By Ben Deatherage
Photo Credit: Byron Fichter
SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 7, 2023) – Ethan Dotson added to his IMCA.TV Winter Nationals trophy collection while Shelby Williams and Zack Tate both won for the second time during the early season spectacular at Cocopah Speedway.
Saturday’s Friesen Performance IMCA Modified main event saw Brandon Beckendorf bolt to the front but he got upside down on lap seven after a tire and wheel broke off.
Dotson inherited the lead and dominated the rest of the distance to earn his career ninth Winter Nationals victory, $1,000 and Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility. Brady Bjella was an impressive second over third finishing Dylan Thornton.
Williams clawed his way to P1 at the start of the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature and all that slowed him down were a trio of cautions, including the final one with two to go.
Williams scored his second win of the week while Washington’s Chase Berkeley beat Mike Albertsen for second.
The IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks had a thriller of a 25-lap main event. Again, Tate made some big moves to become the trailblazer of the field. The lone stoppage was on lap five, which allowed for a long green flag run.
Brandon Bombardo ran down Tate in the closing stages and gave it his all, but Tate beat him at the line for his second trip to the winner’s circle in as many nights. Third was Brycen Dafffern.
For the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod main event, Phillip Shelby captured P1 after an opening lap incident, then was heavy on the gas and pulled away from the pack.
Lapped traffic came into the mix during a long green flag run and before long Shelby was under fire from Cam Reimers, who threw a Hail Mary on the final corner to win his first career IMCA.TV Winter Nationals feature.
Shelby was second while Jacob Mallet Jr. posted a third-place finish.
D.J. Werkmeister won the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact feature. Jacob Cordova and Hudson Morris were second and third, respectively.
Two-hundred-plus race teams vied at The Diamond in the Desert for the fourth consecutive night.