The race is on

Showdown for IMCA Sport Modified series title developing

High noon. That should be be the scheduled time for the next IMCA Sport Modified feature event at Cocopah Speedway, the timehonored appointment for a showdown between two gunfighters, or in this case, two Yuma drivers.

That is what the battle for the championship in the 2017 Cocopah Speedway Racing Series is boiling down to, a showdown between Adolfo Noriega and James Dupre.

Two weeks ago at the Somerton oval, Dupre surged ahead of Noriega, the defending series champion, and into the top spot in the points race. Saturday night, although neither one won the feature event in Round 8, Noriega, by virtue of his second place finish, pulled back into the lead, by one point over Dupre, who finished fifth.

The performance sets the stage for a back-and-forth struggle that fans will no doubt enjoy all the way to the season finale in December.

“Adolfo and I go back a pretty long ways with work long before I raced,” Dupre said. “He actually helped me out when we first got my Street Stock going in 2011 or so.

“He’s a good competitor and I know he’s in it for the long haul. I just hope he and I can battle it out without too many issues taking us out of it, primarily other cars wrecking us,” Dupre added with a laugh.

“It’s becoming more fun now,” Noriega said.

“It’s also becoming more

PHOTO COURTESY OF BOBBY MCMORRIS/N2PHOTOGAPHICS THE MUD FLIES AS YUMA’S ADOLFO NORIEGA POWERS HIS WAY through Turn 3 at Cocopah Speedway during Saturday night’s IMCA Sport Modified Division action. Noriega would later finish second in the feature event and retake the lead in the race to the 2017...

PHOTO COURTESY OF BOBBY MCMORRIS/N2PHOTOGAPHICS IMPERIAL’S LANCE MARI NAVIGATES HIS WAY through Turns 3 and 4 at Cocopah Speedway during Saturday night’s IMCA Modified Division feature event in Round 8 of the 2017 Cocopah Speedway Racing Series. Mari would take the win. It was his second in a row.