Nine months after he began his 2023 racing season with the USAC National Sprint Car Series in Florida, Eddie Tafoya Jr. concluded the year at last Saturday’s Turkey Night Grand Prix at the Ventura Raceway. Unfortunately, the results of the flat right rear sustained in the previous night’s action handicapped him on Saturday night and he missed the transfer to the main by two spots.
After scoring an impressive green-to-checkers win in his heat on Friday, Tafoya was running in third in his qualifier and seemed headed for one of the coveted 10 guaranteed spots in Saturday’s A main. That all changed when a car spun directly in front of the Chino Hills, California driver leaving him nowhere to go. It also left three more cars behind him with nowhere to go. When all was said and done, there was not much damage on the #51T and he was ready for the restart. However, before the green flag waved again, his left rear tire deflated sending him to the infield for the duration.
The flat tire sent Tafoya into a do-or-die B main event on Saturday. The B main was 12 laps and it started with 16 cars. Only the top six would earn a ticket to the prestigious Turkey Night Grand Prix main event. The 26-year-old driver began the race on the inside of the 6th row in 11th. Thus, he had his work cut out for him on the tiny track that features narrow straightaways that are hard to pass on in full-size sprint cars.
For the length of the 12 lapper, Tafoya managed to stay out of the chaos that plagued the race. He passed three cars to move up to eighth and was leaning on the seventh-place car when time ran out and the checkered flag ended the quick race.
The race was Tafoya’s final night of a busy season that saw him make 20 appearances with the USAC National Sprint Cars, six shows with USAC/CRA, and single races in the USAC West Coast Series and the POWRi War Sprints.
With the racing portion of the year over, the preparation for 2024 begins. The cars will be stripped down and gone over for the upcoming season. Replacement and spare parts will be ordered. In addition, Tafoya will be exploring marketing opportunities. If you or your company would like to be a marketing partner with this fast-rising, high-profile team next year, please contact Eddie Tafoya Jr. via phone at (909) 393-3999 or by e-mail at mailto:[email protected]. He will be happy to talk to you and lay out the team’s plans for 2024.
If you would like to hear the friendly driver on the Dirt Tracks and Rib Racks Podcast, please visit the following link https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Hox9dg0iRGXo0szabeqDy
Tafoya’s great-looking shirts and hoodies are available online at www.specialty-fasteners.com.
Fans can follow Tafoya on Instagram @eddietafoya51.
Eddie Tafoya PR
