Braden Chiaramonte in his second 410 race at Cocopah Speedway in 2023. Mike Arthur photo.
For Further Information contact Daniel Chiaramonte at mailto:dchiaramonte@rtltraffic.com or (619) 988-7563
For Immediate Release
(El Cajon, CA, February 22, 2024) One of the brightest young stars in open wheel racing, Braden Chiaramonte, will kick off his busy 2024 racing schedule with an appearance in Saturday’s Avanti Windows and Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series 20th anniversary season opener at Perris Auto Speedway. The race will only be the third time the young star has raced a 410 sprint car and the first time he has done so at Perris.
2024 will be the first year in his budding career that sprint cars will be the main focus for the El Cajon, California-based racer. His current plan for the season is to compete in Northern California’s Sprint Car Challenge Tour for Tyner Motorsports and the USAC/CRA Series in the family-owned #73B. In addition, he will also be racing some of the biggest micro shows in the nation.
Chiaramonte, who turns 17 on Sunday, has raced a 410 sprint car two times in the past. Both of those came late last season at USAC/CRA races in Arizona. In both, he looked like a seasoned veteran and finished ahead of many of the West Coast’s top stars. The first effort came at the Mohave Valley Raceway on October 14th. He shocked everyone by qualifying third fastest in the 27-car field and placing fourth in the main after starting ninth and briefly leading at one point.
A few weeks later at the Cocopah Speedway near Yuma, Arizona, he raced a 410 sprint car for the second time. Competing against a tougher field, he qualified seventh fastest of the 28 cars on hand. In the main, he started seventh and steered his family-owned #73B forward to finish fifth.
The two races in Arizona gave Chiaramonte two top-five finishes in his first two 410 races. That is indeed a rare feet as 410 non-wing sprint cars are among the most volatile race cars on the face of the earth. It usually takes drivers time to get comfortable and mash the throttles in the powerful machines.
Saturday’s race will not be Chiaramonte’s first rodeo at Perris. In fact, he has visited victory circle there in the past with the POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprints. It will also not be his first appearance with the USAC/CRA Series at the famous Riverside County track. On two occasions at the track last year he took on the West Coast’s best non-wing 410 open wheel racers. Even though he was racing a 360 against a field of strong 410s, he was moving up to 10th when he was punted into the wall on March 18th. He restarted at the back and came forward to 16th. He returned to the track in July but ended up 20th due to mechanical ills.
“Our first two races went really good,” Chiaramonte said about racing a 410. “We are still learning car setup and everything. I think the wing sprint cars have helped a lot because you are going so fast. It makes the non-wing cars feel like you are not going so fast. The wing stuff makes you drive a lot straighter. I think that helps a lot, too.”
This weekend he will be on equal level with the “big guns” with a 410 for the first time at Perris.
“I am really excited,” the well-spoken teen racer said. “It is going to be fun. That is for sure. Perris is fun, but it is a scary track at the same time. It is definitely a cowboy up track with the high straightaway speeds and the tight corners. You are going so fast on the straightaway and the next thing you know you have a really sharp turn to go through. You can’t be scared of it, that is for sure.”
Great news for fans, but perhaps not the competition, Chiaramonte will be around a lot this season. It looks like he will only miss a handful of races. With good results, he could be a contender for the Rookie of the Year award.
“We could be (a contender for the rookie award) if we do good these first couple of races and get a good point lead,” Chiaramonte said. We still could have a shot. We will be running Tyner’s car in the SCCT Series. I think right now with our schedule between SCCT and USAC, we are only going to miss around six races (USAC).”
With his busy sprint car season, Chiaramonte will be cutting down on his micro schedule.
“Out in California, we won’t be running a lot. We will be running the KKM Challenge race (at Plaza Park in Visalia, California in March). That will be the first one in the micro and then we are going back to Texas again (Texas Micro Mania at Lil Texas Motor Speedway in April). We are going to try and hit big shows in the micro but we are going to focus on the sprint cars.”
Chiaramonte has brand-new shirts that will be available at Perris Auto Speedway on Saturday.
Spectator gates to see the young racing star in action on Saturday will open at 5:00 p.m. with racing at 7:00. Adult tickets for Saturday’s race are $30.00. Seniors 65 and over get in for $25.00. For kids 6-12 it is only $5.00 and children 5 and under are free. Advance tickets are available 24 hours a day online at https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/pas/7 or by calling 1-800-595-4849. For those who do not want to purchase advance tickets, there will be plenty of tickets for everyone at the ticket window on Saturday. The fairgrounds charge $10.00 for parking.
Perris Auto Speedway is located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds at 18700 Lake Perris Drive in the City of Perris. The track website is http://www.perrisautospeedway.com/ and the office phone number is (951) 940-0134.
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.
This release was produced by Scott Daloisio. You can contact him online at mailto:sdaloisiosports@gmail.com or by calling (909) 226-7768.
