EDDIE TAFOYA JR. FINISHES NINTH IN SALUTE TO INDY AT PERRIS AUTO SPEEDWAY
2025-05-30 14:26
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May 27, 2025 - Chino, CA — Eddie Tafoya Jr. secured a ninth-place finish in the 30-lap Avanti Windows and Doors USAC/CRA Salute to Indy on Saturday night at Perris Auto Speedway. The result marked Tafoya's second consecutive ninth-place showing in the historic race, first contested in 1948.
The 27-year-old driver from Chino Hills, California, turned in a qualifying lap of 16.679, placing him 11th out of a 22-car field at the West Coast's premier half-mile clay oval. Lining up on the inside of row two in the Silberman Solar/Factory Wraps second heat race, Tafoya navigated one of the evening's wildest preliminaries to claim a decisive victory in the 10-lap event—his first USAC/CRA heat race win of the 2025 season.
Starting 11th in the main event, Tafoya advanced a couple of positions forward to finish ninth. The result marks his third top-10 finish in six USAC/CRA appearances so far this year. It also nearly matched his career-best Salute to Indy finish of eighth. That result came in the 2022 Salute to Indy.
Up next, Tafoya is scheduled to compete in the Ultimate Sprint Car Series at Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway on June 7. Last season, the 2019 USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year and 2018 Perris Auto Speedway Young Guns Champion was set to race at Kern four times, though the May 11 event was rained out. In the three remaining appearances, he recorded finishes of fourth, eighth, and ninth. Perhaps most impressively, nearly a year to the day of next week's race, he raced in Bloomington, Indiana, on a Friday, then flew back to Southern California to place fourth in the USAC/CRA main at Kern the very next night.
Following Kern, Tafoya will return to Perris Auto Speedway—his home track—on June 21.
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 their 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 13th A Main
4/5/25 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 8th A Main
4/11/25 Central Arizona Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 13th A Main
4/12/25 Central Arizona Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 19th A Main
5/24/25 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 9th A Main
This release was produced by Scott Daloisio. (909) 226-7768 or E-mail mailto:sdaloisiosports@gmail.com