4/6/2023
Imperial Valley Raceway
2023 Mid-Winter Fair Recap
2023 California Mid-Winter Fair; Record breaking purse, and huge car count!
Almost 2 decades ago the Imperial Valley Fairgrounds hosted Sprint Cars during the Mid-Winter fair. This past weekend (3/10-3/11) the Sprint Cars returned after a long hiatus!
Friday Night Last Man Standing dash was presented by Keys Bros. Racing (Jimmy & Scotty Keys). 18 cars attempted to qualify for the 6-car dash! AJ Hernandez clocked in and set quick time @ 12.211 in the end Max Adams passed Cody Williams and took home $700.
Saturday a total of 24 cars checked in! The pits were full, and the atmosphere was monumental. The afternoon kicked off and the contingency prizes started flowing!
The Rod End & Supply Pill draw opened, and each driver walked away with a certificate to start the night off.
During the drivers meeting Walker Performance Filtration awarded the Long-Haul Award to Troy DeGaton (Live Oak, CA) towing over 640 miles. STIDA offered a random draw membership; Tom Dunkel took home the 1-year membership for the Short Track Independent Drivers & Associates insurance.
The 3 Heat races locked 5 drivers into the A; and sent the top 2 to redraw for the Main Event. Ricky Lewis, JJ Yeley, and Austin Williams each took home a heat race win and about 10 pounds of New York Steaks courtesy of One World Beef (Brawley, CA).
The B Main was a quick 12 laps and moved 5 drivers to the main:
- Roa, 2. Chiaramonte 3. Martin 4. Hernandez 5. Turnbull 6. Calderwood 7. DeGaton 8. M. Perkins
The 30 lap Sprint Car Main event was set!
$5,000 to win and $2,500 in contingency cash!
1 3 Austin Williams - Yorba Linda, CA 41 Ricky Lewis - Oxnard, CA
2 2J J.J. Yeley - Charlotte, NC 39 Jeff Dyer - Yucca Valley, CA
3 47 Charles Davis Jr - Buckeye, AZ 73 Max Adams - Loomis, CA
4 51 Brody Fuson - Bakersfield, CA 20 Shon Deskins - Waddell, AZ
5 27 Tyler Hatzikian - Murrieta, CA 44 Cody Williams - Yorba Linda, CA
6 55 Tony Everhart - El Cajon, CA 214 A.J. Bender - San Diego, CA
7 17A Tom Dunkel - Menifee, CA 37 Matt Mitchell - Yorba Linda, CA
8 71 Brent Owens - Cucamonga, CA 17R Brody Roa - Buena Park, CA
9 73B Braden Chiaramonte - El Cajon, CA 16 Mike Martin - Yuma, AZ
10 72 AJ Hernandez - Phoenix, AZ 1 James Turnbull - Indio, CA
30 laps in 31.55 minutes with 3 cautions, and 1 red. The racing was some of the best racing the fans have experienced at Imperial Valley Raceway in this decade! Austin Williams dominated the race and led 24 laps while battling for the lead with JJ Yeley. Yeley led laps 17-19. While the battle for the lead was taking place; Cody Williams, Ricky Lewis, Brody Fuson and Shon Deskins were all passing and making their way to the front. Deskins followed C. Williams through as they passed Yeley. Deskins went to the topside and passed both Williams’ for the lead and led the last 3 laps! Deskins now holds 2 wins at the Imperial Valley Raceway (October 2022/March 2023).
- Deskins, 2. A. Williams, 3. C. Williams, 4. Lewis, 5. Fuson 6. Yeley, 7. Turnbull 8. Bender, 9. Chiaramonte, 10. Martin, 11. Hernandez, 12. Owens, 13. Everhart, 14. Hatzikian, 15. Dyer, 16. Dunkel, 17. Roa, 18. Adams, 19. Davis, Jr., 20. Mitchell
Rookie James Turnbull making his first Sprint Car race in the #1 car went from 20th to 7 and was awarded the Inland Rigging Hard Charger and collected an additional $250.00 award
Cody Williams, added an additional $250 to his 3rd place final pay that was sponsored by George Morris in Memory of his son, Georgie Morris.
Brody Fuson, added an additional $250 to his 5th final pay that was sponsored by George Morris in Memory of his son, Georgie Morris.
Yes, Hay Bales do still exist! Tyler Hatzikian collected a little hay and was awarded a Walker certificate
Malyssa Perkins, and Seth Dyer collected a walker certificate by random draw and Brody Fuson was the random draw for a Walker Cleaning kit!
The Southern California Open Competition Sprints Cars (Chris & Amanda Tramel) would like to recognize the Heritage Foundation of Imperial Valley, Inland Rigging, Walker Filtration, 1world Beef, Rod End & Supply, George Morris, TUHB Quality Threads, Keys Bros. Racing, and Mickey Dale for their support to make this 2-day event a success. We cannot thank you enough!
We thank the following individuals and business’ who sponsored a lap during the Main Event on Saturday Night: Bob Basile, Logan Seavey Racing, Dirt Tracks & Rib Racks Podcast, Anne Wilkerson, SureCan llc, Dottie James, KBR, Emily Jackson, Casey, Brooke, & Sawyer Shuman, Sexton Fire Protection, Jerome Rodela, Apple Valley Postal, Oak Hills Postal, Axis Metal, Alphasite Logistics, and 5m Ranch.
Sprint Cars will be back on track October 20/21, 2023 at Imperial Valley Raceway.
Purse and format are to be published at a later date.
For further information please contact
Amanda Roberson-Tramel 760-271-8348
Chris Tramel 619-708-2242
Submitted By: Bronsen Chiaramonte