WoO Sprint Cars Invade Cocopah For First Time
Story By: COLBY GORNIEWICZ / WORLD OF OUTLAWS – CONCORD, NC – As the Kickoff Tour winds down, the World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series will kick the dust up for the first time at Cocopah Speedway in Yuma, AZ on Friday, April 7, wrapping up the two-night swing at Arizona Speedway on Saturday, April 8.
“It’s pretty awesome to have an Outlaw event at Cocopah,” said Tom Dalen, General Manager of Cocopah Speedway. “I grew up watching the Outlaws and have always said, ‘if you want to see the best show on dirt, you have to get to a World of Outlaws race’. The buzz around town has been great – we have a lot of interest in the race. We look forward to having the World of Outlaws in Yuma.”
A unique characteristic of dirt track racing in Arizona is that racing continues year-round. During the winter months of 2015 and 2016, Cocopah hosted the Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown that quickly put the fast, semi-banked 3/8-mile Cocopah Speedway on the racing world’s map. The series featured a two-weekend, five-race winter season that attracted some of the world’s best open-wheel drivers, including many World of Outlaws stars.
Cocopah Speedway is a new stop on the 90-plus race schedule for the Outlaws, but several Outlaw drivers have experience at the track following the Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown. The Outlaws are likely to settle in quickly and show why they’re the ‘Greatest Show on Dirt’. Once a hidden gem, the Yuma, AZ speedway has quickly become a popular track amongst the competitors and fans. The local favorites and track veterans will look to play the spoiler role during the first Outlaws event at Cocopah.
The second-half of the stop in Arizona will come the following night at Arizona Speedway for the Arizona Desert Shootout. Last season marked the first stop at the high-banked, third-mile oval. Early in the 30-lap feature, Shane Stewart slipped by Joey Saldana and dominated the remaining laps for his first victory of the 2016 season.
The Outlaws will all be vying to stake their claim for the final purse of the western swing before beginning the trek back east to Texas for a makeup event at Gator Motorplex on Thursday, April 13.
