- SODA (series)
SODA (Short-course Off-road Drivers Association) was an off-road racing sanctioning body in the
United States .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 [http://racedesert.com/race/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=228076, Retrieved fromAugust 27 2007 Google cache but no longer accessible; Douglas scored double win at Lake Geneva Race;July 13 1997 ; RetrievedSeptember 29 2007 ] (often during in the winter months). Most races were held inWisconsin but a few were held inMichigan . The crown jewel of the series was the off-road championship event held at theCrandon 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 calledBaja 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 calledSODA 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 ofDale 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
*
Jimmie Johnson *
Art Schmidt *
Jeff Kincaid *Scott Douglas
*
Curt LeDuc References
External links
* [http://www.off-road.com/race/97sodacrandon.html 1997 Crandon Spring results]
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