The second night of racing for the 2021 version of the IMCA Winter Nationals took place on Thursday night, January 7th at the Cocopah Speedway under sunny and comfortable conditions(this part of the report will continue to be repetitive as the weather never seems to change).
With some very good feature racing being held on this night, drivers from Iowa and California split the winnings with Hobby Stock and Sport Mod drivers going from the Hawkeye State while California drivers took home the top prize in the Stock Car and Modified features. And Hobby Stock driver Eric Knutson became the first repeat winner too.
Last night, Cocopah is believed to have set a track record for its largest field of race cars for a single meet ever when one hundred and sixty one cars pulled through the back gate. Well, I'm pleased to say the positive vibes about this Winter series continue as the old record lasted for only twenty four hours and one hundred and sixty three drivers signed in to race on Thursday night with even more expected starting on Friday night for the weekend. With virtually everyone returning from Wednesday night with the exception of a small number that crashed out bad, eleven first time drivers also showed up on Thursday to boost the count. While the Hobby Stock field was slightly smaller than on Wednesday, the other three classes all showed modest gains which drove the number up to a new record. Drivers from all over the globe have been racing here this week so far with the Modified field alone being reported to represent seventeen different states which is impressive indeed.
While the big car count is obviously encouraged, there can be some downsides to such a large field of cars to run through with a full program in all classes each night. The two most obvious problems can be wear and tear on the race track and the time that it takes to run off such a large show.
But I'm very happy to report that the track made some very positive steps forward in both regards on Thursday and the show was much better overall in my opinion.
Concerning the track issue it was obvious to all that the track took a considerable amount of rubber on Wednesday night, which had a detrimental effect on the racing for both the competitors and fans. The drivers hate it when the track is one lane and tough to pass on while the fans hate it just about as much because it makes for boring racing. With just as big a field of cars slated for Thursday and the program starting two hours earlier(part of issue number two to be discussed shortly), many people were worried just what the track surface would be like on Thursday, given that the racing would be held for two more hours in bright sunshine, they had watered the track just about as much as humanly possible on Wednesday and it still rubbered up.
While the Hobby Stocks still take the sharp end of the stick in the early going as their track is still slimy when they start their heat races(although not as bad as last night), the track as a whole started out much drier than it was on Wednesday. However, after the qualifying was done, Thursday for the first time they misted the track on the high side before the feature races and that seemed to make all the difference in the world. The Hobby Stocks still all hugged the inside line but when the Sport Mods came out for their feature, they quickly moved all over the track led by eventual winner Josh Most who will always pound the cushion no matter what the circumstances. The track opened up and from then on the racing was great for the final three features, once again proof that a good racy track is key to putting on any kind of appealing race program. In fact I would say that the Modified feature was just outstanding with cars pounding the high side, some running low and others in the middle and one look at the starting and finishing positions would tell you just how much passing was occurring. In fact, the four feature winners averaged a starting position of eighth in their mains with open wheel winners Most and Ethan Dotson both coming from the sixth row to win their respective events.
It just goes to show that most of us so called "experts" don't really have much of a clue as it seemed with the increased racing in the day light, another big field of cars, maximum watering already having been tried and the history of what happened on Wednesday that we would be looking at another rubbered up mess and instead it turned out to be a great track and spectacular track for the mains.
Addressing the other issue from Wednesday which was the late night, track management opted to start the show two hours earlier both for Thursday and for the rest of the meet. While that seemed like a good idea to race earlier in the more comfortable temperatures(it does get cool in the evenings here on the desert), and get the show over at a more reasonable time, the down side would seem to have been that it would be much tougher on the track but as we now know, that was fully incorrect and it was nice to get the program over at a much more acceptable hour. They also reduced the number of races by having bigger heat races and B Features and on this good sized track, it was fully capable of handling more cars for each event and in fact, made those races much more interesting.
I spoke to Mitch Mohler Jr in the pits before the program on Thursday. He runs and Modified and is part of a two car team with Mitch Sr who races a Hobby Stock and was the driver transported to the hospital last night. I wanted to find out how he was doing as I saw the Hobby Stock was covered up with a tarp on this night. Jr told me that his father checked out OK at the hospital with all the X-Rays coming back good. Sr reported that his neck got whipped and he hit his hip on the side of the car when he shifted over as he stopped so abruptly when side slapping the wall, about the most dangerous way of contacting the concrete. Otherwise, he was just still and sore.
Jr reported that his father had some bad memories of this type of accident as the family also races Sports Cars and Sr had the same kind of wreck as this at Elkhart Lake in Wisconsin but he was going much faster and was hurt quite severely so that was the first thing on his mind. But being true racers, Sr came to Cocopah to race and depending on how he feels on Friday, he may try to race as the car itself is not too damaged and they believe they can fix it.
The feature races began with an interesting and closely fought for Hobby Stock main. Josh Cordova started on the pole and led the first six laps with much pressure on him. Just like Wednesday night, Knutson moved to the second lane and drove up from the third row, passing Cordova on the high side to take over the lead. But while he was able to put some distance on the field briefly, soon he was caught by Steve Bitting Jr who put tremendous pressure on the leader. Bitting was nailed to the rear bumper of Knutson and one mistake would have cost him.
Bitting tried several times to alter his line on the track but each time Knutson was able to be him to the corners barely to hold on. In fact, one time they got together briefly on the back chute with Bitting loosening up Knutson who got sideways. But in a show of sportsmanship, Bitting then backed off, allowed Knutson to straighten out and then Bitting once again took off after the leader. It was a refreshing thing to see in these somewhat cut throat racing days as someone actually wanted to win the right way.
However, Bitting could never quite find the speed that he needed for a pass and while he was nailed to the rear bumper of Knutson, it was Eric who became the first multiple winner of the week. Matt Olson finished a strong third.
The Sport Mod feature, with only one yellow flag, was even a wilder event than the Hobby main had been. Brian Osantowski started on the pole and the initial lineup seemed to favor him running away from the field. And that's the way it worked out in the early going, only to have things come unhinged in a dramatic way.
While Osantowski cruised up front with a healthy lead over Kevin Johnson, Josh Most was putting on a show as he was the first to find the cushion and he came tearing up through the field like a man on a mission. He started eleventh and moved all the way up to third and was slowing catching Johnson for second but both were significantly behind Osantowski as the laps ran down.
However, that's when racing proved that once again, nothing can be too predictable. Osantowski came up on a slower car down the front chute and that lapper failed to heed the starter's signal to move over and instead pinched down on Osantowski as they racing into corner one. The two cars made contact and it was instantly apparent that Brian had suffered a flat tire. As he slowed dramatically down the back chute, Johnson and Most came up on the slowing leader and the lapped car and while Johnson hesitated briefly, Most laid back his ears and blew by both cars, taking over the lead on lap nineteen. He then drove home for the win as he opened up a bigger margin on Johnson. It was a stunning change of circumstances for both Osantowski and Most as Josh got the win in only the second time out in a new car he built for the California owners. Taylor Kuehl should also be applauded as she came from twelfth to finish a strong third.
More drama occurred in the Modified feature which saw drivers racing all over the three eighth mile oval as the cushion fully opened up for the first time all weekend and it was a pleasure watching the Modified drivers pounding the cushion and running dangerously close to the wall. Illinois driver Travis Denning started on the outside pole and took the early lead over Jesse Rogotzke. However, the action was on the high side as Alex Stanford was flying on the top of the track and he blew past Denning on lap five to take over the lead.
Once in front, he quickly stretched his advantage as Stanford was setting a blistering pace. Also on the move were Ricky Alvarado and Jeff Larson , one running the low groove and the other up against the concrete and there was three wide racing all over the track. This was what we came so far to see!
But there were also others on the move and both Tanner Black and Ethan Dotson were to be heard from soon also. For Stanford, he was alone out front when the unthinkable happened as suddenly he slowed on the back chute, the victim of mechanical problems and he was done for the event.
The restart was a shaky one as Alvarado got steered into the concrete wall in turn one and he too was done for the night. Denning inherited the lead but he couldn't hold it long as Dotson, who had passed cars on both the high and low side of the track, drove under Denning to take over the lead on lap fifteen. From then on he held the top spot and he was able to put distance on the field. Black never stopped trying however, as last night's winner completed a marvelous drive from seventeenth to second as he certainly has got this track figured out. Larson rounded out the top three.
Stock Cars rounded out the evening with Tony Hill leading the first seven laps from the pole with his unique and distinctive looking car. But he was challenged by Kyle Heckman, who does double duty also driving a Mod, and Heckman slipped under Hill on lap eight to take over the lead as Hill's car started sliding up the track.
Several yellows kept the field close but in the waning laps, Heckman was able to put distance on the field and drive home for the win over Nick Johnson and Bo Partain. While there was quite as much passing in this race, the field was frequently two and three wide for periods of time with plenty of paint swapping and tire smoke as cars rubbed each other frequently. In other words, a typical Stock Car main!
Thursday night's program was an excellent one and if the track prep crew can continue to find the "sweet spot", which isn't the same every day based on so many variables, then we can look forward to more outstanding racing as the week progresses. But Congrats to the management for recognizing the issues and taking action to try and improve things, which they certainly did.
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