Yuma

**Yuma Raceway** is a racetrack located in Yuma, Arizona. It hosted the first race of the first three seasons of the Utica Rallycross Series.

 Time zone
 Capacity
 Owner
 Broke ground
 Opened
 Closed
 Events Held
 Surface
 Turns
 Lap record

## Pre-URCS

In an attempt to compete with Phoenix, Arizona, the Arizona city of Yuma voted to seek the construction of an automotive racing facility.

Several options were considered, including a 1.5 mile paved oval track and an approximately 3.25 mile road course.

CBY Stadium Entertainment Inc. is an Arizona-based company that constructed stadiums for the purposes of indoor sporting events. Prior to the construction of the Yuma Raceway, they had made an arena football stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a general purpose stadium in Lake Havesu City, Arizona, and an Arenacross Stadium in Tucson, Arizona.

CBY Stadium Entertainment Inc. proposed a large stadium that could host motocross, stadium trucks, and sprint cars. Though the project seemed bold, the project was approved and construction began July 17th, 2004.

However, the project proved to be difficult to carry out. CBY Stadium Entertainment Inc. had difficulty keeping to budget, using up the supplied loans and having to take out additional loans to cover the project. Workplace accidents also took their tole on the project, with a dozen workers receiving injuries, three of which turned around to sue the company.

By January 2009, the city of Yuma brought it to a vote on whether or not they should cancel he project. An undisclosed slight majority voted in favor of continuing, since it was still believed that the revenue from events could result in a net profit.

The stadium was completed on April 19th, 2010. The first event held at the stadium was an indoor sprint car event.

## Season One

The first car to take to the track was Tyler Benoit, whose unfamiliarity with the course resulted in a mediocre lap time. Ray Davis gained eleven seconds on Benoit's time, before being immediately beaten by Chris Aurelio. Dillon White managed to take the top spot just past halfway and kept it until the end of the event, scoring the first win of his career and of the series.

Richerd Johnson became the first driver to wreck out of the race, finishing last overall. Billy Bishop had a notoriously bad run, sending his car off the hilly terrain multiple time before wrecking out of the race.

 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
 10
 11
 13
 14
 15
 16
 17

(\*) - Bonus Point

## Season Two

Season Two saw the largest entry list of the series at Yuma, twenty-five drivers, a number that would not be beat until the final race of the season at Dead Man's Curve. The course saw trouble for defending champion Chris Aurelio, who flipped his machine as the first driver on track. Joseph Bryant took the race lead from Aurelio, with the lead cycling between Aaron Williams Jr, Kyle Sosnoski, Richerd Johnson, and Kevin White.

Dom Caps took over the top spot just after the halfway point, and was looking to pull a rookie upset. However, veteran driver Tyler Benoit, with seven drivers to go, edged Caps out by four tenths. No other drivers were able to challenge Benoit, resulting in Benoit's first career.

Season Two champion Adam Dunlap finished sixth in the event, a run that would set the stage for the rest of the season.

John Cittadino was the only driver who failed to finish the event, kick-starting what would be a notoriously disappointing season.

(R) - Rookies

(\*) - Bonus Point

## Season Three

Yuma was changed drastically during the off season between Season Two and Season Three. The layout was changed into a shorter circuit, but with added jumps including a step-up jump through rings.

Rookie Carson Beightol was the first car on track, but wrecked out early on the new obstacle. Stephen Carter, the second driver up, was the first to complete the course. Season Two winner, Tyler Benoit took the race lead as the sixth car up, but was soon surpassed by Nick Pericles.

Pericles kept the race lead for the duration of the event, but was upset by rookie Mason Powers, who gained two seconds on his time. A hopefully Powers hoped to maintain his lead, but veteran racer Seth Cole was able to gain a second on Powers' time. The Aurelio Brothers were the final two cars to attempt a time, but neither were able to take the lead, though Michael Aurelio was able to take second place. Seth Cole would go on to win his first career Rallycross victory in three seasons.

The new jump took its toll on the competitors. Matt Duell and Colin Bartell joined Beightol in the DNF column while trying to ascend the step-up. Robbert Pieete ran into trouble on the descent. Alex Hawkins, Matt Evans, and Alex DiMarco, also faltered on the the jump, resulting in poor finishes on their behalves.

 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
 10
 11
 13
 14
 15
 16
 17
 18
 19
 20

(R) - Rookies

(\*) - Bonus Point

## Season Four

The hilly stadium dirt track returned to the schedule with no changes from the previous year. It was the fourth year in a row the track held the season opener.

The first car to take to the track was rookie Anthony Lopez who, like Carson Beightol the year before, struggled heavily with the step-jump. Unlike Beightol, Lopez managed, after several attempts, to clear the jump and finish the course. Chris Aurelio, the second car up, easily beat Lopez' time and held the top spot for awhile.

Defending winner Seth Cole was third up on track, and hoped to reclaim the victory. However, Cole's vehicle flipped during the long jump late in the course, which would eventually result in Cole finishing in last place. He was joined by the only other retiree of the event, Nathan Hudson, who was returning to the series, albeit with a name change.

Season Three title contender William Duncan soon took the fastest time away from Aurelio, before being upset by a returning Estavas Cortez, back after a long absence from the sport. Cortez' time at the top was short-lived, however, as rookie Chris Dodd surprised the field with a blistering run that edged Cortez by three-one-hundreths of a second. The remaining seven cars, with the exception of a returning Ray Davis, were unable to breach the top five, and Chris Dodd got his first career win in his first start.

 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
 10
 11
 12
 13
 14
 15
 16
 17
 18
 19
 20

\* denotes a bonus point for leading

(R) denotes a rookie

## Season Five

The track returned to the schedule with no changes from the previous year. It was the fifth year in a row the track held the season opener.

The first car on track was rookie William Brock, who broke the trend of struggling as the first car out by setting a fast lap time comparable to the fastest times of season 4. Brock held the lead for a short while before being topped by Season 4 Blackpool winner Zachary Fitzwater Sr.

Stephen Carter took the top spot a few runs later, surpassing the track record, and held it for six runs. Rookie Alexander Rowe, completely new to Rallycross racing, surprised the field by topping Carter's time. Rowe held onto the lead, but was nearly overtaken by Season 2 winner Tyler Benoit, who missed the top spot by a slim margin. Rowe was able to hang on to the lead until the conclusion of the event, scoring hi first career victory in his first career start.

## Trivia

* The five drivers to win at Yuma, (Dillon White, Tyler Benoit, Seth Cole, Chris Dodd, and Alexander Rowe) did so as their first career victory.
* Of the five winners, Dillon White, Chris Dodd, and Alexander Rowe won in their first start.
* Yuma is one of four tracks from that have been featured in every season.
* Yuma is one of three American race tracks to host a Utica Rallycross Series event.
* Tyler Benoit has the best average finish at the track with a 4.6.
* The Season 5 event had the closest margin of victory at 0.003 seconds.