fire Protection, RTL Traffic Control & Equipment, Victory Graphix, United Cleaning Company, BK Wing, and A.M. Ortega Construction Inc. If you or your company would like to become part of the series in 2022, please contact Brent Sexton at (619) 454-6945 or mailto:sextonfire@cox.net
Lucas Oil POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Series Final 2021 Point Standings
- Grant Sexton – Lakeside, CA – 1366
- Brandon Chiaramonte ® – El Cajon, CA – 1244
- David Bezio – San Diego, CA – 1233
- Matt Sotomayor ® – Alpine, CA – 1006
- Rudy Padilla – Norco, CA – 925
- D.J. Dumas – El Cajon, CA – 843
- Peter Benker – Alpine, CA – 784
- Jim Squire III – El Cajon, CA – 746
- Parker Dumas – San Diego, CA – 734
- Ryan Dumas – San Diego, CA – 711
2021 Lucas Oil POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Series Winners
March 26 Mohave Valley Raceway (Winged) – James Turnbull
March 27 Mojave Valley Raceway (Winged) – Brent Sexton
April 3 Barona Speedway (Winged) – Parker Dumas
April 17 Barona Speedway (Winged) – Dalton Sexton
May 1 Barona Speedway (Winged) – Grant Sexton
May 15 Barona Speedway (Wingless) – Grant Sexton
June 12 Barona Speedway (Winged) – Grant Sexton
August 7 Barona Speedway (Winged) – David Bezio
August 21 Barona Speedway (Wingless) – Brent Sexton
September 18 Barona Speedway (Wingless) – Grant Sexton
October 2 Barona Speedway (Winged) – Braden Chiaramonte
