SOMERTON, Ariz. — Cocopah Speedway will be the place to be for IMCA drivers looking to get a fast start to their 2023 season.
The proof is in the numbers.
Four hundred and fifty-two drivers in five divisions are now pre-entered for January’s IMCA.TV Winter Nationals. The early entries make their way to Cocopah from more than 20 states and three provinces.
“In my wildest dreams, I could imagine having this many pre-entries. In reality, no,” admitted promoter Brad Whitfield. “Racing has changed since the pandemic and more drivers just seem to want to be a part of special events.”
“There’s a real buzz about Winter Nationals this year. For one thing, we’re looking at 70-74 degree temperatures in January while a lot of the country is looking at getting 14 inches of snow this weekend,” he added. “The nightly purses are very good and we have $40,-$45,000 in contingencies from a lot of different sponsors that we’ll add on top of that.”
Friesen Performance IMCA Modified entries numbered 155, with 115 Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods, 77 IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, 58 IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks and 47 Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts entered as well.
Arizona and California in particular and the West Coast are well represented in early entries. Drivers are Winter Nationals-bound from as far east as Illinois and from as far north as British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Modifieds run for $1,000-to-win on Jan. 4-7, and again on Jan. 12-14.
Stock Cars and Northern SportMods race for $750-to-win, Hobby Stocks for $500 to win, and Sport Compacts for $275-to-win each night at The Diamond in the Desert.
“We are really proud of what we have built here. We live off the IMCA philosophy,” said Whitfield. “We eat, drink and sleep it and have had nothing but success with it.”
IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National, Shaw Race Cars Western, EQ Cylinder Heads Southern and Big Daddy Race Cars Southern regional and Arizona State points will be awarded.
Modified and Stock Car feature winners become eligible to qualify for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational and B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitational, respectively.
All the action will be broadcast live on SPEED SPORT.TV affiliate IMCA.TV.