IMCA STARS Mod Lites make Cocopah Speedway debut

SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 9) – His return to his home state put $1,000 in Ricky Thornton Jr.’s bank account Thursday night. Thornton led every lap in winning the IMCA Modified feature on opening night of Winter Nationals at Cocopah Speedway. The victory came in the first sanctioned Modified event of the 2020 IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing Season. Piloting Kollin Hibdon’s backup car, Thornton had started outside the front row. He walked away from the rest of the field following a lap 13 restart. Runner-up was Jeff Taylor and Jake O’Neil challenged before finishing third. “B” feature winner Tom Berry Jr. started 16th and finished fourth while Hibdon completed the top five. Already on the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot, Iowa transplant Thornton won for the 148th time in his IMCA Modified career.  Other winners in the lidlifter at Somerton were Iowan Troy Jervetz in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, Shelby Frye in the Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods and defending track champion Joshua Cordova in the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks. Jerovetz led start to finish in [Read More]

By Ben Deatherage SOMERTON, Ariz. (Feb. 20) – Once more three Speedway Motors IMCA Weekly Racing sanc­tioned classes were in competition at Cocopah Speedway on Saturday. IMCA Modifieds, Karl Kustoms Northern Sport Mods, and IMCA STARS Mod Lites complimented the card of the final night of the Western States Dwarf Car Nationals at the ⅜-mile track.   For the IMCA Modified main event, Marvin Mueller got the front on the drop of the initial green flag. He did his best to keep his car ahead of the competition but would be overtaken on lap three by Jerry Flippo. Flippo steered his vessel ahead of the rest of the pack but was eventually caught. Arizona native Tim Ward overtook Jerry Flippo on lap 14.  Ward was by no means out of the woods as he had to deal with some thick lapped traffic and pressure from Flippo.  The seventh starting Ward held on to capture his first win of the 2021 campaign in the caution-free affair, earning $1,000 and a spot on the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot.  Flippo ended [Read More]

By Ben Deatherage  SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 8) – Ethan Dotson won for a third straight night while Chanse Hollatz, Shane Paris, Eric Knutson and D.J. Werkmeister all raced to their first IMCA.TV Winter Nationals victories of 2022 Saturday at Cocopah Speedway. With 200-plus cars in the pits for a fourth straight night, Dotson continued his domination at Somerton by leading all 25 circuits in the 25-lap IMCA Modified main event. The Bakersfield, Calif., racer kept his ride on the top side of the track and did his best to pull away. The second of two stoppages came on lap 17, just as Dotson was about to negotiate the tail end of the field.   On the ensuing restart, Kollin Hibdon tried to power his way past but Dotson kept him in check.  Dotson was the trailblazer for the balance of the distance for his third straight Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying victory of the 2022 IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing campaign.  Hibdon ended as the runner-up with third going to Tripp Gaylord. Tanner Black and Tim Ward [Read More]