SOMERTON, Ariz. — The first half of the Winter Nationals concluded Saturday night at Cocopah Speedway, with Ethan Dotson controlling the modified field to score the win.
A total of 230 IMCA teams surrounded the three-eighths-mile dirt oval, with all the action broadcast on SPEED SPORT affiliate IMCA.tv.
Brandon Beckendorf led seven laps until a wheel broke coming out of turn two, leading to a spin and roll, with a wheel continuing down the backstretch.
Dotson became the new leader. That determined the winner as Dotson controlled the last 18 green-flag laps to win over Brady Bjella and Dylan Thornton.
Shelby Williams led flag-to-flag in the stock car main, holding off competitors after a late race yellow. Chase Berkeley took second in the final turn and Mike Albertsen was third.
Northern sport mod action saw Philip Shelby leading for 24 laps, but with lap traffic on the final circuit, Cam Reimers was ready to pounce.
Reimers ran the top in turn four coming to the checkered flag, edging Williams by a small margin. Jacob Mallet was third.
The hobby stock winner was another drag race out of turn four, with Zack Tate taking a close win over Brandon Bombardo, with Bryce Daffern third. Â
Sport compacts made it three in a row decided out of turn four with the D.J. Werkmeister winning the main event.
Racing for the Winter Nationals continues next Wednesday on IMCA.tv, with $1,000-to-win features for stock cars and hobby stocks, while the mods and sport mods compete in the Gene Freeman Pit Crew Challenge, also offering a $1,000 prize.