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EDDIE TAFOYA JR. HAS A DIFFERENT NIGHT AT THE PERRIS AUTO SPEEDWAY SPRINT CAR OPENER

2025-03-08 12:31

(Chino, CA, March 6, 2025) Three weeks after it was initially planned, Perris Auto Speedway finally hosted its first Avanti Windows and Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car race of the 2025 season last Saturday night. One of the racers in the challenging 25-car field was Eddie Tafoya Jr. The veteran driver had a good start to the night before a crazy faux pas saw him end up 13th in the main event.

As always, Tafoya, 27, was in the stunningly beautiful #51T that stands out from the rest of the cars in the pit area. Time trials saw the 2019 USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year stop the clocks at 16.668 on the cold, windy night. That was the seventh quickest time of the evening on the famous Riverside County half-mile clay oval. That put him inside the second row in the first heat race. Tafoya steered the Rider Racing Engine/DRC to a third-place finish in the tough 10-lapper.

Tafoya's third-place finish in the heat garnered him the same inside row two starting spot for the 30-lap main event. It also gave the team high hopes for Perris' first sprint feature of the 2025 campaign. However, he mysteriously started to slip backward early in the race.

"I finally put together the first half of the night and put myself in a good position," Tafoya lamented. "I took the green flag and actually my lap belt popped loose. I have never had that happen. So, I did not even think about stopping, I was just thinking about not coming out (of the car). Unfortunately, it took seven laps or whatever it was to get to a caution so I could fix it. By that time I was in eighth."

"After that, I was just messing around with people too long. My car was missing the setup a little bit. Kind of deceiving (the track) when we run with the hobby stocks and stuff like that. It definitely wasn't tight enough (the car) and the seat belt coming loose did not help at all. It all just kind of fell apart really quick."

Tafoya, who first raced at Perris when he won the track's Young Gun Sprint Car title in 2018, ended up in a very entertaining mid pack battle. The cars involved in that war see-sawed back and forth as they jockeyed for position in the 30-lapper. In the end, he came out with a disappointing, but hard earned, 13th place finish.

"I do, but starting up front it was pretty frustrating not staying up there," Tafoya answered when queried if he likes racing in a tight pack. "I really didn't enjoy it too much while going backwards. It was definitely hard racing back there. Once you get hard racing mid-pack, you get slid and try to turn down, and there are two or three guys there with you. Stuff starts happening pretty quick."

Things can happen quickly as Tafoya said, but, like usual, the smooth racer rolled his immaculate car into the hauler at the end of the chilly evening.

Despite not racing for points, Tafoya is ranked eighth after two races in the USAC/CRA Series.

With the exception of planning to compete in all of the Perris races, Tafoya does not have a set schedule in 2025. The team will race when it wants to. A lot depends on his parents' work schedule, and how many jobs his father has lined up. If things work out, he hopes to head to Indiana this year to race with the USAC National Sprint Car Series.

Tafoya's next planned race will be April 5th when the USAC/CRA 410 Sprint Cars return to their home track in Perris.

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.

Eddie Tafoya's 2025 Results

2/10/25 Volusia Speedway Park USAC National Sprint Cars 5th B Main

2/11/25 Volusia Speedway Park USAC National Sprint Cars 7th B Main

2/12/25 Ocala Speedway USAC National Sprint Cars 5th B Main

2/13/25 Ocala Speedway USAC National Sprint Cars 19th A Main

2/14/25 Ocala Speedway USAC National Sprint Cars 18th A Main

2/15/25 Ocala Speedway USAC National Sprint Cars 20th A Main

2/22/25 Mohave Valley Raceway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 5th A Main

3/1/25 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 13rh A Main

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