Category: SUPRS News

Double Header of NASCAR Heat & rFactor to Celebrate America’s Birthday

June 26, 2020 – Goshen, IN…The Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), drivers return to action June 30, 2020 at Oswego Speedway and will celebrate America’s birthday a few days early with the running of the popular “Independence Day Twin 35s.” Action from the NASCAR Heat and rFactor non-wing supermodified sim racing double-header is scheduled to be carried live on the SUPRS Broadcasting Network beginning at 9pm ET.

Oldest Race on Non-Wing Schedule

Not only will SUPRS celebrate freedom and Independence Day, they’ll also celebrate the anniversary of SUPRS very first points race for the SUPRS Gold Crest Non-Wing Supermodified Championship which came on July 6, 2005. The debut of the non-wing supermodifieds for sim racing across the world came with the running of the Independence Day Twin 25s at Jennerstown Speedway. Californian and future SUPRS Champion, John Davidson, and Canadian Sean Gibbs won those races.

Since then, the event has been held at Jennerstown Speedway three other times, including a special 15^th Anniversary Edition last year. Beginning in 2008 the race moved to the newly designed Oswego Speedway and has been held there each time the event has been run except for 2011 when Bristol Motor Speedway hosted the show, last year when Richmond Int’l Raceway hosted the second race, and 2012 and 2015 when the event was not held.

Slight Twist to Old Event

The 2020 version of SUPRS Independence Day Twin 35s features a slight twist to the ageless event. After successfully using both NASCAR Heat and rFactor, (albeit at two different tracks), in 2019, this year’s event will do so for the first time at the same track.

The added dimension of having to master two different sim racing games should prove to make the evening that much harder to master, and provide fans with more storylines to enjoy during the live broadcast.

Tough to Sweep Both Features

Because of the format and the short race distance, sweeping both features for the night has been very uncommon. Just three drivers have accomplished the tall order, and only one has done it more than once.

Kris Heveron was the first to pull off the sweep when he won both 45 lap features at Jennerstown in 2008. It took eight years before it would happen again and it was a surprise to everyone when Chad Phelps, who had never won a SUPRS feature in six years of trying, won both 35 laps features the first time the event was contested using rFactor at Oswego Speedway.

Then, the very next year, Rob Warren, after starting fourth in the first 35 and sixth in the second, joined Heveron and Phelps in that rare club of drivers that have swept both races of the Independence Day Twins. In fact, last year Warren surpassed Heveron on the Independence Day Twins All-Time Win List when he won his fifth overall.

Other Former Winners Expected

Joining Warren as former winners of at least one of the Independence Day Twins are Steve Callahan, Gary Waldron, and Keith Powell, all of whom are expected to compete on June 30.

Callahan has two total Independence Day wins, both coming at Oswego Speedway, and both using the NASCAR Heat platform. Callhan’s first win was in 2010 in the second feature and his second came in 2013, also in the second.

Waldron, who’s had an up and down season so far this summer, but has finished as high as third, won the second 40 lap feature at Jennerstown Speedway in 2006.

Meanwhile, Powell, who is enduring the worst season of his career, finishing just one of the previous four SUPRS features, is the driver that kept Rob Warren having three Independence Day sweeps. Powell won the first feature in 2018.

Race Details

Official practice for the SUPRS “Independence Day Twin 35s” begins at 8:00pm. There is a Drivers meeting at 8:15pm. Racing is set to start at 8:30pm with the first of two 10 lap qualifying heat races. The green flag for the first 35 lap feature is schedule to fly at about 9:05pm.

More details, including full format and schedule of events are available on the SUPRS Schedule. SUPRS members should check the Forums for the latest info on server times and passwords.

This race is also part of the SUPRS/HeatFinder.net NASCAR Heat Supermodified Challenge which is open to the public. The only requirement is that a driver has registered his intent to compete as a Silver Crest division driver using the SUPRS join form, and has downloaded the SUPRS NW2 mod and SUPRS Oswego Speedway v2 for NASCAR Heat. Both are available at TheModSquad.info as well as SUPRS.net.

Watch, Listen, Enjoy

The 2006 Independence Day Twins were two of the very first SUPRS, and supermodified sim racing, events to be featured on a live broadcast. So it’s no surpise that supermodified, and online racing fans will be able to watch live streaming video of the “Independence Day Twin 35s” once again this year. Fans keep up with their favorite SUPRS racer by following along with live video, commentary, instant timing and scoring, stats, and track telemetry at www.SUPRS.net/site/live.

Get Social with SUPRS

Fans of supermodified racing and online sim racers alike can learn more about the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series by visiting www.SUPRS.net, “Liking” SUPRS on Facebook, Circling SUPRS on Google+, Following @SUPRSOnline on Twitter, and Viewing SUPRS videos on YouTube.

SUPRS Independence Day Twins History:

*=NASCAR Heat, **=rFactor

“Supermodified Sim Racing for the Right Reasons” since 2004