The Short-course Off-road Drivers Association continues to diversify as the 2023 season looms. Over the week, the series announced dates at the Sunnyview Expo Center and Tigerton MX, as well as a new partnership with the Monster Truck Nitro Tour to bring the latter’s vehicles to SODA race weekends.
Located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the roughly 100-acre Sunnyview Exposition Center is predominantly used for fairs and horse shows. SODA’s predecessor of the same name competed there from 1990 to its demise in 1998. The World Series of Off-Road Racing, a short-lived spiritual successor to the original SODA, organised a round there in 2008 followed by its own replacement TORC: The Off-Road Championship until 2011.
Tigerton MX, located in the eponymous Wisconsin town, is overseen by Fantasy Moto. As the track name suggests, it is typically used for motocross though four-wheel off-road vehicles also take part. Its course is natural terrain but features man-made jumps and various drops and whoops. The Wisconsin Coalition of Four Wheel Drives (WC4WD) off-roading club, whose members frequently assist SODA races, are co-hosting the race weekend in addition to organising an off-road trail ride the day after in the nearby Tigerton OHV (Off-Highway Vehicle) Park and Campground.
The two tracks join Wisconsin International Raceway on the 2023 calendar, though specific dates have not been revealed. Unlike Sunnyview and Tigerton, WIR in Kaukauna is a paved oval primarily used for stock car racing; SODA had opened the 2022 season at another NASCAR-savvy oval Slinger Super Speedway. Other rounds have yet to be announced as well, though SODA President Willie Freshour has expressed interest in a memorial Class 9 Super Buggy race to honour late Vice President Kyle Koehler.
At said rounds, SODA announced Monday that the Monster Truck Nitro Tour will bring full-size monster trucks for fans to ride along; at its regular events, the tour’s ride-alongs go for USD$20 (€18.68) and are held during intermissions and after the shows. The tour was founded in 2021.
