• dirt track racing news

EDDIE TAFOYA JR. HEADS TO FLORIDA FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR SERIES OPENERS

2025-02-07 14:27

(Chino, CA, February 5, 2025) Being out of the saddle for three months, Southern California racer Eddie Tafoya Jr. was getting anxious for some sprint car action. On Tuesday morning, he and his father, Eddie Tafoya Sr., began to scratch that itch when they pointed the Specialty Fasteners team hauler east and began a trek from one side of the country to the other to participate in USAC Winter Dirt Games XVI in Florida. Beginning on Monday night February 9th, Tafoya will be competing against the best traditional sprint car drivers in the country for six straight nights.

Tafoya and his father were making the cross-country journey alone and planned on arriving in Florida on Friday afternoon. After watching Supercross in Tampa on Saturday, it would be seven straight nights of work, beginning with a Sunday night practice session at the Ocala Speedway. From there, the team will make the one-hour journey east to Barberville and the high-speed 56-year-old Volusia County Speedway half-mile. Tafoya will race there on Monday the 10th and Tuesday the 9th.

After the Tuesday race at Volusia, Tafoya will head back to Ocala to begin four straight nights of competition on the 3/8 mile Ocala oval. After Saturday's race, the team will return to its Southern California base.

Winter Dirt Games is nothing new for Chino Hills, California veteran driver Tafoya. Two years ago, the 2019 USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year made his first trip to the land of alligators and swamps for his initial raid on Winter Dirt Games. He was knocked out of the first race with a fuel problem, and another night was lost to rain. Of the three nights he got in, he qualified for the A main two times. He ended up with a 13th at Volusia after starting 16th. Four nights later he finished 21st on the tricky Ocala track.

While cruising through Las Cruces, New Mexico on Tuesday, Tafoya took the time to talk about the upcoming races.

"I like Volusia a lot," the talented 27-year-old racer enthused. "It is big and fast. It is in my wheelhouse of tracks I like to go to. Ocala is fun, it is just a lot more challenging setup wise. You have to take good notes and make sure you are doing the right thing to find grip around that place. It is one of the few places you go to where you kind of have to set up your car for one half of the track and just deal with the other half because they are so different. It definitely makes you a better driver. You have to figure out how to manipulate your race car."

" I am pretty stoked," Tafoya continued when asked about starting the season in the "Sunshine State." "We decided to do something different. We had a break last year and decided to stay home. We thought about it over this off season and kind of had an itch to go National racing again. We race so many nights in a row, it is kind of a good way to jump start the season and get into gear quick."

Racing six nights a week in any class is a grind and requires a lot of extra attention. The week in Florida will be taxing on the driver and his team making sure everything is perfect when he hits the track.

"Probably just making sure everything is good to go every night," Tafoya mentioned when asked what was the hardest part of racing six straight nights. "We have a pretty small crew. So, we have to take the whole first half of the day to do some maintenance and all of that fun stuff and make sure we are ready to go for the night. Hopefully, we do not tear too much stuff up, and we get some good seat time."

Like he said, the crew is small. He and his father, Eddie Sr., a one-time draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates, are making the cross-country drive by themselves. Malyssa Young will join the team when she flies into Florida.

The beautiful #51T Tafoya will be wheeling is the same car he raced in USAC/CRA in 2024. Over the winter, he framed it and completely rebuilt it to make sure everything is fresh, tight, and square to give himself a good start to the 2025 campaign.

After Florida, Tafoya is not sure what his plans will be for the rest of the 10-month campaign. While he hopes to make all of the races at Perris, starting in Florida comes at a cost. The first Avanti Windows and Doors USAC/CRA series opener at Perris is the same night as the Florida finale. Race #2 of the USAC/CRA season will take place at Arizona's Mohave Valley Raceway just seven days later on February 22nd.

Fans who cannot make it to Florida for the Winter Dirt Games can watch all of the action on Flo Racing at the following link: https://flosports.link/usac. They can also listen live on the USAC app or online at http://mixlr.com/usac-official/.

Fans can follow Tafoya on Instagram eddietafoya51.

Tafoya and the #51T team would like to thank Specialty Fasteners, 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 2025 racing endeavors.

This release was produced by Scott Daloisio. (909) 226-7768 or E-mail mailto:sdaloisiosports@gmail.com