Somerton, Arizona-
Cocopah Speedway returned to racing on Saturday, April 9th, after an absence since March 26th. The Diamond In The Desert 3/8-mile oval hosted five Speedway Motors IMCA Weekly Racing program divisions. This included the IMCA Modifieds, Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Northern SportMods, Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks, and Mach-1 Racing Solutions IMCA Sport Compacts.
Ryan Roath, from Peoria, kicked the party off as the leader in the IMCA Modified main event. Unfortunately, the lone caution came out just as the first lap was completed. The ensuing restart witnessed a terrific battle between Roath and Chaz Baca Jr. Baca, of Mesa, captured the top spot on the third circuit, only for Roath to counterattack and reclaim what once was his.
However, Chaz kept his composure and managed to take back the coveted first place position on the back straightaway and remained the leader. Then, Chaz Baca Jr. turned the jets on and took off from the rest of the field.
Tragedy would almost strike about ten laps later when Baca nearly lost control of his mount and spun. Nonetheless, with the luxury of such a significant lead, he managed to retain his role as the trailblazed and went on to claim victory. Chaz Baca Jr. has recorded seven Speedway Motors IMCA Weekly Racing victories this year, including six in the IMCA Modifieds. It is his second consecutive triumph at Cocopah, and all six Modified wins have been in both KMJ Performance Arizona State and Shaw Race Cars Western Region competition.
Brawley, California’s Russell Allen claimed second, with Ryan Roath settling for third. Cole Dick, from Ramona, California, was fourth over fifth finishing Phoenix pilot Zachary Madrid.
The Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars had an outstanding feature. Williston, North Dakota traveler Jake Nelson pounced out to the front on the green flag. Later on, Casa Grande’s Bo Partain kept it close and gave chase, and the two eventually would do battle for several laps.
Partain captured the lead on lap nine and stayed there the rest of the way. Bo took off from all challengers to procure his second victory of 2022. His most recent win was on January 7th at Cocopah, and both wins were credited to KMJ Performance Arizona State and EQ Cylinder Heads Southern Region action.
Chaz Baca Jr., piloting the D.J. Werkmeister-owned machine, was the runner-up, followed by Jake Nelson, in third. Apache Junction racer Larry Brigner and Chris McCurdy Jr., from Phoenix, were fourth and fifth.
The IMCA Northern SportMod main event had an incredible start with a four-wide tussle for first place. Casa Grande’s Shelby Alves put her machine to the front as the initial lap developed. However, she did have to deal with five cautions which brought restarts into the fold.
After the first restart, on lap five, Yuma race Miles Morris submitted a bid to overtake Alves, but she was able to keep him back. A similar set of circumstances occurred after the third restart, with eleven recorded complete, when Chris Toth, of Holtville, California, tried to motor his way past Shelby. Still, again the Lady Eagle racer stood tall.
Shelby Alves kept her car in front of the balance of the distance to earn her sixth campaign victory, all of which are in KMJ Performance Arizona State action. She has four wins at Cocopah Speedway, and her most recent success was on April 2nd at Central Arizona Speedway in her native Casa Grande.
Miles Morris and Chandler’s Ty Weidner were second and third, respectively. Bobby Horton, from Yuma, hit the line fourth, and El Cajon, California chauffeur David Kilpela placed fifth.
The Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks had quite a nail-biter of a feature. From Brawley, California, Thomas Daffern got into the rest lead from the get-go. Unfortunately, he would not be able to build too large of a gap over second-place due to a lap one caution. Daffern remained the leader on the following restart but had a quick Bobby Horton in tow.
Horton, doing double duty and racing the Cordova Family-fielded entry, stayed close with Daffern for the rest of the race. Bobby tried to make the sweeping pass several times, finally picking up the top spot on lap seventeen, only for Thomas to take it back on the eighteenth circuit.
The two drivers waltzed about in lapped traffic on the final lap, but Thomas Daffern kept Bobby Horton in check. Daffern obtained his second win of the season and his first victory since January 15th at Cocopah. Both triumphs came at the Diamond In The Desert, but they have also been in KMJ Performance Arizona State and Big Daddy Race Cars Southern Region competition.
Bobby Horton was a respectable runner-up, while third place went to Joshua Cordova of Somerton. Yuma’s Jim Robinson and Chandler Dodge, from Casa Grande, were fourth and fifth.
Last but not least were the Mach-1 Racing Solutions IMCA Sport Compacts. The main event witnessed several lead changes and an exciting finish. Yuma racer Ryan Brooks beat out a three-car fight for first place at the line to lead the opening circuit. The Lady Eagle driver kept her car at the point until Mesa’s D.J. Werkmeister passed her on lap three.
Werkmeister had his hands full with a young hard-charging Hudson Morris. Morris, also of Yuma, got around D.J. on lap five and stayed there for a bit. The lone caution of the feature was to be on lap seven, setting up a mid-race restart.
D.J. Werkmeister knocked on the door to reobtain the top spot on lap ten. However, as Hudson continued to battle with him, Werkmeister was not free from pressure. Yuma native Jaxon Sanchez also came into the mix as the three drivers duked it out in the final circuits.
Werkmeister had to fend off the challengers as the white flag waved, but when he was greeted by the checkered, he remained the leader at the line. It is the fourth time he has visited victory lane this season and the third occasion at Cocopah. All wins have been in KMJ Performance Arizona State action, and his most previous victory was February 19th at the Somerton facility.
Jaxon Sanchez was scored second, with Ryan Brooks third. Hudson Morris placed fourth, and rounding out the top five, in fifth was Wynona Ragland from Seeley, California.
Cocopah Speedway takes next week off before returning to racing on Saturday, April 23rd. Five Speedway Motors IMCA Weekly Racing Program divisions will be on the card, including IMCA Modifieds, Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Northern SprotMods, Mach-1 Racing Solutions IMCA Sport Compacts, and STARS IMCA Mod Lites. For more information, log on to www.racecocopahspeedway.com.
Race Results:
Saturday, April 9th, 2022
Cocopah Speedway
Somerton, Arizona
[#] indicates starting position
IMCA Modifieds
A Feature: 1. 75JR-Chaz Baca Jr. [6]; 2. 23R-Russell Allen [4]; 3. 45-Ryan Roath [2]; 4. 77D-Cole Dick [5]; 5. 5M-Zachary Madrid [7]; 6. 28-Matthew Hicks [10]; 7. 15KD-Steve McCollough [9]; 8. 1R-Doug Rivera [8]; 9. 7D6-Denver Dodd [11]; 10. 35-William Miller [16]; 11. J11-Josh Wood [17]; 12. 39-Derek Huggins [12]; 13. 4G-Bryan Gray [14]; 14. 5B-Brenda Kirby [3]; 15. 02LZ-Ellsworth Conover [1]; DNS 55-Marvin Mueller; DNS 114-Sean Conyers
Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars
A Feature: 1. 75C-Bo Partain [3]; 2. 08-Chaz Baca [4]; 3. 10J-Jake Nelson [1]; 4. 02X-Larry Brigner [2]; 5. 23JR-Chris McCurdy Jr. [5]; 6. 88-Lonnie Foss [7]; 7. 17L-Nick Langer [6]; 8. 94-Matt Rice [8]
IMCA Northern SportMods
A Feature: 1. 1S-Shelby Alves [4]; 2. 3-Miles Morris [6]; 3. Z28-Ty Weidner [1]; 4. 04J-Bobby Horton [3]; 5. 7K-David Kilpela [7]; 6. 4J-Jayson Aldridge [16]; 7. 6-Brock Rogers [9]; 8. 198-Kyler Reynolds [13]; 9. 57CT-Chris Toth [5]; 10. 15-Speedy Madrid [10]; 11. 06-Rex Hasley [8]; 12. 3JW-Jake Whitfield [18]; 13. 19P-Mike Pridgeon [11]; 14. 22R-Frankie Romo [2]; 15. 100-Crystal Hemphill [14]; 16. 14RT-Jake Triska [17]; 17. D11-Dustin Wood [20]; 18. 26A-Julia Alves [21]; 19. 47-Ron Pegues [15]; 20. 421-Tyler Vache [12]; 21. 18-Cody Daffern [19]
Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks
A Feature: 1. 81-Thomas Daffern [1]; 2. 04J-Bobby Horton [2]; 3. 04-Joshua Cordova [6]; 4. 31-Jim Robinson [5]; 5. 5C-Chandler Dodge [10]; 6. 5AZ-Zack Tate [8]; 7. 140-Shawn Rico [3]; 8. 18-Chase Alves [4]; 9. D18-James Daffern [12]; 10. 40-Jacob Cordova [11]; 11. 7-Matt Schlamann [9]; 12. 36B-Enzo Deckers [15]; 13. 0-Sonny Mari [14]; 14. 3D-Dale Ottman [7]; DNS 6-Joey Teague
Mach-1 Racing Solutions IMCA Sport Compacts
A Feature: 1. 08-D.J. Werkmeister [4]; 2. 51M-Jaxon Sanchez [9]; 3. 35-Ryan Brooks [2]; 4. 3-Hudson Morris [8]; 5. 04W-Wynona Ragland [6]; 6. 21J-Josh Werkmeister [13]; 7. 0-Scott Tenney [5]; 8. 36B-Enzo Deckers [10]; 9. 13-Mike Giorgianni [12]; 10. 41-Brian Kerwin [1]; 11. 89-Benjamin Pendleton [11]; 12. 17-Jason Hollingsworth [14]; 13. 77-T.J. Wight Jr. [3]; 14. 31-Kevin Reuter [7]