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    SUPRS Thanksgiving graphicSUPRS Thanksgiving Break
    November 20, 2024 5pm - December 2, 2024, 8am
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    We wish all of the SUPRS Members, sponsors, friends, fans, and supporters in the sim racing and real supermodified world a very Happy Thanksgiving. Please be safe in your travels and celebrations. We'll see you all for the Wing Side Up Twin 25s on December 3, 2024 at The Salem Speedway and Winchester Speedway!

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Category: SUPRS News

News about the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series including PR, website updates, race preview stories, and more.

SUPRS Vukovich III Classic Honors Legacy of Fresno Supermodified Racer

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April 13, 2020 – Dinuba, CA…The Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), has taken up residence in California for the final three races of the 2020 season, and the first of those three is the 16th Annual Billy Vukovich III Classic 100 presented by Supermodified Scorecard, a race that honors the legacy and contribution to supermodified racing by Fresno’s Billy Vukovich III, April 14 at Mesa Marin Raceway.

Supermodified Scorecard Proud to Sponsor Event

SUPRS co-founder John Davidson, of Sacramento, CA,  has sponsored this race since it’s inception through his Supermodified Scorecard business. His support is just as strong now as it ever was for a race that honors a fellow Californian.

“California-based Supermodified Scorecard continues to proudly sponsor the annual SUPRS sanctioned “Billy Vukovich III Classic” to recognize and honor his legacy and contribution to the supermodified division,” said Davidson.

Davidson is a three-time winner of the race and is one of four drivers to have won the prestigious supermodified sim racing event more than once.

About Billy Vukovich III

Billy Vukovich III was a three-time starter of Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, the first third generation racer to compete in the race and like his father and grandfather before him was named the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Rookie of the Year.

While many in the mainstream motor sports arena will remember Billy III as a rising star of the IndyCar ranks, the supermodified community will always claim him as one of their own. Starting out just like Bill Vukovich and Bill Vukovich II, Billy got his start in midgets in his home state of California and was a champion in that division. He quickly moved through the ranks to the supermodifieds and competed for famed supermodified car builder Jim Belfiore before moving to larger, better funded teams, like Vernon Reitz in California’s Central Valley.

During his supermodified tenure, Vukovich III claimed the 1986-87 USAC Supermodified Championship. In 1987 alone he won an incredible 12 of 17 races with a string of seven consecutive victories. He was also a two-time winner of the prestigious Copper World Classic at Phoenix International Raceway and was a threat to win when he competed at Madera Speedway in the Vernon Reitz “Spirit of Madera” machine.

Tragically, Vukovich III was killed while practicing for a CRA pavement sprint car event on November 25, 1990 at Mesa Marin Raceway. Billy was only 27 years old.

Vukovich Classic Important to Madera Speedway

While SUPRS is proud to honor the Vukovich legacy with it’s annual sim racing Classic, it’s important to note that each year Madera Speedway runs the Vukovich Classic in honor of all three generations of the racing Vukovich family. There is an annual Billy Vukovich III golf tournament held to raise funds for the Billy Vukovich III Scholarship Fund for students of Billy’s high school Yosemite High School where there is also a memorial honoring the 1981 graduate who loved meteorology and amateur weather forecasting.

Billy Vukovich III Classic Details

Supermodified racing at Mesa Marin with Billy Vukovich III & others

Practice begins at 8:00pm with Time Trials 8:30pm. The Fast Car Dash follows at 8:45pm to set the top four starting places for the
16th Annual running of the Billy Vukovich III Classic 100 presented by Supermodified Scorecard. The 100 lap feature at Mesa Marin Raceway should take the green flag around 9:10pm.

Watch the Vuky

Fans can enjoy all 100 laps of the 16th Annual running of the Billy Vukovich III Classic 100 via SUPRS LIVE! beginning at 9pm EST. Because it is a NASCAR Heat race, there will be no cautions making for a show that should take under 30 minutes to complete.

Part of Supermodified Challenge

The Billy Vukovich III Classic is part of the SUPRS/HeatFinder.net NASCAR Heat Supermodified Challenge, so fans may see some drivers that aren’t regulars on the SUPRS trail. Last year, multi-Time ARL HeatFinder.net Champion, Dave Ohh, of Union, CT, surprised everyone when won the race as a rookie.

This year, Ohh is on a seven race win streak and will try to become the fifth driver in SUPRS history to win more than one “Vuky Classic.” Ohh is one of five former winners expected to compete including three-time winner Steve Callahan, two-time winner Bob Gangwer, current SUPRS Champion Rob Warren, and 2018 winner, Keith Powell.

Get Social with SUPRS

Fans can learn more about the supermodified division and the original supermodified sim sanction, the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, by visiting www.SUPRS.net. Join SUPRS active and vibrant Social Media channels by  “Liking” SUPRS on Facebook, Following @SUPRSOnline on Twitter, and viewing SUPRS videos on YouTube. See us live and join our chat on Twitch.

SUPRS Billy Vukovich III Classic 100 History – Mesa Marin Raceway

  • 2005: Bud Flath (NH-63L)
  • 2006: John Davidson (NH-75L)
  • 2007: Devin Gee (NH-75L)
  • 2008: John Davidson (NH-75L)
  • 2009: Ray Sand, Jr. (NH-75L)
  • 2010: Bobby Gangwer (NH-100L)
  • 2011: John Davidson (NH-100L)
  • 2012: Steve Callahan (NH-100L)
  • 2013: Steve Callahan (NH-100L)
  • 2014: Rob Warren (NH-100L)
  • 2015: Ray Sand, Jr. (NH-100L)
  • 2016: Bobby Gangwer (NH-100L)
  • 2017: Steve Callahan (NH-100L)
  • 2018: Keith Powell (NH-100L)
  • 2019: Dave Ohh (NH-100L)

“Supermodified Sim Racing for the Right Reasons” since 2004

Supermodified Sim Racers Invade The Bullring for Jeff Russell Special April 7

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April 4, 2020 – Carson City, NV…The Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), drivers are ready to invade The Bullring for the Jeff Russell Special on April 7, 2020 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This supermodified sim race will help raise awareness about it’s namesake, who continues to recover from injuries in a 2010 supermodified crash at this track.

SUPRS Invades Vegas April 7 for Jeff Russell Special at The Bullring (poster by Borderline Enterpises with art from BreezeGraphics.com)

Help SUPRS Help Jeff

It is the goal of SUPRS to help people remember that Russell, a native of Boise, ID, continues to heal from injuries incurred during the last practice session for the Supermodified Racing Association, (SMRA), ”Night of Fire” event at The Bullring in Las Vegas, NV on October 30, 2010.

Jeff continues to heal from Traumatic Brain Injury as well as other injuries and in the nearly 10 years since the accident, has endured multiple surgeries at great expense. Jeff’s medical bills have been hard on his family, but you can help. During the race and from April 6 to April 12, 2020, all donations to the Dion Parish Memorial Benevolent Fund for Supermodifieds will benefit the Jeff Russell Road to Recovery Fund.

Click “Donate” in the main navigation and when you make a donation of any amount, SUPRS will forward that donation to help aid in Jeff’s continued healing and recovery.

Leave Jeff a Get Well Note

You can visit Jeff Russell’s website to leave a note of encouragement and just to say you are thinking about him. While Jeff may not respond personally, he is always happy to hear from friends and fans that haven’t forgotten him.

Watch the Jeff Russell Special Live

The SUPRS Jeff Russell Special rfactor supermodified sim race is a family friendly live streaming show. SUPRS will broadcast the Heat Races and the 85 lap feature on SUPRS LIVE! beginning at 9:00pm est. Fans can enjoy the action as well as stats, track telemetry and official scoring and timing charts.

More Race Details

Practice begins at 8:00pm with Time Trials 8:30pm. The six lap Fast Car Dash follows at 8:45pm for the Fast Four qualifiers of the SUPRS Jeff Russell Special. All the drivers then must race a qualifying heat at 9:05pm. It’s expected that the feature race should take the green flag around 9:20pm.

View Jeff Russell Race Data Sheet

Get Social with SUPRS

Fans can learn more about the supermodified division and the original supermodified sim sanction, the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, by visiting www.SUPRS.net. Join SUPRS active and vibrant Social Media channels by  “Liking” SUPRS on Facebook, Following @SUPRSOnline on Twitter, and viewing SUPRS videos on YouTube. See us live and join our chat on Twitch.

SUPRS Jeff Russell Special History

  • 2017 Jeff Russell Special Winner: Kyle Clark
  • 2018 Jeff Russell Special Winner: Steve Callahan
  • 2019 Jeff Russell Special Winner: Dave Ohh

Note: Rob Warren won a non-wing supermodified show at The Bullring in 2016 that was not the Jeff Russell Special

“Supermodified Sim Racing for the Right Reasons” since 2004

SUPRS Copper World Classic Supermodified Sim Race March 31 at Phoenix

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SUPRS Copper World Classic XVI presented by Kern Motorsports Has Wing and Non-Wing Supermodifieds at Phoenix International Raceway

March 27, 2020 – Maricopa, AZ…The stars and cars of the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), are ready to offer a slight distraction from the chaos of the world as they close out the month of March with the SUPRS Copper World Classic XVI presented by Kern Motorsports on March 31 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Wing and non-wing supermodifieds take center stage at SUPRS Copper World Classic XVI presented by Kern Motorsports on March 31 at PIR. (Poster by Borderline Enterprises/BreezeGraphics.com)

Marquee Event

The SUPRS Copper World Classic has been held since the first year of the sanction and is one of the marquee events on the SUPRS schedule, with exciting 25-lap features for both the wing and non-wing supermodifieds.

The event means so much to a supermodified sim racer because it is modeled after the popular Copper World Classic held annually at PIR, (now called ISM Raceway), from 1977-2009. With Phoenix International Raceway, (now known as ISM Raceway), being built specifically to be the home of open-wheel racing in the west, it was only natural that the mighty supermodifieds would eventually find a home there.

The supermodifieds were a part of the Copper World Classic from 1984 to 2002 with one year off in 1991. On a couple of occasions the supermodifieds ran without wings, and on others both wing and non-wing supers could be seen on track at the same time. So the SUPRS version tries to give fans the best of both worlds by running both types of cars on the same night.

Davey Hamilton has the most Copper World Classic wins with five and Troy Regier has the record for most wins in a row at three. Doug Saunier was the very first winner and Lonnie Adamson was the last supermodified winner of the Copper World Classic.

Feature start for supermodifieds at Copper World Classic 2001
Here’s the full #supermodified field on their warm-up lap for the 2001 Copper World Classic at Phoenix International Raceway.(B&G Racing Photos-Bob Gangwer)

SUPRS Copper World Classic Details

Practice for the SUPRS Copper World Classic XVI presented by Kern Motorsports begins at 7:30pm with non-wing supermodifieds. The wing supermodifieds practice from 7:45 to 8:00pm before the Drivers Meeting. Time Trials for the wing supers are at 8:15pm and non-wing Time Trials follow at 8:30pm.

The format for SUPRS Copper World Classic XVI presented by Kern Motorsports is nearly identical to the old WSST, NSRA formats and has been used at Kern’s request since coming on board as a race sponsor in 2004. Racing on “The Desert Mile” begins with the eight lap heat races for wing supermodifieds at 9:05pm. Immediately following the redraw for the finishers of the heat race, the the wing supers head onto the mile for their 25 lap feature first at around 9:15pm. Then the non-wing 25 lap feature should take the green flag around 9:30pm ET.

Points for both feature finishes are added up to determine the overall SUPRS Copper World Classic XVI presented by Kern Motorsports Champion.

View Copper World Classic Format

Watch Live Supermodified Sim Racing from PIR

Cheer on your favorite SUPRS racers while you view timing, scoring, track telemetry , stats and live streaming video of all the racing from the SUPRS Copper World Classic XVI presented by Kern Motorsports at Phoenix International Raceway when we go “Live @ 9pm est via the SUPRS LIVE! page.

Get Social with SUPRS

Fans can learn more about the supermodified division and the original supermodified sim sanction, the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, by visiting www.SUPRS.net. Join SUPRS active and vibrant Social Media channels by  “Liking” SUPRS on Facebook, Following @SUPRSOnline on Twitter, and viewing SUPRS videos on YouTube. See us live and join our chat on Twitch.

SUPRS Copper World Classic-Wing Winners/Champions-Phoenix International

  • 2005 SUPRS Copper World Classic Champion: JP Curry-PA
  • 2006 SUPRS Copper World Classic Champion: John Davidson-CA
  • 2007 SUPRS Copper World Classic Champion: Chuck Russell-MO
  • 2008 SUPRS Copper World Classic Champion: Kris Heveron-FL
  • 2009 SUPRS Copper World Classic Champion: Bobby Gangwer-IN
  • 2010 SUPRS Copper World Classic Champion: Chad Phelps-NY
  • 2011 SUPRS Copper World Classic Champion: Jeff Weber-IN
  • 2012 SUPRS Copper World Classic Champion: Ray Sand, Jr.-NY
  • 2013 SUPRS Copper World Classic Champion: John Davidson-CA
  • 2014 SUPRS Copper World Classic Champion: Ray Sand, Jr.-NY
  • 2015 SUPRS Copper World Classic Champion: Steve Callahan-OH
  • 2016 SUPRS Copper World Classic Winner: Bobby Gangwer-IN
  • 2017 SUPRS Copper World Classic Winner: Nelson Rodrigues-MA
  • 2018 SUPRS Copper World Classic Winner: Nelson Rodrigues-MA
  • 2019 SUPRS Copper World Classic Winner: Keith Powell-OH

SUPRS Copper World Classic-Non-Winged Winners – Phoenix International Raceway

  • 2014 SUPRS Copper World Classic Winner: Steve Callahan-OH
  • 2015 SUPRS Copper World Classic Winner: Myles Maxon-NY
  • 2016 SUPRS Copper World Classic Winner: Ray Sand, Jr.-NY
  • 2017 SUPRS Copper World Classic Winner: Joe Achzet-NY
  • 2018 SUPRS Copper World Classic Winner: Rob Warren-NY
  • 2019 SUPRS Copper World Classic Winner: Dave Ohh-CT

SUPRS Copper World Classic Wing/Non-Wing Combined Champions

  • 2016 SUPRS Copper World Classic Champion: Ray Sand, Jr.
  • 2017 SUPRS Copper World Classic Champion: Joe Achzet
  • 2018 SUPRS Copper World Classic Champion: Nelson Rodrigues
  • 2019 SUPRS Copper World Classic Champion: Dave Ohh

(Note: Before 2016, the winner of the wing supermodified race was the SUPRS Copper World Classic Champion)

“Supermodified Sim Racing for the Right Reasons” since 2004

SUPRS Western Swing Continues with Show Me State 50 at I-70

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March 21, 2020 – Goshen, IN… The Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), “Western Swing” really gets rolling on March 24 with the Show Me State 50 at I-70 Speedway in Odessa, MO. This is the third year now that SUPRS has visited the high-banked 1/2 mile as part of the Western Swing that started last week in Wisconsin at Madison Int’l Speedway and ends in California on April 29 with the 16th Annual Summit Classic 125 at Madera Speedway.

SUPRS 2020 Show Me State 50
The SUPRS Western Swing rolls into I-70 Speedway for the Show Me State 50 on March 24. (Poster by Borderline Enterprises)

Two Races, Two Cautions, Two Winners

In the inaugural Show Me State 50 back in 2018, Nelson Rodrigues won a thrilling 50 lap feature that had just one caution and took only twelve minutes to complete. Then last year, Keith Powell won another barn-burner in a race that also had just one caution, but three different leaders. It too was a fast one as it took only 12:06 minutes to complete. 2019 Icings on Top Rookie of the Year contenders, Dave Ohh, and Brad Keysor followed Powell across the line less than one second behind.

Considering how tough it is to keep the car under control over the rough pavement and high-speed banks, it was a surprise to everyone that the first two races nearly went caution free.

Taking it to the Banks on Tuesday

SUPRS Western Swing rolls on with the Show Me State 50 on Tuesday March 24, 2020 at I-70 Speedway in Odessa, MO.  Practice begins at 8:00pm with Time Trials 8:30pm. The Fast Car Dash follows at 8:45pm prior to the start of the SUPRS LIVE! broadcast. Heat races go off at 9:05pm and the feature should take the green flag around 9:20pm.

SEE FULL FORMAT of SUPRS Show Me State 50

SUPRS Shows You the Action

Fans and friends can hang out while enjoying the SUPRS racers fight to hang onto their high-speed, radically offset virtual supermodifieds as they battle the banks and uneven pavement of I-70 on SUPRS LIVE! Featuring Live Timing, Scoring, Track Telemetry and Streaming Video, it’s the perfect place to cheer on your favorite SUPRS racer. Visit www.SUPRS.net/site/Live.

Get Social with SUPRS

Fans can learn more about the supermodified division and the original supermodified sim sanction, the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, by visiting www.SUPRS.net. Join the conversation on SUPRS active Social Media channels by  “Liking” SUPRS on Facebook, Following @SUPRSOnline on Twitter, and viewing SUPRS videos on YouTube. On race nights, watch us live and join our chat on Twitch.

Show Me State 50 History:

  • 2018-Nelson Rodrigues-Time of Race: 12:49.408
  • 2019-Keith Powell-Time of Race:12:06.119

“Supermodified Sim Racing for the Right Reasons” since 2004

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