EDDIE TAFOYA JR. BEGINS THE MOST IMPORTANT SEASON OF HIS RACING CAREER
2024-02-26 12:29
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(Chino, CA, February 23, 2024) Chino Hills, California resident Eddie Tafoya Jr. will begin the most important season of his career when the Avanti Doors and Windows USAC/CRA Sprint Cars Series kicks off its historic 20th anniversary season on Saturday night at Perris Auto Speedway. For the first time in his sprint car career, Tafoya is a bona fide contender for the series title.
This year marks Tafoya's fifth full season running a 410 sprinter. After winning the 2018 Perris Auto Speedway Young Guns championship, he jumped to the USAC/CRA Series in 2019 and captured the Rookie of the Year award. Unfortunately, in 2020 Covid stepped in and like almost everyone else, the year was a wash for the young driver.
When racing returned in 2021, Tafoya, whose father Eddie Sr. was the 2016 Perris Senior Sprint Car Champion, really began to hone his craft. In 16 stand-alone USAC/CRA races that year, he only finished out of the top 10 three times. He had 13 top 10s and placed in the top five six times. His best finish of the campaign came when he placed second at the Cocopah Speedway in late January.
When the dust settled on the 2022 season, the handsome racer ended up third in the championship standings and he was only 21 points out of second. A July trip to Huset's Speedway in South Dakota to contest three nights of racing in the USAC National Sprint Car Series saw Tafoya's star shine brighter. On a track he had never been on before and facing a star-laden field of competitors, he won a heat race and made the main event every night. Included was a 10th-place finish in the middle race.
Last season Tafoya made a massive decision to spend a lot of time racing away from his California home. Instead, he decided to spend the majority of the year on the USAC National trail. All totaled, he entered 36 races in 2023. Twenty-six of those were racing against the best non-wing 410 drivers in the world in the USAC National Sprint Car Series. He is hoping those laps will help propel him to the 2024 USAC/CRA title. The trail to that championship begins Saturday in Perris.
In addition to competing for the championship in the USAC/CRA Series in his family-owned #51T, Tafoya will also seek the crown in the brand-new Ultimate Sprint Car Series. In that competition, he will be steering an Inland Rigging team car owned by Tom and Christy Dunkel. The series will stage its inaugural race on March 2nd at the Ventura Raceway.
On top of getting the cars ready for the year, Tafoya has a new hauler. He was thrashing on it on Thursday and Friday to have it ready for Saturday's season opener.
The now veteran driver took delivery of his brand new, beautiful 2024 shirts and he will have them on sale for the first time at Perris on Saturday night. If you cannot make it to the track, they are available online at www.specialty-fasteners.com.
Spectator gates to see Tafoya 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.
If you would like to hear the friendly driver on his 2023 Dirt Tracks and Rib Racks Podcast, please visit the following link https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Hox9dg0iRGXo0szabeqDy
Fans can follow Tafoya on Instagram @eddietafoya51.
Tafoya and the #51T team would like to thank Specialty Fasteners, Inland Rigging, BR Motorsports, King Racing Products, Gasper Transportation, CMI Precision Machining, Owen's Insurance Services, Keen Concrete, DRC Chassis, and Rider Racing Engines for supporting its racing program.
Eddie Tafoya Jr. 2024 USAC National Results
January 11 Tulsa Expo Raceway Chili Bowl Midget Nationals 22nd A Main
January 14 Tulsa Expo Raceway Chili Bowl Midget Nationals 7th D Main
This release was produced by Scott Daloisio. (909) 226-7768 or E-mail mailto:sdaloisiosports@gmail.com