Tafoya Gets Knocked Out of Perris Race – Central California This Week - Speedway Digest

After stopping for repairs and restarting at the back of the pack in last Saturday’s USAC/CRA Sprint Car race at Perris Auto Speedway, Eddie Tafoya Jr. was slicing his way past the competition like a hot knife thru butter. However, his progress came to a screeching halt when he got clobbered by another car on lap 16 and flipped violently into the turn one catch fence. Fortunately, he was uninjured, but his car was destroyed along with his hopes of a top finish on the night.

Tafoya, who lives in Chino Hills, California, came into the event with a boatload of momentum. His fourth-place spot in the USAC/CRA championship standings was his highest ever ranking in the club. He was also coming off a career-best series second-place finish at Arizona’s Cocopah Speedway.

In Saturday’s time trials, Tafoya, aka “Mr. Smooth,” stopped the clocks at 17.079. That was good for 12^th in the 23-car field. He followed that up with a fifth-place result in his 10-lap heat race. Unfortunately, the combined results of qualifying and the heat race meant that the second generation driver had to come from the outside of row six in the 30-lap main event.

With one of the largest sprint car crowds in the history of the track looking on, Tafoya slipped back to 14^th in the early portion of the race. However, things quickly changed, and he started to advance forward. By lap 10 he had raced his way back to 10th and there appeared to be more to come. However, a tangle with another car in turn two brought out a yellow flag and sent Tafoya on a quick trip to the work area for repairs before the race resumed.

Tafoya was back on the track and was starting in the 20^th spot for the restart on lap 12. To put it mildly, his elbows were up! It was classic Tafoya as he immediately began to pass cars and push the #51T forward. By lap 15, he was in 15^th. One lap later he was 13^th and was making a move for 12^th. Suddenly, his show stopped in turn one on lap 16. Another car clobbered him and sent him flipping violently into the catch fence. The car landed on the track right side up. Frustrated, Tafoya quickly scampered out of the cockpit uninjured, but the car was destroyed.

Instead of a potential come-from-behind finish in the top-10, Tafoya was saddled with an 18^th place ending. That resulted in him dropping from fourth to sixth in the USAC/CRA championship standings.

Undaunted, the #51T team is preparing a different car for two races in Central California this Friday, April 1^st, and Saturday, April 2^nd. The first of the two races will take place at Peter Murphy’s Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford. On Saturday, the action will be at the famous Stone Chevrolet GMC Buick Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare.

Spectator gates in Hanford will swing open at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The track is located at 801 S. 10^th Avenue in Hanford (93230) and its website is https://www.racekingsspeedway.com/. Advance tickets for Friday’s show are available by using the following link https://www.myracepass.com/events/402000/tickets/

This week’s action in Tulare gets underway when spectator gates open at 4:00 p.m. Hot laps will follow at 5:00 with qualifying at 6:00 and the first race of the night will be at 7:00. The Thunderbowl is located on the Tulare County Fairgrounds on the corner of Bardsley and K Streets at 620 South K Street Tulare, California 93274. The track website is http://www.thunderbowlraceway.com/ and the office phone is (559) 688-0909. Camping will be available off turns three and four at Tulare.

Tafoya fans who cannot make the trek up the 99 this week can see both nights of action on Flo Racing. Details on a Flo Subscription are available at www.floracing.com.

After this weekend’s doubleheader, the team will have two weeks off before returning to the track for its first-ever appearance at Arizona’s Mojave valley Raceway on April 23^rd. One week later it will return to Perris Auto Speedway.

Tafoya and the #51T team would like to thank Specialty Fasteners, DRC Chassis, Ryder Racing Engines, Simpson Safety Products, Bell, Benic Enterprises, BR Motorsports, PSC Powder Coating, Magik Graphics, Gasper Transportation, Owen’s Insurance Services, and Weld Wheels for making the 2022 season possible.

If you or your company would like to be a part of the Specialty Fastener team’s 2022 season effort, please contact Eddie Tafoya Jr. via phone at (909) 393-3999 or by e-mail at [email protected]. He will be happy to talk to you and layout the team’s 2022 plans.

Fans can follow Tafoya on Instagram @eddietafoya51. The same contact point can be used to purchase his great-looking shirts via mail.

Eddie Tafoya Jr. 2022 Race Results

1-27 Cocopah Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 7^th A Main

1-28 Cocopah Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 9^th A Main

1-29 Cocopah Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 2^ndA Main

3-26 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 18^th A Main

Eddie Tafoya PR