SODA (Short-course Off-road Drivers Association) was an off-road racing sanctioning body in the United States.
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Demise
Most drivers from SODA moved to CORR (Championship Off-Road Racing) after the 1997 season, which basically ended SODA's existence. A greatly diminished series continued on for at least a few years afterwards.
History
The series was televised in the 1980s and 1990s. Series races appeared tape delayed on ESPN/ESPN2[1] (often during in the winter months). Most races were held in Wisconsin but a few were held in Michigan. The crown jewel of the series was the off-road championship event held at the Crandon International Off-Road Raceway - the "home of the world championship off-road race". The vehicles used were primarily Trophy trucks, buggies (which were based on the original Volkswagen Beetle called Baja Bug), and a few stock cars. All vehicles had heavily modified suspension.
Video game
In 1997, Sierra Entertainment released a SODA-themed racing video game called SODA Off-Road Racing.
Classes
- Class 11, Stock 1600cc engine buggies with driver only
- Class 12, Stock 1600cc engine buggies with driver plus co-pilot (Sometimes run with Class 11)
- Class 1-1600, 1600cc engine buggies with driver only
- Class 2-1600, 1600cc engine buggies with driver plus co-pilot (Sometimes run with class 1-1600)
- Class 9, Modified Buggies with up to 1914cc Air-cooled engines, or 1600cc engines water-cooled
- Class 4, 4 wheel-drive full size trucks
- Class 5-1600, buggies with driver only
- Class 7s, 2 wheel-drive four cylinder trucks
- Class 8, 2 wheel-drive full size trucks
- Class 13, 2 wheel-drive full sized trucks with more restrictions than Class 8
- Heavy Metal, combined race with Class 4 and Class 8 trucks
Tracks that held races
Many tracks held races:
- Bark River Off-road Raceway, Bark River, Michigan
- Crandon International Off-Road Raceway, Crandon, Wisconsin
- Glen Helen Raceway, San Bernardino, California
- Ionia Fairgrounds Speedway, Ionia, Michigan
- I-96 Speedway, Lake Odessa, Michigan
- Langlade County Speedway, Antigo, Wisconsin
- Lake Geneva Raceway, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
- Luxemburg Speedway, Luxemburg, Wisconsin
- Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin held a single event inside the paved road course in 1996
- Sunnyview Expo, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Drivers
- 7-time series champion Jack Flannery. His championships were occasionally compared to those of Dale Earnhardt.
- Brendan Gaughan - NASCAR driver (1995 Class 13 champion, 1996 Class 8 champion)
- "the Legend" Walker Evans - 1994 and 1995 Class 4 (2WD) Series champion
- Johnny Greaves
- Jimmie Johnson
- Art Schmidt
- Jeff Kincaid
- Scott Douglas
- Curt LeDuc
References
- ^ http://racedesert.com/race/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=228076, Retrieved from August 27 2007 google cache but no longer accessible; Douglas scored double win at Lake Geneva Race; July 13 1997; Retrieved September 29 2007
