Night number two for the IMCA.TV Winternationals at the Cocopah Speedway was held on Thursday night, January 6th. Despite a field of race cars in excess of two hundred, two repeat winners would emerge as Stock Car driver Jim Horesji and Hobby Stock driver Bobby Horton would back up Wednesday night victories with a second visit to victory lane. Other winners on night two included Ethan Dotson, Chase Alves and Kevin Reuter.
Over a dozen more new drivers were added to the field of racers for the Thursday night show and the total race car count increased to two hundred eighteen drivers trying to make the starting fields for the five main events. The program for Thursday night would be identical to Wednesday night's show in terms of races run but the running order would be changed up to better facilitate the best racing possible. The late night issues of Thursday night were also addressed as the heat races were cut in laps to more appropriate numbers for the classes and a lot of the first night woes were smoothed out, thus allowing the program to trim hours of their late night ending on Wednesday night.
For the second straight night, the opening couple of heats were rocky as the track was very slick, almost to the point of making it not raceable. Track management is walking a fine line as they try to get the track as wet as possible to provide good racing all night and cut down on the number of "tickling" sessions the race surface needs while also trying to start at the advertised time for both the fans on hand and tv watchers benefit. While I would not have wanted to be in the first couple of heats, ultimately the officials made the correct call as later the track would remain racy all night with drivers running multiple grooves even though the surface got very black and appeared to take rubber. Most amazingly, with all the race traffic of the night, not a single "tickling" session was required and the track was never touched once the first green flag waved except for a few extra roll in laps on the cushion between the early heats.
Cocopah officials are using an odd format to set the lineups for the feature races this week. Initially I thought that they were using a version of the passing points system which seemed fine given the large car counts. However, what they do is that the heat winners, however many they might be, redraw for the top starting positions with the rest of the top sixteen being filled in behind them by passing points with the remaining cars running B Features. So it does still reward a good draw if you are lucky enough to draw a low number and start up front, as long as you win a heat it doesn't matter if you pass any cars, you will start toward the front of the main. This system might be the best of both worlds in terms of setting the feature lineups, or perhaps the worst, depending on your point of view.
Stock Cars were up first on Thursday and Horesji was one of those that drew well and would start on the pole for the main event. While he would win off the pole, it was anything but an easy race as he would battle with Josh Most, swapping the lead at least twice before he would make the winning pass off turn four as the two raced to the checkered flag. It was the closest feature of the week so far as the Stock Cars continue to wow the crowd with their close and aggressive racing.
Most has been battling for wins over the first two nights in two different classes as he has been fast in both his Sport Mod and the Stock Car, which is one of only two since he just started building cars for this division. After leading the first three laps, Horesji could not hold off the charge of Most who drove around him on the high side to take over the lead. Horesji was not done yet though, as he hung right on the trunk lid of Most as the race continued.
A lap nine yellow bunched the field and the restart was a bad one as the field got bottled up and I though the start should have been called back. However, they raced on and after Most got turned sideways, Horesji again claimed the lead. However, Most was "fired up" and he hammered the cushion lap after lap, eventually catching and then repassing Horesji with just four laps to go.
To his credit, Horesji wouldn't quit either, and it came down to the last lap and last corner. Most got just a tad high in turn four and Horesji drove under him to execute a clean pass and edge out the Iowa driver by half a car length at the line for a most thrilling win. Horesji is new to the Stock Cars, having been a veteran of the Sport Mod class for years and he thanked Kelly Shryock and Brandon Beckendorf for his success that has found him two for two since he spilled behind the wheel of this car. Most would finish a frustrated second with Zach Madrid third.
Horton won the Hobby Stock feature for the second straight night but he also earned the win as he came from tenth to take the victory. It took him fifteen laps to work his way through to the front as he patiently worked the low groove and eventually made it pay off.
Brian Brown would start on the pole and lead through fourteen but he had several driver pushing him heard including Nick Posey and Zack Tate. All these drivers were running the high side of the track while Horton just gradually worked his way forward on the bottom groove. By the halfway point he was up to third and just kept coming after that, driving under Brown down the back chute to take over the lead.
Brown would try hard to get the top spot back but he overdrove it and spun down the back chute, ending his chances. A late yellow set up a three lap sprint to the finish but Horton pulled away as no one could challenge him. Thomas Daffern drove a very aggressive race, pounding the cushion and nearly taking down the wall on several occasions but he managed to keep the wheels on the car as he drove into second on the last lap, edging out Tate for that spot.
Perhaps the most dominating run of the week so far was executed by Ethan Dotson who ran away with the Modified win. He would start in row two but before the first lap was completed, he had passed both Jerry Flippo and Austin Kuehl to take the top spot. And once in front, he simply pulled away from the field as no one could stay with him.
There were two yellow flags early and the last twenty laps went green to checkered and Dotson had nearly a full straightaway on Flippo and those two ran away from the field. Dotson's only issue was lapped traffic which he navigated without error and he drove home to an impressive win. Flippo was very impressive also in second while there was an excellent four car battle for third that Illinois driver Austen Becerra would top.
More frustration would be produced in the Sport Mod feature for Josh Most as for the second time this night, he would be leading a feature race but could not bring home the win as in this race he was tracked down and passed by Chase Alves. Most started on the outside pole and using the high side(no surprise there), he would move to an early lead. Alves was most impressive himself as with a field of cars that were mostly running the top side, he was able to make the low groove work as he moved up after starting eighth on the grid. By lap seven Alves drove under Most to take over the lead and then began to pull away as no one could stay with him. Most chose to continue the high side and while he ran second, he was no challenge to the leader.
A late yellow didn't hurt Alves as he pulled away once again for the win but a late charge by Fred Ryland saw him edge out Most for second.
For fourteen laps, it looked like Kaytee Devries was going to be the third repeat winner of the night but a determined run by Kevin Reuter saw him track down the leader and make a late race pass for the win. Devries started on the pole and pulled to the early lead but Reuter, who started fourth, gradually closed on the Iowa driver. He tried several times to make the pass for the lead but Devries blocked him off.
On lap fifteen, Reuter was able to get to the inside of Devries off turn one and after a hard race down the back chute that saw the leaders leaning on each other a bit, Reuter was able to drive it deep into turn four and take over the point. A late yellow would allow Devries to challenge one last time as they raced side by side but again Reuter had just enough to fight off her challenges and drive home for the win. D.J. Werkmeister, track champion here at Cocopah, came from seventh to finish third after switching cars following the opening night action.
Perhaps the hard luck award of the night would go to Wyoming driver Braxton Yeager who was in a qualifying position in a Mod B Feature when the deck lid came up and blocked his vision and he pulled to the infield as he couldn't see to continue the race.
It was another lovely, comfortable day in the desert with shirt sleeve weather for the opening green flag and a heavy coat by evening's end except for Jerry VS who did the interviews in shorts.
Racing will continue on Friday night for night three and sunny skies are in the forecast.
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