Lil Sassafrass did it again!

We recently updated a story we did on a little spitfire of a girl from Buna. Her racing name is Lil Sassafrass, but 9-year-old Aliyah Rayon is making a name for herself as a Jr. Dragster Racer. Believe it or not, she has been blowing the doors off racers three times her age at Evadale Raceway since she was seven years old!

Recently she was asked to compete at an invitational race in Arkansas. As stated in our last article, Aliyah was one of 786 racers from the age of 18 on down who were asked to try out for the race, and she was chosen #7 for the 32-car field.

Her dad, Tre Rayon said that she was the youngest racer in the entire group, but that didn't worry her in the least! She was just happy to be there.

The race was held on October 14th. Aliyah ran her heart out and as the youngest racer in the group, that little spitfire came in 3rd out of 32 racers! Her winnings? She took home $1,500 in cash and of course bragging rights! But that's not all! She has also picked up a sponsorship from Monster Energy Drinks! And that's not small potatoes either! With her sponsorship, she will have the Monster emblems on her new cars, trailer, and tow truck as well as her race suits. She will also do store promotions!

When asked what was going through her head as she crossed the finish line, Aliayah said she was upset because she didn't take first place. Tre said that she was beating herself up because her reaction time was off. Honestly, from the outside looking in, ETB thinks she did amazing regardless of what her reaction time was.

So, what's next for this Buna sweetheart?

She already has her next big invitational race lined out with her new sponsor Monster Energy Drink. She has been invited to the North Florida Motorplex where she will be racing for her share of $15,000 in the Jr Dragster Weekend races on May 24-26th, 2024!

To have received so much notoriety lately, Aliyah doesn't have her head in the clouds. Not in the least! She is still working hard at school and was even student of the month in October too! Aliyah has lots of plans too. She will be trying her driving skills at dirt track racing in the Crate Racing USA street stock division. But that's not all. She also will be teaching other kids to race at Evadale Raceway, letting them race her old car. So many adults look back at their lives and wish they had taken a chance to chase their dreams when they were younger. This little lady is living her dream and winning every step of the way!