Tag: John Davidson

Billy Vukovich III Classic 100 This Week

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February 24, 2017 – Fresno, CA…The Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS),  will honor the late Billy Vukovich III  with the 13th Annual running of the Billy Vukovich III Classic 100 at Mesa Marin Raceway presented by Supermodified Scorecard.

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 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 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.

Vukovich III was also a part of the storied return of winged supermodified racing to Oswego Speedway, competing there in an exhibition race against Eddie Bellinger, Steve Gioia, Jr. and Bentley Warren.

This event was the forerunner of the return of winged supermodified racing to Oswego Speedway with the 1992 ISMA wing show and set the stage for ISMA’s 1992 East vs West series and ultimately the 1995 East vs West Shootout at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Vukovich III was killed at the age of 27 while practicing for a CRA pavement sprint car race at Mesa Marin Speedway on November 25, 1990.

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.

Practice gets underway for the SUPRS 12th Annual Billy Vukovich III Classic at 8pm. Time Trials take place at 8:45pm with racing starting at 9pm.

SUPRS Billy Vukovich III Classic 100 History

  • 2005 Billy Vukovich III Classic Champion: Bud Flath
  • 2006 Billy Vukovich III Classic Champion: John Davidson
  • 2007 Billy Vukovich III Classic Champion: Devin Gee
  • 2008 Billy Vukovich III Classic Champion: John Davidson
  • 2009 Billy Vukovich III Classic Champion: Ray Sand Jr
  • 2010 Billy Vukovich III Classic Champion: Bobby Gangwer
  • 2011 Billy Vukovich III Classic Champion: John Davidson
  • 2012 Billy Vukovich III Classic Champion: Steve Callahan
  • 2013 Billy Vukovich III Classic Champion: Steve Callahan
  • 2014 Billy Vukovich III Classic Champion: Rob Warren
  • 2015 Billy Vukovich III Classic Champion: Ray Sand, Jr.
  • 2016 Billy Vukovich III Classic Champion: Bobby Gangwer

SUPRS Kicks off 13th Season with Harvest of Speed October 18

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13th Year of SUPRS Supermodified Sim Racing Begins Where SUPRS Started

Goshen, IN October 11, 2016…The Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), will kick off it’s 13th season of supermodified sim racing with the running of the Harvest of Speed on October 18 at LaPorte Speedway.

SUPRS 2016 Harvest of Speed poster

You’ll harvest new customers when you use great looking graphics from BreezeGraphics.com

As has been the case for the previous 12 years, the original online sim supermodified sim racing sanction will start it’s  2016-17 Gold Crest Wing Supermodified Sim Racing schedule at this fictional and tight 3/8th mile track located in Northern Indiana and will use the NASCAR Heat sim racing platform to do so.

To say winning a feature race at LaPorte is tough would be an understatement since the first Harvest of Speed was run in 2004, just five drivers have ever won it.

Defending SUPRS Gold Crest Wing Champion, Ray Sand, Jr., won the race last year and has a total of six feature wins at LaPorte including the 2011 and 2013 Harvest of Speed races.

Only Myles Maxon and John Davidson have more total wins at LaPorte and Maxon’s four Harvest of Speed victories at LaPorte make up the bulk of his seven total wins here . Three of those wins came in a row from 2007-2009. Davidson’s chalked up an incredible run of eight straight checkered flags at LaPorte from February 2005 to April 2006, with one of those being the very first Harvest of Speed.

Sean O’Kane (2006), Gary Waldron (2010), and Chris Meyers (2012) are the only other drivers to have won the Harvest of Speed. Steve Callahan, Jim Crannell, Josh Crannell, Doug Heveron, and Jesse Kennedy have also etched their names into the SUPRS record book as one-time LaPorte Speedway race winners, although none of them brought in the Harvest.

This year’s Harvest of Speed will again be a part of the Indyana Supermod Challenge, a multi-race, season-long mini-series that also includes races at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

With all the marks in the win column at LaPorte Speedway it should come as no surprise that Maxon and Sand, Jr. also have the most Indyana Supermod Challenge Championships with Maxon having six and Sand, Jr. three. Steve Callahan is the defending ISC Champion.

The overall Indyana Supermod Challenge Champion will be awarded 10 SUPRS Gold Crest Wing Championship points and receive a five-pound bag of  Yoder’s award-winning Indiana popcorn.

Practice for the 13th Annual Harvest of Speed begins at 8:00pm, with the Drivers Meeting taking place at 8:15. Time Trials follow at 8:30pm and racing is set to start at 9:00pm.

Harvest of Speed Season Opener- Wing – LaPorte Speedway

  • 2005 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: John Davidson
  • 2006 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: Sean O’Kane
  • 2007 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: Myles Maxon
  • 2008 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: Myles Maxon
  • 2009 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: Myles Maxon
  • 2010 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: Gary Waldron
  • 2011 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: Ray Sand, Jr.
  • 2012 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: Chris Meyers
  • 2013 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: Ray Sand, Jr.
  • 2014 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: Myles Maxon
  • 2015 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: Ray Sand, Jr.

Bevy of Points Up for Grabs at Mid-Season Championship

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Goshen, IN -January 23, 2016… The Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS),  is already at the halfway point of the 2015-16 Gold Crest Wing Championship Season and the SUPRS racers are now setting their sights on a Mid-Season Championship Crown and with it the bonus points it pays toward the season championship.

SUPRS Mid-Season Championship graphic

It’s do or die time for several of the SUPRS racers, but can anyone stop Ray Sand, Jr.?

With a full slate of action featuring time trials, Fast 4 Dash, heats and Twin 35 lap features, the action is sure to be intense at Oswego Speedway on Tuesday, January 26. And while the drivers will be rewarded for consistent finishes in each feature, they will also have to do their best to get to the front quickly in the short sprint race.

Double Points for each feature have many drivers hoping to seize the opportunity to make a jump in the point standings.

But it doesn’t end there! Other bonus point paying awards are available as well including:

  • SUPRSCharger (10 points paid to the driver that advances the most places from his starting spot)
  • SUPRSChallenge (20 points paid to the driver that starts last and wins the race)
  •  DoubleDown (20 points paid any driver that can sweep the wins for both features)

This much-anticipated special event will feature two features in one night to decide the SUPRS Mid-Season Championship. These two races are also race two  and three of the 2015-2016 Empire State Super Series Regional Tour Championship which is composed of various races throughout the season at tracks in New York. Just last week, Ray Sand, Jr. won the opening round of the current Empire State Super Series when he overwhelmed his fellow competitors on Blind Date Night at Ovid Raceway Park.

In the history of the league, this event has been run at only two different tracks; LaPorte Speedway from 2005-2009 and Oswego Speedway from 2010 to the present.

Originally the race used a Twin 25 lap feature format and rewarded consistency of finishes to decide the overall Mid-Season Champion. It continued the Twin feature format with the release of Oswego Speedway by Flash Tracks for the 2008-2009 season, but the laps were increased to 35 to pay homage to one of the traditions of the famed Upstate New York track.

After just two years the format was switched to a single 75 lap feature at Oswego, which brought with it its own set of challenges to the racers, as it now became more important to manage tire wear and keep the car free of damage. But for SUPRS 10th Anniversary Season in 2013-14 the Twin 35 format returned.

Since the inception of the Mid-Season Championship, it has always paid double Season Championship points for the drivers feature finish and this year will be no different.

Ray Sand, Jr. has led the point standings almost from the start of the season and while he looks to be headed for a record seventh Gold Crest Wing Supermodified Season Championship, second place point man Rob Warren will have a chance to gain back some of the valuable ground he’s lost recently.

Warren is certainly no slouch at Oswego Speedway, having won the Gold Crest Mid-Season Championship in 2011-12 season and the Silver Crest Mid-Season Championship during the 2008-09 campaign. “Rocket” Rob has six wins this season and is also the reigning SUPRS Gold Crest Non-Wing Champion.

The driver that has won the Mid-Season Championship has gone on to win the SUPRS Gold Crest Season Championship four times and three different drivers have accomplished that feat.

John Davidson was the first to do it winning back to back Mid-Season and Season Championships in 2004-2005 and 2005-2006.  Myles Maxon, who is the defending Gold Crest Season Champion, won both the Mid-Season and Season Championship during the 2007-08 campaign.  Six-time Gold Crest Season Champion Ray Sand, Jr. pulled it off  in 2008-2009.

Besides  Davidson, Sand, Jr., and Maxon, Bob Gangwer is the only other driver in SUPRS history to have won the Gold Crest Wing Mid-Season Championship more than once, doing so back to back in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.

Practice kicks off at 8:00 pm followed by Time Trials at 8:30. Racing begins at 8:45 with heats, with the first feature to follow.

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.

SUPRS Winged Mid-Season Championship History-

  • 2004-05 Wing Mid-Season Champion: John Davidson-LaPorte Speedway-25×2
  • 2005-06 Wing Mid-Season Champion: John Davidson-LaPorte Speedway-25×2
  • 2006-07 Wing Mid-Season Champion: Ray Sand, Jr.-LaPorte Speedway-25×2
  • 2007-08 Wing Mid-Season Champion: Myles Maxon-LaPorte Speedway-25×2
  • 2008-09 Wing Mid-Season Champion: Ray Sand, Jr.-Oswego Speedway-35×2
  • 2009-10  Wing Mid-Season Champion: Myles Maxon-Oswego Speedway-35×2
  • 2010-11   Wing Mid-Season Champion: Chris Meyers-Oswego Speedway-75
  • 2011-12   Wing Mid-Season Champion: Rob Warren-Oswego Speedway-75
  • 2012-13   Wing Mid-Season Champion: Bob Gangwer-Oswego Speedway-75
  • 2013-14 Wing Mid-Season Champion: Bob Gangwer-Oswego Speedway-75
  • 2014-15 Wing Mid-Season Champion: Ray Sand, Jr.-Oswego Speedway-35×2

SUPRS Opens 12th Season with Harvest of Speed

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 Harvest of Speed at LaPorte Speedway Separates the Wheat from the Chaff 

Goshen, IN October 19, 2015…The Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), season will open this week with the running of the Harvest of Speed at LaPorte Speedway on October 20.

SUPRS Harvest of Speed 2015 poster by BreezeGraphics.com

Like this poster? Contact BreezeGraphics.com for great graphics like this!

This will mark the twelfth time the original online sim supermodified league has started their season at this fictional tight 3/8th  track located in Northern Indiana and in that time only five different drivers have been able to drive their way to victory lane.

Defending SUPRS Gold Crest Wing Champion, Myles Maxon, tops the win list for this race. Maxon’s four Harvest of Speed victories at LaPorte make up the bulk of his seven total wins here . Three of those wins came in a row from 2007-2009. Only John Davidson has more total wins at this track having chalked up an incredible run of eight straight checkered flags from February 2005 to April 2006, with one of those being the 2005 Harvest of Speed.

Ray Sand, Jr., who is no slouch at LaPorte either, has five feature wins including the 2011 and 2013 Harvest of Speed races.

Sean O’Kane (2006), Gary Waldron (2010), and Chris Meyers (2012) are the only other drivers to have won the Harvest of Speed. Steve Callahan, Jim Crannell, Josh Crannell, Doug Heveron, and Jesse Kennedy have also etched their names into the SUPRS record book as one-time LaPorte Speedway race winners, although none of them brought in the Harvest.

This year’s Harvest of Speed will again be a part of the Indyana Supermod Challenge. With all the marks in the win column at LaPorte Speedway it should come as no surprise that Maxon and Sand, Jr. also have the most Indyana Supermod Challenge Championships with Maxon having six and Sand, Jr. three.

The overall Indyana Supermod Challenge Champion will be awarded 10 SUPRS Gold Crest Wing Championship points and receive a five-pound bag of  Yoder’s award-winning Indiana popcorn.

Practice begins at 8:00pm, with the Drivers Meeting taking place at 8:15. Time Trials follow at 8:30pm and racing is set to start at 9:00pm.

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.

Harvest of Speed Season Opener- Winged-LaPorte Speedway

  • 2004 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: N/A
  • 2005 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: John Davidson
  • 2006 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: Sean O’Kane
  • 2007 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: Myles Maxon
  • 2008 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: Myles Maxon
  • 2009 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: Myles Maxon
  • 2010 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: Gary Waldron
  • 2011 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: Ray Sand, Jr.
  • 2012 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: Chris Meyers
  • 2013 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: Ray Sand, Jr.
  • 2014 Harvest of Speed Season Opener Winner: Myles Maxon

 

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