Hot time at the race track
Points races heating up at Cocopah Speedway with Round 10 in series scheduled tonight
Although the official first day of summer is still a month away, recent temperatures have already started to heat things up, as have the races to the four season driving championships at Cocopah Speedway.
Thankfully, the National Weather Service is forecasting a high of only 96 degrees today, but that will be enough to cool off the atmosphere at the Somerton oval when Round 10 in the 2017 Cocopah Speedway Racing Series gets under way tonight. The first race is at 7 p.m. Currently, the hottest battle is being waged by Yuma’s Jason Beshears and Jim Robinson as the two dice it out for the title in the IMCA Hobby Stock Division. Entering tonight’s show, Beshears has a three-point lead over Robinson, the defending champion. Two weeks ago during racing on May 13, Robinson took home his first feature event win of the season but trimmed only a point off of Beshears’ lead, because Beshears finished second in that race.
Oddly enough, in nine feature event starts so far in 2017, Beshears and Robinson have finished right behind one another six times.
The next closest points battle is in the IMCA Sport Modified Division, where Yuma’s James Dupre holds a five-point advantage over Adolfo Noriega, the defending champion.
This race was a lot closer two races ago when one point separated the two, and Noriega was on top. But during the May 13 show, Dupre finished fourth in the feature and coupled with Noriega’s 10th place finish, officially recorded as a did not finish, Dupre went home with the five points of breathing room.
The subplot here, is that Holtville’s Chris Toth, the 2015 champion, has won two series features in a row, and has won three so far in 2017. Dupre has one win, and Noriega is yet to visit victory lane.
In the Stock Car Division, Yuma’s Manny Baldiviez won his fourth feature event of the season on May 13, and in the process pushed his led over Yuma’s Joe Haines from 17 points to 18 points.
Here, the alarm is sounding for Haines if he has any hope of catching Baldiviez, the two-time defending champion, before the last series race of the season on Nov. 4.
Finally, in the IMCA Modified Division, Yuma’s Brett Simala continues to lead the title race, but his lead is dwindling.
That’s because Imperial’s Steven McCollough seems to be on a mission. He has not finished out of the top three in his last five feature event starts, having
won twice in the period, and in the process has cut Simala’s lead from 38 points after racing on March 18, to 20 points heading into tonight’s show. That’s an average of 4.5 points per race, and with seven events remaining, including tonight, if McCollough maintains that pace, he will not only catch Simala, but overtake him.
SPARE PARTS
Cocopah Speedway is located at U.S. 95 and County 15th Street; the general admission gate opens Saturday at 5 p.m.; first race is at 7 p.m. Tickets are: adults
(13 and older) – $12; adult military with ID – $10; senior (55 and over) – $10; children 12 years old and under – free (main grandstand); family pass (two adults, four children) – $35; Skybox – $25; pit pass – $35 (per person). Tickets can also be purchased on-line at www. cocopahspeedway.com or at Cocopah Wild River or at the main gate on race day. Fans can get live racing lineups during the races and results afterward by going to www.cocopahlive. com. Fans can also access live in-race scoring and lap times by going to mylaps. com. For more information call 344-1563 or go to www. cocopahspeedway.com.