Much of the state of Arizona is very hot in the summer. Those same parts of the state enjoy excellent winter weather.
That leads to silent tracks during the hottest of days, but winter is a different story.
Starting January 8, a six-week stream of racing will offer the Wild West Shootout followed by the Winter Nationals Central Arizona Raceway in Casa Grande. Then a new event labeled the Southwest Cactus Nationals at the reopened track in Yuma will cover a 10-day stretch.
Chris Kearns is one of the people who plays a huge part in the success of Wild West Shootout. He makes the unique trophies and made an excellent decision when the series was brought to Central Arizona Raceway.
Kearns commented on the 2026 version of WWS.
“It was the most successful WWS ever,” Kearns recalled. “Biggest crowds ever, event went great, and probably our strongest field and I was very happy with it. In 2027, barrel racing will provide something for the fans to have during intermission.”
This year’s Wild West Shootout runs Jan. 9-11, Jan. 13-14 and Jan. 16-18.
Two days following the final day of WWS leads into the parking day for the IMCA.tv Winter Nationals, which begins Jan. 21 and runs through Jan. 31. In 2026, the average car count for the eight nights of racing was 208 and a schedule change for 2027 will please racers.
Promoter Brad Whitfield explains, “Some racers complained about the gap between the two weeks, so now there are nine races and two practice nights, the second of which includes the Gene Freeman Memorial Pit Crew Contest.”
Whitfield was also very pleased with the 2026 IMCA.tv Winter Nationals event.
“It could not have been any better,” Whitfield said. “Great car count, great racing, and we added so much track equipment and track prep was on point. We will pay a tribute to the late Amber Eichelberger who passed away last month.”
Four IMCA sanctioned divisions, modifieds, Northern sport modifieds, stock cars, and hobby stocks will provide the pit full of race cars for the 11 consecutive nights of Winter Nationals action.
January 31 is the closing night for IMCA.tv Winter Nationals but there is only a two day break until practice night arrives at the reopened Cocopah Speedway in Yuma, Ariz.
The Southwest Cactus Nationals will race IMCA sanctioned modifieds, sport modifieds, stock cars, hobby stocks both weeks with sport compacts filling week one and mod lites racing week two.
Travis Peery will be promoting the track and has been pleased with the support he is getting from local people and businesses.
“Casino and the local community have been excellent with their support, “ Peery noted. “The facility is coming together nicely and people just come by and ask what they can do to help.”
Four nights of racing each week is preceded by a practice night from February 3 to Feb. 13 with only Feb. 8 being quiet.
The two Saturday modified main events pay $5,000 to win for drivers that are eligible. The qualifications for the bonus are not yet announced.
