Turkey Classic on tap this weekend

Traditional Thanksgiving dirt track event starts tonight at Cocopah Speedway

It is a tradition that dates back 50 years.

Yes, spending the Thanksgiving weekend at Cocopah Speedway has been going on since 1970, when the track, then owned by Frank Golden and known as Yuma Speedway, hosted a 50lap Super Stock Division event that was won by Yuma’s Arizona Motorsports Hall of Fame member, the late “Deacon Dick” Rautenberg.

This weekend, the tradition continues with the annual, two-night Turkey Classic presented by Bad Boy Designs and Fisher Chevrolet Buick GMC.

The program, which begins tonight, will feature Super Late Models, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Open Competition Stock Cars and the Dwarf Cars of Arizona.

Because of the lengthy program, racing begins both days at 5 p.m., with the general admission gate opening at 3 p.m.

The event is the last of the 2020 season at the Somerton oval.

It is also an event that in recent years usually attracts many holdovers from the recent Duel in the Desert in Las Vegas, specifically racers from the Midwest where their home tracks are already closed and in some instances it’s snowing and just too cold to race.

To entice those racers along with the track’s regulars, the IMCA Modifieds will pay $1,500 to win each night’s feature event, while the Open Competition Stock Cars will pay $1,000 to win.

In stark contrast, at the 1971 Thanksgiving event, “Leapin’ Lee” Havens, from El Centro, Calif., turned in the fastest qualifying time, 17.74 seconds, around the then-quartermile oval and got a check for $25 from Golden for his efforts, and in 1973 the race offered a $300 purse, not $300 to win, but $300 in total prize money.

Also of historical note, in 1975 the race was named the Yuma Winter 100, and as the name implies, it was a 100-lap affair. John Dineen won that first 100-lapper, and in 1976 Havens drove to the win.

And in 1999, the Crazy Turkey Twin 25, at what was then known as Yuma Speedway Park, was won

by Phoenix driver George Boulden, who was vacationing in the Imperial Sand Dunes when he got a call from his crew who said they had come to Yuma with his race car in tow. It was a surprise to Boulden, who left his camp in the dunes long enough to come to the track and win the feature event.

“This is an event that, it goes without saying, has certainly been a colorful one over the years,” said Brad Whitfield, Cocopah Speedway’s general manager.

“We are just happy to be continuing that colorful tradition, and we believe we have a show this weekend that will certainly be an entertaining one. May

be not as entertaining as a 100-lapper, but I promise it will be a great weekend to be at Cocopah Speedway, whether you’re a driver of a race fan.”

Cocopah Speedway is located at 3450 W. County

15th Street.

Ticket prices are $15 for adults; $12 for military and seniors; children 11 years old and under are admitted free; and pit passes are $35.

PHOTO COURTESY OF N2PHOTOGRAPHICS BRIAN BROWN (28B), FROM LAKESIDE, CALIF., AND CODY THOMPSON (25C), FROM SIOUX CITY, IOWA, lead a field of 21 cars out of Turn 4, headed toward the green flag at the start of the IMCA Sport Modified feature event on the second night of the Deacon Dick Memorial at Cocopah Speedway on Nov. 7. Thompson would go on to take the win with Taylor Kuehl (behind Thompson), from Cave Creek, Ariz., finishing second. Much the same field is expected to be on hand for this weekend’s annual Turkey Classic, which begins tonight.

PHOTO COURTESY OF N2PHOTOGRAPHICS BRAWLEY’S RUSSELL ALLEN, seen here in action at the Deacon Dick Memorial on Nov. 7, will be one of the favorites to take home one of the two if not both of the IMCA Modified Division feature event wins during this weekend’s annual Turkey Classic at Cocopah Speedway.