Punxsutwaney Phil Predicts Weather, SUPRS Race Format
January 30, 2018 – Goshen, IN…Letting the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil decide the format for a night of supermodified sim racing may sound a bit odd, but the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), figures if he can predict the weather, he can also predict the Groundhog Day Derby chain of events on February 2 at Lee USA Speedway.
Even Punxsutawney Phil knows that you can predict your marketing future when you use BreezeGraphics.com.
It’s All about Phil
While Phil and his Groundhog Club Inner Circle at Gobbler’s Knob may not know it, his yearly prognostication determines whether the race uses a standard format with time trials, heats and the feature, or a random start. And while doing it this way can prove to be just as vexing to the SUPRS racers as predicting when winter will end, it’s been the course of action since Bud Flath won the first Groundhog Day Derby in 2005.
New Venue for SUPRS is Long-Time venue for Real Supers
The site of this year’s race is Lee USA Speedway in Lee, NH. Lee was once the home of the New England Supermodified Racing Association, (NESMRA). More recently it has played host to the International Supermodified Association, (ISMA), and is the only weekly NASCAR sanctioned supermodified race track in the country.
The 21 supermodified owned by Pam and Lee Vinal at Lee USA Spee dway. (Jim Feeney photo)
But while Lee has long been a hotbed of real supermodified racing, SUPRS has never raced on this historic venue before. Even so, during on pre-race testing, the virtual supermodifieds turned the 3/8 mile in nearly identical lap times as their mighty real world counterparts. So it seems like the 40 lap race could be over faster than Phil can crawl back into his hole.
Only One Repeat Winner
Letting Punxsutawney Phil decide the format for the night may sound a bit odd but SUPRS has done it that way for this race since Bud Flath won the first one in 2005. Most noteworthy, and probably due in part to the nature of the uncertain format, there has been just one repeat winner of this race.
Here’s a look at the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series Groundhog Day Derby History:
- 2005 Groundhog Day Derby Winner: 71jr.-Bud Flath (No TT)
- 2006 Groundhog Day Derby Winner: 2-Sean Gibbs (TT)
- 2007 Groundhog Day Derby Winner: 54j-Mike Jackson (TT)
- 2008 Groundhog Day Derby Winner: 66-Tim Heveron (No TT)
- 2009 Groundhog Day Derby Winner: 79-Myles Maxon (N/A)
- 2010 Groundhog Day Derby Winner: 58-Keith Powell (N/A)
- 2011 Groundhog Day Derby Winner: 37-Dave Biro III (TT)
- 2012 Groundhog Day Derby Winner: 55-Steve Callahan (No TT)
- 2013 Groundhog Day Derby Winner: 23-Chris Meyers (TT)
- 2014 Groundhog Day Derby Winner:Ray Sand, Jr. (No TT)
- 2015 Groundhog Day Derby Winner: Ray Sand, Jr. (No TT)
- 2016 Groundhog Day Derby Winner: 35-Rob Warren (TT)
- 2017 Groundhog Day Derby Winner: 14-Joe Achzet (No TT)
See the Action Live
Watch for Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction in the morning and then get ready to watch the SUPRS racers do battle in the Groundhog Day Derby the evening of February 2, 2018 at Lee USA Speedway with SUPRS LIVE!
Cheer on your favorite SUPRS racers while you view timing, scoring, and of course our outstanding live streaming video of the Groundhog Day Derby when we go “Live @ 9pm est via the SUPRS LIVE! page.
Get Social with SUPRS
Fans can learn more about 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, Circling SUPRS on Google+, Following @SUPRSOnline on Twitter, and viewing SUPRS videos on YouTube. See us live and join our chat on Twitch.
-SUPRS-
“Supermodified Sim Racing for the Right Reasons”
since 2004
