Short-course Off-road Drivers Association

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

Short-Course Off-Road Drivers Association
SportShort course off road racing
JurisdictionMidwestern United States
AbbreviationSODA
Founded1970s (1970s)[1]
CEOJeff Conway[1]
Closure datecirca 1997[1]

History

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 Bug), pickup trucks, 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.

Classes
  • 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 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 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 A small single-seat short-wheelbase buggy with a small CC snowmobile engine

Television

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]

Video game

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

Tracks that held races

Many Wisconsin and Michigan tracks held races, including:

Drivers
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References
  1. "SODA/CORR/TORC". shortcourseracer.com. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  2. "Background on CORR". Championship Off-Road Racing. October 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  3. "Road America". True Value Off Road Series. 1995. 33 minutes in. ESPN2.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-05-19. Retrieved 2007-09-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), 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
  5. "Road America". True Value Off Road Series. 1995. 1 minutes in. ESPN2.
  6. "Road America". True Value Off Road Series. 1995. 58 minutes in. ESPN2.
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