And away we go

Different 2018 Speedway Series gets underway Saturday night

Anybody who shows up for the 2018 Cocopah Speedway Racing Series season opener on Saturday night expecting the same ol’ same ol’ should think again.

That’s because the races to the series’ four division championships will likely look nothing like they did in 2017.

The combination of defending title holders sitting out the season, not racing full time this season or not being able to race because of lingering mechanical issues from last season, creates a very intriguing atmosphere on the night before the tentative, 10-race Cocopah Series kicks off. Take for example defending IMCA Modified champion Brett Simala, who is not sure how much racing he will be doing in 2018. And then there’s IMCA Sport Modified champion Adolfo Noriega who has made it clear he will not be in title contention this year; IMCA Stock Car champion Manny Baldiviez, who will be racing in a division in which the format has been altered; and IMCA Hobby Stock champion Jim Robinson, whose car was damaged so bad in a rollover on Thanksgiving weekend, he says his car will not be ready to go Saturday night.

Add it all up, and the door is wide open for new champions to be crowned in all four divisions.

The first race of the season gets underway at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Since reopening in 2010, Cocopah Speedway has made the steady transition toward becoming an IMCAsanctioned track in all of its racing divisions. The track opened with the already existing Modified Division along with the Pro Stock, Street Stock and Factory