Tag: USAC

St. Patrick’s Day Grab o’ the Green at New Bremen is Last Race of Ohio State 500 Series

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March 10, 2023 – Goshen, IN…For the fourth year in a row the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), will visit a new track for the popular St. Patrick’s Day Grab o’ the Green on March 14, 2023, and is also the last race of the Ohio State 500 Series. This year, for the first time in SUPRS history, the drivers will try their luck at the famed, but long defunct New Bremen Speedway. And… Keep Reading

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

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 Copper World Classic presented by Kern Motorsports at PIR

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February 9, 2019 – Goshen, IN…The Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), racers are set to start their month long “Winter Western Swing” with the SUPRS Copper World Classic XV presented by Kern Motorsports on Tuesday, February 12, 2019 at Phoenix International Raceway.

SUPRS Copper World Classic XV presented by Kern Motorsports poster by BreezeGraphics.com
SUPRS Copper World Classic XV presented by Kern Motorsports is the first race of SUPRS Winter Western Swing (Poster by BreezeGraphics.com)

Copper World Classic Has Rich History

This event 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.

Curt Kern’s Deep Roots in Supermodified

Involved as an official for many years, Curt Kern of Kern Motorsports, has sponsored the SUPRS Copper World Classic since 2007.

In 1987, Kern and Ed Williams started the Northwest Supermodified Racing Association, (NSRA), after the United States Auto Club, (USAC), unexpectedly pulled out of sanctioning regional racing.

In 1992, Curt Kern formed the Western States Supermodified Tour, separating the supermodifieds from sprint cars, which continued to race under the Northwest Supermodified/Sprintcar Racing Association.

Copper World Stressful for Kern

Eventually Kern also found himself working in an official capacity during the Copper World Classic. “Some years I was on the ground in the pit area and a couple of years in the tower running race control for the supers,” explained the Washington state native.

“For me, then, it was a pretty stressful position, but I looked forward to the five days in Phoenix every year. I also dreaded it at the same time,” he said.

Second Year for Kern’s Supermodified Reunion

While Kern’s active involvement with the real supermodified division wound down to an end in the late 1990’s, he has stayed involved, albeit from a distance and has never completely walked away from the division.

For the second year in a row Curt Kern is heading up the Supermodified Reunion at Meridian Speedway for western states supermodified racers young and old May 31-June 1, 2019.

“I posted on Facebook about a potential supermodified reunion to be held at Meridian Speedway on May 26, 2018,” began Kern. “The response was pretty good so I decided to take the next step and brought it up to Adam Nelson at Meridian to see if we were on the same page.”

“We’ve lost a lot of supermodified greats since I got out and I thought it was time to remember them and get everyone else back together. Adam was all for it and now we’ve got it scheduled for then end of May, first of June this year,” stated Kern.

Many States Represented at Reunion

The west coast supermodified sanction list reads like an alphabet soup and stretches from British Columbia through Washington down to California over Idaho and includes Colorado and Utah. With all those states and sanctions represented, this reunion could be one of the largest ever organized for supermodified racing.

A gathering of this size and magnitude deservers to be remembered and a poster and t-shirts are planned as well as an owner/drivers only social gathering. For more information and to be added to the supermodified reunion Facebook Group, former drivers, owners, crew members and fans should contact Curt Kern via email curtkern@yahoo.com or Adam Nelson via the Meridian Speedway contact page.

Kern’s Continued Support of SUPRS

It was only natural for Kern to gravitate to the online version of supermodified racing. After hanging up his sim racing helmet Kern was the SUPRS Race Director for a couple of years and since 2007 Kern Motorsports has been a sponsor of the SUPRS Copper World Classic.

“I’m honored to still be involved with SUPRS and their version of the Copper World Classic and consider Bobby and John both good friends,” he said. “I only wish I could get set up and come back and get in everyone’s way again,” joked Kern. “The event at the time was the supermodified communities version of the Indy 500 and to have SUPRS continue to run that event is pretty cool. Good luck to all and thank you for allowing me to be a part of the show.”

SUPRS Copper World Classic Details

Practice for the SUPRS Copper World Classic XV 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 XV 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. Racing on “The Desert Mile”begins with the eight lap, inverted wing supermodified heat races at 9:05pm and the the wing supers run their 25 lap feature first at 9:05. The non-wing 25 lapper follows.

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

Supermodifieds at Phoenix Shown Live

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 XV 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 Raceway

  • 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

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

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

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

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“Supermodified Sim Racing for the Right Reasons”

since 2004

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