(El Cajon, CA June 16, 2022) For the third time in his young career, teenage racer Braden Chiaramonte will take on the best midget drivers west of the Mississippi in a USAC Western Midget Series race at the Merced Speedway this Saturday night, June 18th. The race will be the first time the talented driver has appeared on the racy 3/8 of a mile clay oval in California’s Central Valley.
For this week’s race at Merced, Chiaramonte, 15, will once again be driving the Matt Streeter 14JR. The first time the El Cajon, California teen showed up to drive the car at the Bakersfield Speedway on April 16th, those unfamiliar with him thought he was just another rookie driver. That started to change when he qualified ninth fastest in the 21-car field. Minutes later on the first lap of his heat race, he showed everyone that they needed to sit up and pay attention. He went from his fourth-place starting spot into the lead on the first lap. He then led the first six laps before the 2021 series champion finally chased him down and took the top spot. The impressive teen never gave up and ended up finishing second.
For the main that night, Chiaramonte started ninth and finished 10th in the 21-car field that was mostly comprised of veterans. His last name gave long-time race watchers fits as they tried to tell their friends about him the next day.
Five weeks after his initial foray in Streeter’s car, the duo teamed up again at the Ventura Raceway on May 24th. Chiaramonte’s appearance in that race drew a lot of attention from those wondering if his initial outing was a fluke. He put those notions to rest in qualifying. He turned in a lap at 12.486. That was third fastest in the 24-car field in only his second-ever appearance in a midget.
After a 6th place finish in his heat race he began the 30-lap main event inside the 5th row in 9th. Once again competing against seasoned veterans he had an impressive night moving forward to finish seventh.
Chiaramonte is not competing for points in the West Coast Midget Series, but he is in 18th in the standings despite only contesting two of the first six races on the schedule.
Last week Chiaramonte made his first-ever appearance at the Lemoore Jet Bowl. In addition to debuting at the track, he was in a car he had never driven before. He qualified sixth fastest of the 17 cars on hand and placed second in his heat race. He capped the night off with another top-five finish when he placed fourth in the Outlaw Wingless Micro main event.
For fans who may be in the Merced area on Saturday, the track is located at 900 Martin Luther King Jr Way in Merced (95341). Spectator gates will open at 5:00 p.m. with racing at 7:00. The track website is http://www.mercedspeedway.net/ and the office phone is (209) 600-8382.
If you are looking to enter the world of lightning sprint car racing, Chiaramonte’s #73 car is for sale. It is the same car that he drove to the 2021 “Minn-Kota Shootout” championship, 2021 POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Series “Rookie of the Year” award, 2nd in the 2021 SWLS point standings and SWLS main event wins in 2021 and 2022. To get all the details, call Daniel Chiaramonte at (619) 988-7563 or send an email to mailto:dchiaramonte@rtltraffic.com.
Chiaramonte would like to thank the following marketing partners for making his 2022 racing season possible. RTL Traffic Control and Equipment Rentals, AM Ortega, Impact Racing, and AIM Sports Data. If you or your company would like to join forces with the fast-rising racing team, please contact Daniel Chiaramonte online at the following link mailto:dchiaramonte@rtltraffic.com or by calling (619) 988-7563.
Braden Chiaramonte 2022 Results
January 1 Tulsa Shootout Stock Non Wings 9th A Main
March 5 Imperial Valley Raceway POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprints 2nd A Main
March 6 Imperial Valley Raceway POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprints 8th A Main
March 25 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprints 6th A Main
April 16 Bakersfield Speedway USAC Western States Midgets 9th A Main
April 23 Imperial Valley Raceway POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprints 1st A Main
April 30 Barona Speedway POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprints 2nd A Main
May 12 US 24 Raceway All In Transportation A Wingless Clash 13th A Main
May 13 US 24 Raceway All In Transportation A Wingless Clash 16th A Main
May 14 US 24 Raceway All In Transportation A Wingless Clash 5th L.C.Q.
May 21 Ventura Raceway USAC Western State Midgets 7th A Main
June 2 US 24 Raceway Performance Electronics Big Dance 12th A Main
June 3 US 24 Raceway Performance Electronics Big Dance 14th A Main
June 4 US 24 Raceway Performance Electronics Big Dance 8th Qualifier
June 11 Lemoore Jet Bowl Non Wing Outlaw Micro 4th A Main
