The Short-course Off-road Drivers Association (usually abbreviated as SODA) was a short course

off-road racing Off-road racing is a form of motorsports consisting of specially-modified vehicles including cars, SUVs, trucks, motorbikes, quadbikes and buggies racing in off-road environments (e.g. snow, dirt, mud, etc.). North America Desert racing D ...

sanctioning body in the United States.

History

SODA began as a

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

off-road racing series in the early 1970s. Most races were held in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

but a few were held in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. The crown jewel of the series was the off-road championship event held at the

Crandon International Off-Road Raceway The Crandon International Off-Road Raceway is a short course off-road racing racetrack, located near Crandon, Wisconsin, United States on U.S. Route 8. The course hosts the World Championship Off-Road Races, Red Bull World Cup, Forest County Po ...

- 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 The Volkswagen Beetle, officially the Volkswagen Type 1, is a small family car produced by the German company Volkswagen from 1938 to 2003. One of the most iconic cars in automotive history, the Beetle is noted for its distinctive shape. Its pr ...

called Baja Bugs),

pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a Truck_classification#Table_of_US_GVWR_classifications, light or medium duty truck that has an enclosed cabin (truck), cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (th ...

s, 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.

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 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 *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

Television

The series was televised in starting with Crandon's race in 1989 on

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

. Series races appeared tape delayed on

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially ...

, 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 (often during the winter months). ESPN covered the two trophy truck classes (4 and 8) along with 7S. ESPN2 started covering races in 1995. It covered Classes 13, 9/10, and 1600. The ESPN2 races featured Marty Reid as the lead announcer,

Ivan Stewart Ivan "Ironman" Stewart (born June 4, 1945) is an American former professional off road racing driver. Stewart started racing professionally in 1973, aged 27. He was one of the most successful off-road racing drivers with 84 wins and 15 championsh ...

as color commentator, and

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club. Johnson has won seven Cup ch ...

as pit reporter. In late 1996, SODA sanctioned the Chevrolet Off-Road Winter Series; drivers traveled across the country in the Glen Helen Raceway in California.

Video game

In 1997,

Sierra Entertainment Sierra Entertainment, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher founded in 1979 by Ken Williams (game developer), Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is ...

released a SODA-themed racing video game called ''

SODA Off-Road Racing ''SODA Off-Road Racing'' is an off-road racing simulation released for both DOS and Windows PCs. The game was based on the SODA series but featured only fantasy vehicles and tracks. The game was developed by Software Allies, a collaboration o ...

!''.

Tracks that held races

Many Wisconsin and Michigan tracks held races, including: * Bark River Off-road Raceway,

Bark River, Michigan Bark River is an unincorporated community located in Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Bark River Township near the Bark River, from which it is named. It is situated on U.S. Highway 2 and U.S. Highway 41 about 13 ...

Crandon, Wisconsin Crandon is a city in Forest County, Wisconsin, United States; it is in the northeastern part of the state, about north of Green Bay. The population was 1,713 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Forest County and is the only inco ...

* Ionia Fairgrounds Speedway,

Ionia, Michigan Ionia ( ) is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Ionia County, Michigan, United States. The population was 13,378 at the 2020 census. Every July it hosts what is said to be the world's largest free-admission fair, the Ionia Free Fair ...

* I-96 Speedway,

Lake Odessa, Michigan Lake Odessa is a village in Ionia County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,018 at the 2010 census. It is located in the southern portion of the county in Odessa Township on the northeast shore of Jordan Lake, which is the boun ...

* Langlade County Speedway,

Antigo, Wisconsin Antigo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Langlade County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 8,100 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Antigo is the center of a farming and lumbering district, and its manufactured prod ...

Lake Geneva Raceway Lake Geneva Raceway (also known as LGR) was a motocross, demolition derby, off-road racing, stock car, and kart racing racetrack in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, US. It was billed as "Wisconsin's Busiest Racetrack." The track closed on December 31, 2 ...

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin Lake Geneva is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located in Walworth County and situated on Geneva Lake, it was home to 8,277 people as of the 2020 census, up from 7,651 at the 2010 census. It is located southwest of Milwaukee and no ...

* Luxemburg Speedway, Luxemburg, Wisconsin * Milan Dragway,

Milan, Michigan Milan ( or ) is a city in Monroe and Washtenaw counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,079 at the 2020 census. The community was settled as early as 1831. Milan incorporated as a village in 1885 and much later as a city ...

* RedBud MX,

Buchanan, Michigan Buchanan is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,300 at the 2020 census. The city is located at the southeast corner of Buchanan Township, about west of Niles. History The community was named after Ja ...

Road America Road America is a motorsport Road racing, road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the IndyCar Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship, Sports Car Club ...

Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin Elkhart Lake is a village in northwestern Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 941 at the 2020 census. It is located within the Town of Rhine and is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin metropolitan area. Elkhart Lake m ...

* Sunnyview Expo Center,

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 66,816 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List o ...

* Memorial Total Off-Road Rally, Dresser, Wisconsin

Drivers

* Scott Douglas * Evan Evans, 1996 Class 13 Champion *

Walker Evans Walker Evans (November 3, 1903 – April 10, 1975) was an American photographer and photojournalist best known for his work for the Resettlement Administration and the Farm Security Administration (FSA) documenting the effects of the Great ...

- 1994 and 1995 Class 4 champion * Jack Flannery, 7-time series champion *

Brendan Gaughan William Brendan Gaughan (born July 10, 1975) is an American former professional racing driver who has competed in off-road racing, off-road and stock car racing, stock cars. He is the grandson of Las Vegas Valley, Vegas gaming pioneer Jackie Gaug ...

- 1995 Class 13 champion, 1996 Class 8 champion * Johnny Greaves *

Chad Hord Chad Hord (born August 21, 1976) is a professional American off-road racing driver from Felch, Michigan. As of 2012, he races a PRO 2 short course truck in the Traxxas TORC Series (TORC). In 1995, he began racing in Short-course Off-road Drivers ...

* Jeff Kincaid * Curt LeDuc *

Rob MacCachren Rob MacCachren (born March 24, 1965) is an American off-road racer from Las Vegas, Nevada. MacCachren won over 200 off-road races including seven editions of the Baja 1000. He raced the Mickey Thompson Stadium Series early in his career and ...

, 1995 Class 4 champion * Scott Taylor

References

External links

1997 Crandon Spring results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soda Auto racing organizations in the United States Off-road racing Off-road racing series