ON DECK: Cocopah Speedway has a growing reputation

Don't look now, but hotel rooms are already filling up.

Not for any event this weekend but for the weekend of Feb. 8-9, 2013.

According to Greg Burgess, director of operations at Cocopah Speedway, he's already receiving confirmations from racers entering the 2013 IMCA Modified Winter Nationals. He got two more this week, from drivers in Iowa.

This should come as no surprise. When the inaugural event was held in February this year, the drivers who made the haul to the Somerton oval were so impressed with the facility that they stated they could not wait to come back.

As a matter of fact, Marlyn Seidler, the farmer from Nebraska who makes an annual winter swing through the Southwest, said he was so anxious to come back that he hoped Cocopah Speedway opened earlier in 2013 so he could get here just that much sooner.

So, if you don't think the local dirt track isn't building a reputation, think again.