The Short-course Off-road Drivers Association (usually abbreviated as SODA) was an off-road racing sanctioning body in the United States.

Contents 1 History 2 Video game 3 Classes 4 Tracks that held races 5 Drivers 6 References 7 External links

[edit] History

SODA began as a Midwestern United States off-road racing series in the early 1970s.^[1] The series was televised in the 1980s and 1990s. Series races appeared tape delayed on ESPN/ESPN2^[2] (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.

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.

[edit] Video game

In 1997, Sierra Entertainment released a SODA-themed racing video game called SODA Off-Road Racing.

[edit] 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 6 Modified passenger cars, and later 2wd SUV's
• 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 13, 2 wheel-drive full sized trucks with more restrictions than Class 8
• Heavy Metal, combined race with Class 4 and Class 8 trucks
• SODA Light A small single seat short wheel base buggy with a small CC snowmobile engine

[edit] 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

[edit] Drivers

• Scott Douglas
• Walker Evans - 1994 and 1995 Class 4 (2WD) Series champion
• Jack Flannery, 7-time series champion
• Brendan Gaughan - NASCAR driver (1995 Class 13 champion, 1996 Class 8 champion)
• Johnny Greaves
• Jimmie Johnson
• Jeff Kincaid
• Curt LeDuc
• Rob MacCachren, 1995 Class 4 champion
• Art Schmidt

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• 1997 Crandon Spring results

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