11/09/2025
Manβ¦ what a year itβs been! Says our local driver Taten Perkins, Pitkin, La. Congratulations on taking a national title.
At the end of the 2024 season, I told my dad, Derek, that I wanted to race a lot more in 2025 because the only way to get better is to race more and race against the best. He told me to put a schedule together and weβd go to every one of them.
We never had plans of chasing any kind of points deal. I think it was at the $30K Spring Nationals at Boothill Speedway when someone came up to me and said I was leading the national points. At the time, we werenβt really having good runs just fighting through all the new car blues and everything else. But we put our heads down, kept pushing, and things started to turn around after we picked up a new motor from Dale Clark with KMO Motorsports. That helped a lot, and we grabbed our first win of the year at The Rev!
After that, we stayed consistent and later picked up an Elite Best Engines package motor from Chuck, and honestly, we havenβt been out of the top 3 since!
I never thought a small team like ours would have a chance at a national championship against 400+ other drivers, especially with top dogs like Justin Whitehead, Dalton Faulkner, CJ Howell, and plenty of other really fast guys out there.
To get this kind of recognition at the national level truly feels like a dream come true. π
If I could tell younger racers one thing itβs this: Donβt quit. If itβs your dream, chase it. Anything is possible if you donβt give up.
πͺ Season Highlights & Challenges
The start of the year was roughβ¦ everything that could break, broke. Once we got past that, we were rolling pretty good, until motor troubles hit. I think we pulled the motor out of the car almost every weekend for a month and a half straight! Finally bought a brand-new Best Engines motorβ¦ and then the transmission came apart in practice. π But thatβs racing, the ups, downs, and everything in between.
Between Boothill Speedway, Sabine Speedway, and Rocket Raceway Park if I had to pick one, Iβd say Sabine Speedway is my favorite track. Itβs always fun and usually has that cushion you can run wide open on!
π§ Memorable Moments
Some of my favorite moments this year came at Sabine Speedway during the Darty Smith Memorial, running with CJ Howell both nights, and at Boothill Speedway during the WoO race battling with Dalton Faulkner and Justin Whitehead all while having my βpapa,β Josh Martin, on the wrenches.
How he became βPapaβ, I know not everyone knows, so letβs set it straight. Back in 2023 after I took him out at King of the Hill at Boothill Speedway we may have gotten closer. You know how those post wreck moments are. The next year he was off working but still watched every race and gave me pointers. Later that year, I traveled to Texas with him to race at Rocket Raceway Park and RPM Speedway. Leave it to my facebook fans, they started calling him my papa and it stuck.
During the offseason he told me his car was for sale and thought it would help my program, so I went and picked it up. Heβs been helping me all year since. Heβs really become a second father figure and made a huge impact on my life.
π Thank You to Everyone Who Made This Possible
None of this would have happened without the incredible people and sponsors backing me every step of the way:
Team 15 Byrd β Jimmy Byrd
Kid Rocket Motorsports β Ben Merchant
Big T Motorsports β Todd Dauzat
2 Extreme Motorsports β Derek & Amy Perkins
Bodies by 88m β Joshua Martin
Garcia Nursery β Brando Garcia
Allen Parish Mosquito Control β Keith Strother
L. Fontenotβs Truckin β Logan Scott Fontenot
E.L.E. Construction β Derrick Thrasher
Richardβs Tire β Kenneth Richard
Empire Dirt Works & Construction β Todd McKellar
Nolen Racing β Will Nolen
Dirt Tire Warehouse β Ronnie Humphrey
Club 20 Suspension β Neil Kemp
The River Store
Nonna & David β Yvette Maricle
Fee Motorsports β Damon & Hank Fee
Fatula Frame Shop β Ernest, Patricia Fatula & James Fee
Kuhn Tree Removal β Brian Kuhn
Peypey Boiyll β Peyton Stanley
Pretty Boy Cuts β Peyton Parker
DJ Crazy Mandy β Mandy West
Best Engines
Consulting by Blane Perkins
Fat Boots β Shane Giles
Thunder Thighs β Heather Giles
Outlaw Race Cars β Justin Whitehead
Mawmaw β₯οΈ
This oneβs for my family, my team, and everyone who believed in me. π
USRA Factory Stock National Champion 2025, letβs go! π₯
ππππ π
ππππππ πππππ ππππππππ I Taten Perkins
Taten Perkins etched his name into the history books as the 2025 GoSunoco USRA Factory Stock National Champion at the young age of 18 years of age. The talented young driver from Oakdale, Louisiana showcased maturity beyond his years throughout a demanding season filled with fierce competition.
Perkins tallied one feature win at The REV , along with 14 top-five finishes and 26 top-tens across numerous tracks throughout the region. Facing off against some of the toughest competitors in the division, Perkins' consistency and determination carried him to the top of the standings.
Congratulations to Taten and crew on picking up the National Championship the USRA Factory Stock division. Perkins will be cashing in for a $3,000 payday at the USRA awards banquet on January 24th.
