Umbrellas are no longer on Greg Burgess’ must-have list of things to take to  the race track.
No, Burgess has found that rain does not play a factor in  racing events at Cocopah Speedway, a dramatic contrast to what life used to be  like for Burgess when he was working at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma,  Wash.
As a matter of fact, in the year Burgess has been on board as  Cocopah Speedway’s director of operations, not one race on the Somerton oval has  been washed out.
“It is so much relief as a promoter to not have weather  worries. I cannot even describe the depression that sets in when you put in all  of the work and expense for an event only to have it rain out on event day. It  is really hard to take,” said Burgess this week as he marked his first  anniversary at Cocopah Speedway, talked about the year that was and looked ahead  to 2013.
“This year so far, my old home track has had four rainouts since  April. Here we began racing in September of 2011 and it’s now mid-June and we’ve  got in every event. I can’t begin to tell you how nice that is.”
He’s  also adjusting to the heat and, being a Washington native, said that is one of  the most-often questions he gets asked.
“My response is always the same: ‘I’m doing fine; I love it,’” he said. “I’ll take the heat over being cold any  day! I have had no issues thus far and I’m looking forward to enjoying life here  for many years to come.”
Since taking over operation of Cocopah Speedway,  Burgess said he feels his biggest accomplishments to date are the two national  shows the track hosted in February and March — the IMCA Modified Winter  Nationals presented by Sun Graphics, and the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car  Series presented by MavTV.
“I was very happy to see our staff rally  together at these events and see both of them go off nearly flawless,” said  Burgess. “With large events there are so many details and you want everything  just right. I remember after our Modified Winter Nationals spending some time  alone at the speedway and thinking, ‘Well, that’s going to be a tough one to  match.’
“And just one month later we had our sprint car nationals. And to  have a national touring series come in with a staff and racers that have seen  hundreds of race tracks across the country, and to hear their compliments and  how anxious they are to come back, well, that will make the most modest of  promoters smile.
“I also cannot minimize the facility improvements that  have been made. They are all part of a big picture, but to come in here and be  able to have the events that we have had and on top of that make the  improvements we have — now that is cool stuff. I have to thank the Cocopah  Indian Tribe for not only the opportunity but for their confidence in me and  their support of the speedway.”
Burgess recalled how a year ago, when he  arrived in the middle of the night after a straight-through, 26-hour drive, he  was so disappointed that it was too dark to see the track. But the next morning, “once I was able to view the facility I saw some immediate needs but I also saw  a great foundation to build from. The basics were covered and the potential was  immediately obvious.”
“Now I’m really looking forward to 2013. I have  already done some preliminary work on the schedule. You will see more great  Cocopah Series events, some great touring series and we will work hard to  develop some signature events that will return year after year. Our signature  events will be the ones known on a national scale and with the right plan and  follow-through they soon will be the ones fans and racers will not want to  miss.
“Overall, I see this track growing in all directions — events,  facilities, sponsor opportunities. We have come a long, long way and everyone  should feel great about it, but we should also not forget where we came  from.
“If we are able to keep moving forward this can be one of the most  talked about and respected speedways of this type in the nation. It won’t happen  overnight but then anything good doesn’t. Cocopah Speedway can be a huge part of  this community and should be.”