Local racers take on the country's best in the IMCA Modified Winter Nationals at Cocopah Speedway
Cocopah Speedway is located at U.S. 95 and County 15th Street; general admission gates open at 5 p.m.; tickets are: adults – $13; adult military with ID – $11; seniors (55 and older) – $11; children 12 years old and under – free; family pass – $30. For more information call 344-1563 or go to www.cocopahspeedway.com.
Oddsmakers are not giving the local contingency much of a chance in this weekend's Cocopah Speedway IMCA Modified Winter Nationals presented by Sun Graphics.
All to which one of those drivers, Bill Miller, says, “To hell with that!
“In all reality, it's going to be tough, but I'm not going to sit at home. I'm going to try.”
A large field of Modifieds, with drivers coming from as far away as Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and Canada, will converge on Cocopah Speedway for the two-day racing program, with $750 going to the winner of Friday night's feature event and $3,000 going to the winner of Saturday night's feature.
“It's definitely going to be tough,” said 19-year-old Cody Grabbe, who, like Miller, is a regular in the Cocopah Speedway Racing Series.
“With $3,000 to win and all the big boys who are going to be there, I'm just going to kind of be conservative and try my hardest. I'm pretty confident.”
Yuma's Jared Hall, not so much.
“My strategy is to go out and stay alive,” said Hall. “There are going to be some pretty fast guys out there and I don't think I have a chance in hell.
“If it wasn't for the points they're giving out just to show up, I probably wouldn't even go. Those guys are fast. They always have been and they probably always will be.”
The racing format each night will include heat races, with the top finishers earning automatic starting spots in the “A” feature. The remainder will be grouped into “B” and “C” semi-main events, depending on the car count, with a certain number transferring from the “C” to the “B” and from the “B” to the “A.”
Racing both nights will begin at 7 p.m.
The whole show actually begins Thursday night with the Fanfest Car Show and Autograph Session at the track's concourse area. Admission is free. Drivers will be on hand and their cars will be on display.
“My strategy? Go like hell,” continued Miller. “You're just going to have to hopefully get a good pill draw for the heat race and have a car that will run.”
Collectively, not one of the local drivers has won a feature event so far during the 2011-2012 season. But that doesn't mean a thing, said Johnny Swenson.
“We've got some fast people here who can run with those guys,” said Swenson.
“You get excited, you get nervous because you have all these big guys that are going to come and make a big show. It kind of shows you how decent or how good you are when you compete with these guys.”
“On any given day, Johnny can run with these guys with his new car,” said Miller. “And Bill Miller can go out there and win.”
Greg Burgess, Cocopah Speedway's director of operations, said he's expecting some of the best driving talent in the country to be at the track this weekend, but he's also not counting out the local drivers' chances to do well.
“In the short time I've been in Yuma, I've learned a lot things, and one of them is we have some very talented race car drivers right here in our own backyard.
“Can they compete with these guys who drive across the country racing at tracks everywhere in between here and wherever they call home? Absolutely.”
“I'm excited. I'm ready for the competition,” said Yuma's Bobby Horton, the highest-ranking Modified driver in the track's racing series who will be entered in this weekend's event. John Malloy, the current Cocopah Speedway Racing Series point leader, said he will not be in the show because of a previous commitment.
“My strategy is I will need to go, not wait around,” said Horton. “It's not like a regular race. I'll have to go from the get-go. In the heat race I'm not going to wait around. I have to try and get there, to the front so I can transfer into the main. In the main I'll take it easier.”
Grabbe said he expects to see a lot of carnage on Friday night, which might make the going easier on Saturday.
“With $3,000 to win and all the big boys who are going to be here, I'm just going to kind of be conservative. I think the Friday night show, there will be a lot of torn-up stuff, guys are going be overanxious. So I kinda think survive Friday and go after it on Saturday.
“I'm pretty confident. I think I'll be there.”
Swenson said he's entering the show with no set strategy.
“You can have all the strategy you want, but until you get into that car and that situation, everything changes. So it don't matter what you do. You can think this or think that but once that green goes, everything changes.”
