Category: SUPRS News

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

Empire State Super Series Race Features Blind Date

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Empire State Super Series Tour Gets Rolling on January 19

Goshen, IN – January 17, 2016…The Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), Empire State Super Series Regional Tour will begin a new season with a race on Tuesday, and it’s anybody’s guess as to which track will be run.

SUPRS Empire State Super Series Blind Date poster
You’re never flying blind when you use graphics from BreezeGraphics.com!

The Empire State Super Series is composed of anywhere between three to six races stretched out over a period of one year and two SUPRS Gold Crest Seasons and featuring races run at tracks in the state of New York.

This year the regional series is getting a later than normal start, but will get rolling with a bang as it’s a SUPRS Blind Date Night where one of three tracks will be chosen just before the race.

This interesting twist has been a SUPRS tradition since the beginning of the sanction and, like real blind dates where you never know how things will turn out, it’s been a fun event that  some drivers loathe and other drivers love.

Sand, Jr. has more ESS championships than any other driver and had a string of five in a row until 2013-14 Empire State Super Series Champion Steve Callahan put an end to his dominance. Sand, Jr. is the current point leader in the SUPRS Gold Crest Wing Season Championship standings.

Rob Warren has been Sand, Jr.’s closest challenger all season with six wins on the 2015-16 Season Championship to Sand, Jr.’s seven and has run well in his state in the past.

2013-14 Empire State Super Series Champion Steve Callahan who finished third last year in the overall standings, has yet to record a win this season, but usually starts to pick up momentum around the halfway point of the season and is the only other previous ESS Champion expected to compete.

Practice gets under way at 8:00pm with Time Trials at 8:30pm and Racing at 9:00pm.

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

NOTE: This post has been revised to correct a misprint concerning the 2014-15 ESS Championship and a misprint that incorrectly stated the the current ESS Championship season had already begun. These corrections were made on 1/20/2016.

Sand, Jr. Shooting for Fifth Terry Gibson Memorial

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Ray Sand, Jr. Has Four Terry Gibson Memorials in a Row

Goshen, IN – January 10, 2015…The Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS),  is proud to present the 8th Annual Terry Gibson Memorial this week and Ray Sand, Jr. will be looking to win his fifth in a row.

SUPRS Terry Gibson Memorial sim race poster

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Featuring two nights of racing and honoring the late Terry Gibson, the SUPRS pilots will be looking to pick up valuable championship points and more importantly the prestige of being named 2016 Terry Gibson Memorial Champion.

Gibson lost his life during a heat race for the Midwest Supermodified Association at Toledo Speedway on July 18, 2008. Terry is survived by his wife Linda, son, Ryan W. Gibson; a daughter, Lindsay N. Kincaid; his mother and father Todd & Brenda Gibson, two brothers, Gene Lee (Lucinda) Gibson, Sandusky; Larry (Lisa) Gibson, Marysville; and a sister, Deb (Randy McElroy) Brady, Richwood.  Brother Jeff (Shannon) Gibson followed Terry in death in 2012.

The special two-day show is one of several memorial races SUPRS holds throughout the season and with many members of SUPRS claiming the real Sandusky Speedway as their home track, there is a lot of excitement about racing at the online version of Sandusky Speedway Tuesday and Wednesday.

Everything kicks off at 8pm Tuesday, January 12 with practice for the Terry Gibson Fast 50 which many of the drivers use as a tune up for the next night. The winner of this race becomes a guaranteed starter for the Terry Gibson Memorial 100 which takes place on Wednesday, January 13.

Winning the Terry Gibson Memorial 100 will make that driver a guaranteed starter for the 12th Annual SUPRS  Summit 125 coming up at the end of the season.

Since the inception of the 100 lap event, there have been only three drivers to win it, making this race one of the hardest to win.

Oswego, New York’s “Mighty” Myles Maxon brought home the inaugural race in 2009.  In 2010 Californian John Davidson won and then Maxon came back in 2011 to win amid a controversial finish that resulted in Dave Biro III being penalized for rough driving and disqualified.

Ray Sand, Jr. battled Fast 50 winner Joe Achzet and came out on top for the win in 2012. Then in 2013, he joined Myles Maxon as a two-time winner of this event and became the first racer to win it back to back. In 2014, the Rochester, NY native made a surprise pass on leader Steve Callahan to win his third straight Terry Gibson Memorial 100.

Ray Sand Jr. Terry Gibson Memorial 2015 winner

Ray Sand, Jr. became a four-time Terry Gibson Memorial winner in 2015.

Last year, Sand, Jr.,  had run only a part-time schedule and with Myles Maxon on a hot streak, many believed Sand, Jr. would struggle to finish on the podium let alone win. Sand, Jr. surprised everyone and swept both nights and after leading every single feature lap in both races,  taking home an unprecedented fourth win in the 100.

Sand, Jr. is also the current track record holder at Sandusky Speedway. His time of 14.329 dates back to 2011. He has been fast qualifier for this race a record four times and has won the Fast 50 prelim three times and with six wins total at this track, it can easily be said that “The Sandman” savors Sandusky.

Veteran SUPRS pilot “Steady” Steve Callahan of Cayuhoga Falls, OH has been absent from the track lately but if he makes it, will be another driver to watch.

His recent string of podium finishes and stellar performance in last three Terry Gibson Memorial 100 races indicates that Callahan is a threat to the Sand, Jr. and Maxon dominance of this race. For three years in a row, it looked like Callahan had a lock on the top step of the podium only to have his hopes dashed in the closing stages of each race.

suprs-terry-gibson-memorial-2014-10-togo

Just under ten laps to go in the 2014 race and here come the top three behind the hard charging Waldron(10) and his teammate Carl Becker(42).

2014 was particularly heart-breaking as he met lapped traffic with less than ten laps to go, losing the lead and win to Sand, Jr. Callahan has never been out of the top 10 finishing positions of this race and counts this race as one he dearly wants to win.

Joining the aforementioned trio as contenders is “Rocket” Rob Warren. Warren is chasing Sand, Jr. in the points and, like the points leader, has six feature wins so far this season.

Three times since 2012 the driver of the 1st to Finish Docks & Hoists machine has crossed the line in third place. His worst finish on record being P13 in 2011. This race could be the one that helps Warren close the 82 point gap to Sand, Jr. in the point standings.

Dave Brigandi, Bob Gangwer, and Domenic Gioia are also expected to battle it out at Sandusky.

Doug “Flash” Forgue built the SUPRS version of Sandusky Speedway as part of SUPRS ongoing commitment to focus on race tracks that have traditionally featured supermodified racing. Development began in June of 2008, with the final product being released in September 2008.

Fans can learn more about the original and oldest online supermodified sim sanction, the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, when they visit www.SUPRS.net. Join SUPRS active and vibrant Social Media channels by  “Liking” SUPRS on Facebook, Circling SUPRS on Google+, Following @SUPRSOnline on Twitter, and viewing SUPRS videos on YouTube.

Terry Gibson Memorial 100-Wing-Sandusky Speedway

  • 2009 Terry Gibson Memorial 100 Champion: Myles Maxon
  • 2010 Terry Gibson Memorial 100 Champion: John Davidson
  • 2011 Terry Gibson Memorial 100 Champion: Myles Maxon
  • 2012 Terry Gibson Memorial 100 Champion: Ray Sand, Jr.
  • 2013 Terry Gibson Memorial 100 Champion: Ray Sand, Jr.
  • 2014 Terry Gibson Memorial 100 Champion: Ray Sand, Jr.
  • 2015 Terry Gibson Memorial 100 Champion: Ray Sand, Jr.

Terry Gibson Fast 50-Wing-Sandusky Speedway

  • 2009 Terry Gibson Fast 50 Winner: Dave Biro III
  • 2010 Terry Gibson Fast 50 Winner: Jamie Hartley
  • 2011 Terry Gibson Fast 50 Winner: Ray Sand, Jr.
  • 2012 Terry Gibson Fast 50 Winner: Joe Achzet
  • 2013 Terry Gibson Fast 50 Winner: Ray Sand, Jr.
  • 2014 Terry Gibson Fast 50 Winner: Canceled
  • 2015 Terry Gibson Fast 50 Winner: Ray Sand, Jr.

SUPRS Racers Back from Break, Headed to Cayuga

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Crazy Canuck Snowball Derby at Cayuga Speedway Next for SUPRS

Goshen, IN – January 3, 2016….After a two-week break to allow members to spend time with family and friends for the Christmas and New Year holidays, the stars of the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series will fire up their online sim supermodifieds for the first time of the new year for the 12th Annual Crazy Canuck Snowball Derby on January 5, 2016 at Cayuga Speedway.

SUPRS Crazy Canuck Snowball Derby at Cayuga Speedway poster

Thanks to BreezeGraphics.com we always have great looking promotional posters!

Myles Maxon of Oswego, NY is the defending winner of the race and was on the winning Snowball Derby Challenge team with Domenic Gioia last year. Maxon is one of three multi-time winners of the race and has been a member of a  Snowball Derby Challenge winning team twice.

While it’s unlikely fans will see the defending series wing sim supermodified champion on the track this year, it’s interesting to note that from 2006-2010 he never finished below seventh, finished on the podium once and in the top five a total of four times during that span. Maxon also won the Summit Classic 125 the one and only time it was ever held at Cayuga Speedway in 2010.

Domenic Gioia joined Maxon in victory lane to receive the Snowball Derby Championship Crown last year. The pair finished the night with 130 points, tying Bob Gangwer and Dave Brigandi for the team championship, but received the winners laurels based on highest finishing team member.

Of the current top five in the SUPRS Gold Crest Wing Championship standings, only one has won this event and that is Sand, Jr.

With three Snowball Derby wins to his name, as well as being the current track record holder, (a mark that has stood since 2009),  Ray “The Sandman” Sand, Jr. is considered the man to beat at Cayuga Speedway.

Last year he led the first 26 laps of the race and looked to be on his way to another win but dropped out of the race just past the half-way point. This year he’s in the midst of a battle for top spot on the SUPRS Gold Crest Wing Championship standings with SUPRS most recent winner Rob Warren.

Rob Warren in Christmas Special victory lane

Rob Warren is hot this season. Is he hot enough to melt Ray Sand, Jr.’s record at Cayuga?

Rob Warren may have the fewest Crazy Canuck Snowball Derby starts of the top three in the current point standings, but he comes into this year’s event holding the most wins of the season at six, and will be looking for his third feature win in a row. Warren has missed one Derby, (in 2011), but has finished no lower than 12th, (2010), and has two sixth place finishes (2012, 2013) in the Cayuga Speedway races he’s run. Last year he finished fourth and has also been on the podium as part of a Snowball Derby Challenge winning team in 2013.

While Sand, Jr. and Warren battle at the top of the point standings, Steve Callahan has had a rough start so far, missing a couple of races including the Christmas Special which was the last race of 2015.

Regardless, Callahan’s name is synonymous with starts at Cayuga. Callahan has finished no lower than sixth place since 2010 and has been a model of consistency at Cayuga while living up to his “Steady Steve” nickname, making every race at Cayuga Speedway since becoming a member and placing no lower than 15th place since his first Crazy Canuck Snowball Derby run in 2006.

The competitors will not only be racing against each other but they will also pair up into two-man teams where the slowest matches up with the fastest from time trials. Each member of the team will work throughout the night to gain the most points possible for the overall Snowball Derby Challenge Championship.

Missing only one race since the first one in 2005 and tied with Steve Callahan for most Crazy Canuck Snowball Derby feature starts is Bob Gangwer. Having never won the race, Gangwer does have the distinction of being on the Snowball Derby Championship Team the most often. Gangwer joined with Jim Davidson,(2006), Dan Brigandi, (2007), Jamie Hartley, (2010), and Ed Riley, (2011), for a total of four Snowball Derby Championships.

Time Trials, Canadian Pursuit, Heats, and a 50 lap feature will keep the racers busy all night long on a slick track that is anything but predictable as they race for extra Gold Crest Division Season Championship points that come from being on the winning Snowball Derby Championship team.

The snowballs start flying at 8:00 pm for practice and will be followed by Time Trials at 8:30 pm and Racing at 9:00 pm.

Year Winner Snowball Derby Team Challenge Champions Can-Am Challenge
2005 John Davidson N/A Team USA
2006 Sean Gibbs Jim Davidson/Bob Gangwer Team Canada
2007 Mike Jackson Dan Brigandi/Bob Gangwer Team USA
2008 Ray Sand, Jr. Ray Sand, Jr./Carl Becker Team USA
2009 Ray Sand, Jr. Myles Maxon/Gary Waldron Team Canada
2010 Myles Maxon Jamie Hartley/Bob Gangwer Team USA
2011 John Davidson Ed Riley/Bob Gangwer Team USA
2012 Jeff Weber N/A Team USA
2013 Chris Meyers Rob Warren/Gary Waldron Team USA
2014 Ray Sand, Jr. Ray Sand, Jr./Dave Brigandi Team USA
2015 Myles Maxon Myles Maxon/Domenic Gioia Team USA

Merry Christmas from SUPRS to You!

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The Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), wants to wish you and yours a Christmas season filled with peace, love, health and happiness. Just a reminder that we will be our annual 2-week Christmas Break from the close of business on December 18, 2015 to Monday January 4, 2016 to allow members travel time and so that they can spend time with family for Christmas. We believe that spending time with family is much more… Keep Reading

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