CHIARAMONTE CHECKS OFF FIRST CAREER USAC CRA WIN AT SANTA MARIA
Nipomo, California (August 10, 2024)………Braden Chiaramonte led all 30 laps to earn his first career Avanti Windows & Doors USAC CRA Sprint Car Series feature win on Saturday night at Nipomo, California’s Santa Maria Speedway.
In just his seventh career USAC CRA Sprint Car start, Chiaramonte, at the wheel of his OCC Motorsports No. 73B, started from the pole position and led the distance at the 1/3-mile.
The 17-year-old from El Cajon, Calif., whose previous best USAC CRA finish was a fourth, became the 84th different winner in the series’ history, which dates back to 2004.
Kaleb Montgomery (Templeton, Calif.) crossed the stripe in second with Logan Williams (Yorba Linda, Calif.) in third and Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier Cody Williams (Norco, Calif.) fourth with R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Ariz.) rounding out the top-five.
David Gasper (Goleta, Calif.) raced from 21st to 10th to earn hard charger honors in memory of Jim & Chet Gardner.
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AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES: August 10, 2024 – Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, California
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-13.337; 2. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-13.347; 3. Chase Johnson, 17, Dunkel-13.426; 4. Kaleb Montgomery, 3, Montgomery-13.443; 5. Blake Bower, 3F, Finkenbinder-13.509; 6. Logan Williams, 5w, McCarthy-13.535; 7. Braden Chiaramonte, 73B, OCC-13.540; 8. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-13.560; 9. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-13.605; 10. Andrew Sweeney, 98A, Guerrero-13.688; 11. Brody Fuson, 51B, Van Meter-13.774; 12. Bryce Eames, 50, Abeytia-13.798; 13. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-13.799; 14. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-13.811; 15. Austin Williams, 17w, Dunkel-13.831; 16. Davey Pombo, 38, Pombo-13.940; 17. Brody Roa, 8m, May-13.982; 18. Brent Sexton, 44s, Sexton-13.997; 19. Jonas Reynolds, 0, Reynolds-14.217; 20. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-14.260; 21. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-14.312; 22. Heath Holdsclaw, 33, Holdsclaw-14.472; 23. Jon DeWees, 63D, DeWees-14.679; 24. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-14.730.
FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Verne Sweeney, 2. Braden Chiaramonte, 3. Davey Pombo, 4. Kaleb Montgomery, 5. Cody Williams, 6. Andrew Sweeney, 7. Jonas Reynolds, 8. Heath Holdsclaw. NT
BILLSJERKY.NET / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to feature) 1. Tommy Malcolm, 2. Grant Sexton, 3. Brody Fuson, 4. Brody Roa, 5. Blake Bower, 6. A.J. Bender, 7. Austin Grabowski, 8. Jon DeWees. NT
WC FRIEND COMPANY / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to feature) 1. Austin Williams, 2. Chase Johnson, 3. Brent Sexton, 4. R.J. Johnson, 5. Logan Williams, 6. Bryce Eames, 7. David Gasper, 8. Elexa Herrera. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Braden Chiaramonte (1), 2. Kaleb Montgomery (4), 3. Logan Williams (2), 4. Cody Williams (6), 5. R.J. Johnson (9), 6. Blake Bower (3), 7. Tommy Malcolm (14), 8. A.J. Bender (7), 9. Brody Roa (17), 10. David Gasper (21), 11. Austin Grabowski (20), 12. Bryce Eames (12), 13. Verne Sweeney (13), 14. Brent Sexton (18), 15. Heath Holdsclaw (22), 16. Elexa Herrera (24), 17. Chase Johnson (5), 18. Davey Pombo (16), 19. Jonas Reynolds (19), 20. Jon DeWees (23), 21. Andrew Sweeney (10), 22. Brody Fuson (11), 23. Grant Sexton (8), 24. Austin Williams (15). NT.
**Austin Williams flipped on lap 1 of the feature. Chase Johnson flipped on lap 28 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Braden Chiaramonte.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: David Gasper (21st to 10th)
AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Tommy Malcolm-717, 2-R.J. Johnson-712, 3-Logan Williams-649, 4-Austin Williams-647, 5-A.J. Bender-645, 6-Cody Williams-616, 7-David Gasper-584, 8-Verne Sweeney-458, 9-Eddie Tafoya Jr.-452, 10-Austin Grabowski-424.
NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: August 17, 2024 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – Brother Brett Classic at the California Racers Hall of Fame Night
