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The Short-course Off-road Drivers Association (usually abbreviated as SODA) was a short course off-road racing sanctioning body in the United States.
| Sport | Short course off-road racing |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Midwestern United States |
| Abbreviation | SODA |
| Founded | 1970s[1] |
| CEO | Jeff Conway[1] |
| Closure date | circa 1997[1] |
SODA began as a Midwestern United States off-road racing series in the early 1970s.[2] 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".[1]
The vehicles used were primarily trophy trucks, buggies (which were based on the original Volkswagen Beetle called Baja Bugs), pickup trucks, and a few stock cars. All vehicles had heavily modified suspensions.
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.
- Class 1-1600, 1600 cc engine buggies with driver only
- Class 2-1600, 1600 cc engine buggies with driver plus co-pilot (Sometimes run with class 1-1600)
- Class 3, 4-wheel-drive short wheelbase vehicles (Jeep CJ, Ford Bronco, etc.)
- Class 4, 4-wheel-drive full-size trucks
- Class 5-1600, buggies with driver only
- Class 6 modified passenger cars, and later 2wd SUVs
- Class 7s, 2-wheel-drive four-cylinder trucks
- Class 8, 2-wheel-drive full-size trucks
- Class 8s 2-wheel-drive full-size trucks (nearly stock vehicles, with restrictor plate V8 engines)
- Class 9, modified buggies with up to 1914 cc air-cooled engines, or 1600 cc engines water-cooled
- Class 10, Class 9 with co-pilot[3]
- Class 11, stock 1600 cc engine buggies with driver only
- Class 12, stock 1600 cc engine buggies with driver plus co-pilot (sometimes run with Class 11)
- Class 13, 2-wheel-drive full-sized trucks with more restrictions than Class 8
- Heavy Metal, combined race with Class 3, Class 4 and Class 8 trucks
- SODA Light, small single-seat short-wheelbase buggies with small CC snowmobile engines
The series was televised in starting with Crandon's race in 1989 on ESPN.[1] Series races appeared tape delayed on ESPN/ESPN2[4] (often during the winter months). ESPN covered the two trophy truck classes (4 and 8) along with 7S. ESPN2 started covering races in 1995.[5] It covered Classes 13, 9/10, and 1600.[6] The ESPN2 races featured Marty Reid as the lead announcer, Ivan Stewart as color commentator, and Jimmie Johnson as pit reporter.[5] In late 1996, SODA sanctioned the Chevrolet Off-Road Winter Series; drivers traveled across the country in the Glen Helen Raceway in California.[1]
In 1997, Sierra Entertainment released a SODA-themed racing video game called SODA Off-Road Racing!.
Many Wisconsin and Michigan tracks held races, including:
- Bark River Off-road Raceway, Bark River, Michigan[4]
- Crandon International Off-Road Raceway,[6] Crandon, Wisconsin
- Ionia Fairgrounds Speedway, Ionia, Michigan
- I-96 Speedway, Lake Odessa, Michigan
- Langlade County Speedway, Antigo, Wisconsin[4]
- Lake Geneva Raceway,[6][4] Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
- Luxemburg Speedway, Luxemburg, Wisconsin
- Milan Dragway,[6] Milan, Michigan
- RedBud MX, Buchanan, Michigan
- Road America,[6] Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
- Sunnyview Expo Center, Oshkosh, Wisconsin[4]
- Memorial Total Off-Road Rally, Dresser, Wisconsin
- Scott Douglas[4]
- Evan Evans, 1996 Class 13 Champion
- Walker Evans - 1994 and 1995 Class 4 champion
- Jack Flannery, 7-time series champion
- Brendan Gaughan[4] - 1995 Class 13 champion, 1996 Class 8 champion
- Johnny Greaves[4]
- Chad Hord[3]
- Jimmie Johnson[4]
- Jeff Kincaid
- Curt LeDuc
- Rob MacCachren, 1995 Class 4 champion
- Scott Taylor[4]
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