Eddie Strada: Looking For One Break To Turn 2017 In His Favor

Column By: EDWARD KOCHERSBERGER / RPW – LAKE ARIEL, PA – Lake Ariel PA’s Eddie Strada could be considered a motivator and a “go-getter.” He spends his race season juggling driving time with the CRSA Sprint Tour, micro sprints in Central Pennsylvania, and even an occasional 360 Sprint Car entry. But Eddie is not just after a participation trophy.

He is a winner in any rank and file of motorsports. I caught up with Eddie Wednesday at Action Track USA in Kutztown, PA, just before he went out and won the track’s Micro Sprint feature to discuss how 2017 has been.

Eddie has picked up one win in 2017 with the CRSA Sprint Tour. That victory was determined in the pit area due to a rules infraction by another competitor. The rest of his season has been marred with unlucky scenarios and tough breaks. This is not the kind of performance Strada is looking for.

“We just had a bad year so far,” he said. “Everything has just been going downhill. We’ve had some good runs here and there, but the couple of years of doing good and not wrecking out now is kind of finally catching back up to me. It has just been a roller coaster. We’ve had motor problems and gear problems. Something breaking. Something going wrong here. Something going wrong there. We’ve made mistakes. It has just been a hell of a year as far as how bad luck goes. I hope something turns around soon.”

Strada has also been occasionally filling a seat in a 360 sprint car as well.

“That’s been fun,” he said. “We went to Selinsgrove Speedway. From running Orange County for four or five years with the 305, it wasn’t too bad of a transition. You kind of got used to the power real quick. You are just right on the floor the whole time. You gotta use the brakes more than the gas sometimes. You are full throttle the whole way around. You can just take piece of duct tape and wrap it around your foot to the floor. It’s just wide-open racing. We had a good time, but we had bad luck again. We were running top three the whole race and then our front wing came off.”

Eddie is completing his busy season with a full-time run with the CRSA Sprint Tour in the Norwegian Builder & Excavator Neiger’s Service Center, Dombrowski’s Lawn & Garden number 1 car.

“The 305 program is good,” Strada said. “The guys I run for are awesome. They are absolutely one of the best car owners I ever had. The guys are just really down to earth. They are older guys and old fashioned. At the end of the night we just kind of hang out, have a good time and talk to each other. They call me up on a Thursday or a Friday and ask if I need anything. They are a great group of guys and I am glad to run for them.”

Eddie Strada is in the midst of a hard-fought battle to get his season going in the right direction, but with his clear professional talent and strong support behind him, this could become one of the better sprint car racing stories of the 2017 season in the northeast.