Break out the bubbly?

No, but Cocopah Speedway championships are decided

Three drivers in the 2018 Cocopah Speedway Racing Series celebrated winning their respective championships Saturday night.

But, there was no champagne, there were no hand shakes, and there was no cheering. Actually, there was nothing to mark the event. That’s because Cocopah Speedway’s 2018 season was supposed to resume Saturday night, but it didn’t.

A series of events following the last “official” race on the schedule, May 12, led to the track’s closure by its owner, the Cocopah Indian Tribe, and the impromptu, early end of the season.

So, instead of continuing to fight for championships in what was believed to be the four remaining series points races, the gates at the Somerton oval remained locked, the grandstand and pits were empty, and the track was quiet.

“Thus far there is nothing to report except that we did receive a short proposal from a group of local racers,” said Gary Magrino, business development manager overseeing the non-casino enterprises for the Cocopah Indian Tribe, talking about if the tribe had made any decision regarding the speedway’s closure.

“This report has been submitted to the council but as mentioned, there is nothing new to report,” Magrino said.

It was reported in August that a decision regarding the future of the track will be made in “early 2019,” according to an official announcement.

Therefore, with the season apparently officially over, Steven McCollough, from Imperial, Chris Toth, from Holtville, and Scott Jeffery will go down in the record books as the track champions for 2018 in the IMCA Modified, IMCA