Chino Hills, CA — November 12, 2025 — A broken torque tube with seven laps remaining in the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series finale abruptly ended the season of Eddie Tafoya Jr. last Saturday at Perris Auto Speedway. Tafoya had been storming forward from a 15th-place start and looked primed for a big finish.
Driving the immaculate, family-owned Specialty Fasteners No. 51T, Tafoya was the 11th car on track in qualifying and posted a lap of 17.274 — good for 15th in a tightly packed session where the first 17 cars were separated by just 0.939 seconds.
The 28-year-old — a former Perris Auto Speedway Young Guns champion and the 2019 USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year — started the 30-lap season finale mired mid-pack. What followed was, by many insiders’ accounts, the best race of the year on the famous half-mile Riverside County clay oval: hard racing, constant position swings, and battles up and down the field.
Tafoya was in the thick of it, picking off cars and cracking the top 10. With seven laps to go, he looked ready to push even higher when the torque tube failed, forcing him to limp back to the pits. As the Chino Hills, California, racer later ruefully noted, it was the first torque-tube failure of his career.
Tafoya finished 2025 having contested 25 nights of racing, tallying 10 top 10s and four top-five finishes. His season-best result came Sept. 13 at Perris, where he finished fourth. Even without a full schedule in USAC/CRA, he still secured 11th in the season-long championship standings.
Work on the Specialty Fasteners No. 51T begins immediately for 2026: the car will be torn down to the bare frame and inspected inch by inch as the team prepares to come back strong next season.
Tafoya can be followed on Instagram at @eddietafoya51.
Team Tafoya Racing 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 their continued support of the 2025 season. If you would like to join forces with the team for another fun and exciting year of racing in 2026, please contact Tafoya at Eddie Tafoya Jr. at (909) 393-3999 or mailto:teamtafoya@aol.com
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
6/7/25 Bakersfield Speedway USCS Sprint Cars 9th A Main
6/21/25 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 5th A Main
7/19/25 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 10th A Main
8/16/25 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 8th A Main
8/30/23 Calistoga Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 16th A Main
8/31/25 Calistoga Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 20th A Main
9/1/25 Petaluma Speedway USCS Sprint Car 4th A Main
9/13/25 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 4th A Main
9/27/25 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 8th A Main
10/24/25 Central Arizona Speedway USAC National Sprint Cars 23rd A Main
10/25/25 Central Arizona Speedway USAC National Sprint Cars 13th A Main
11/1//25 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 10th A Main
11/8/25 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 19th A Main
