Racers prepare for the summer break

Summer time beckons. Not to mention a long vacation.

That’s what drivers in the 2018 Cocopah Speedway Racing Series are looking forward to following Saturday night’s Round 6 event, which brings the first half of the season to a close.

After Saturday night t h e series will be on hiatus until the first race back on Sept. 29. The series will then wrap up on Nov. 3, with the Round 10 event.

That means if any of the point leaders in the three series divisions — IMCA Modified, Sport Modified and Hobby Stock — are planning on relaxing and catching some rays on the beach with no stress over the break, they’ve got to get down to serious business Saturday night.

Take Steven for example.

The driver from Imperial is in search of his first championship in the Cocopah Series, and he will arrive at the track with an eight-point lead over Yuma’s Brett Simala, who is the defending series champion, and a 12-point over Russell Allen, from Brawley, who is a two-time series champion in the Modified Division.

Despite not having won a title, McCollough is no stranger to championship pressure, and he’s had his chances, but just hasn’t converted. He was tied for the division lead entering the 2017 finale, and finished second to Simala in the final tally. In 2015, McCollough had a sevenpoint lead heading into the season finale and finished second to Imperial’s Lance Mari.

So it goes without saying that McCollough needs to have a strong night in order to have a comfortable lead and breathing room with only four races remaining after the break.

On the Sport Modified level, as the saying goes, you could throw a blanket over the top four title contenders, they are that close. Holtville’s Chris Toth, the 2015 champion, is the current leader, two points ahead of Yuma’s Cory Hemphill, five points ahead of Yuma’s Kyle Smith, and 10 points ahead of Yuma’s Crystal Hemphill.

Any hiccups on Saturday night and it’s a good bet there will be a new series leader heading into the break.

On the Hobby Stock scene, the leader, Yuma’s Scott Jeffery, is definitely talking about the vacation break. That’s because he annually has headed east to the cool mountains of New Mexico when the track shuts down, and does McCollough,