 | |
| Country | United States of America and Canada |
|---|---|
| Tire suppliers | Hoosier |
| Official website | https://www.rocmodifiedseries.com/ |
The Race of Champions is a racing organization which sanctions eight different series on asphalt and dirt surfaces, and promotes an annual marquee racing weekend featuring one of the oldest continuing championship races in the United States.
The Race of Champions 250 originated in 1951 as the National Open on the dirt surfaced Langhorne Speedway in Middletown Township, Bucks County, near the borough of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, a northern suburb of Philadelphia. In order to secure the strongest modified field possible, promoters Al Gerber and Irv Fried guaranteed starting spots in the race to the track champions at many of the top short-tracks in the northeast. [1]
After the 1971 event the speedway was closed, and the race was rebranded the Race of Champions. The event was relocated first to Trenton Speedway in New Jersey, subsequently to Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania, and then back to New Jersey at the Flemington Speedway. [2] [3] [4] The process of awarding the guaranteed starting positions in the annual Race of Champions was replaced with the 'Trail of Champions', a touring series of special events held at venues throughout the northeast, and which crowned its own champion. [5] [6]
In 1996, promoters Alex Friesen and Andrew Harpell purchased the rights to the event from Al Gerber’s son Joe, and moved the race to the Oswego Speedway in New York. Later that year, Friesen was fatally injured in a snowmobile accident, and Harpell moved forward with plans to expand the business model to sanction races and touring series for other classes of race cars. [7] [8] [9] Going into the 2016 season, Joe Skotnicki, a former Super DIRTcar Series director, left his post with World Racing Group and purchased both the dirt and asphalt programs from Harpell. [10]
The Race of Champions Touring Series has grown to a family of stock car racing series on both dirt and asphalt including asphalt modifieds, dirt and asphalt sportsman, late models, super stock and the 4 cylinder dash. It was nominated for and won Best Touring Series on the 51's (which is an annual fan voted awards) for the 2017 season. In the 2019 season a TQ Midget Series was introduced into the Race of Champions Group. Andy Jankowiak became the inaugural series champion at Lake Erie Speedway. Also in 2019 the Race of Champions began experimenting with sim racing via iRacing.com one of the most well-known sim racing services. [11]
The Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Series was first developed by Harpell in 1994 as the New York Modified Series. [12] It was rebranded upon the creation of the Dirt Modified Tour in 2005. [13]
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Charlie Rudolph |
| 1995 | George Kent |
| 1996 | George Kent |
| 1997 | Chuck Hossfeld |
| 1998 | J.R. Kent |
| 1999 | J.R. Kent |
| 2000 | George Kent |
| 2001 | George Kent |
| 2002 | George Kent |
| 2003 | George Kent |
| 2004 | Tony Hanbury |
| 2005 | Matt Hirschman |
| 2006 | Earl Paules |
| 2007 | Pete Brittain |
| 2008 | Matt Hirschman |
| 2009 | Matt Hirschman |
| 2010 | Matt Hirschman |
| 2011 | Chuck Hossfeld |
| 2012 | Matt Hirschman |
| 2013 | Matt Hirschman |
| 2014 | Chuck Hossfeld |
| 2015 | Matt Hirschman |
| 2016 | Patrick Emerling |
| 2017 | Mike Leaty |
| 2018 | Chuck Hossfeld |
| 2019 | Patrick Emerling |
| 2020 | Patrick Emerling |
| 2021 | Austin Beers |
| 2022 | Mike Leaty |
| Driver | Wins |
|---|---|
| Matt Hirschman | 48 |
| Chuck Hossfeld | 28 |
| George Kent | 22 |
| Patrick Emerling | 17 |
| Jan Leaty | 16 |
| Sege Fidanza | 10 |
| Eric Beers | 10 |
| Mike Leaty | 10 |
| Andy Jankowiak | 9 |
| T.J. Potrzebowski | 9 |
| J.R. Kent | 9 |
| Pete Brittian | 6 |
| Zane Zeiner | 6 |
| Tony Hanbury | 6 |
| Lee Sherwood | 4 |
| Tom McGrath | 3 |
| Tyler Haydt | 3 |
| Bill Putney | 3 |
| Jimmy Zacharias | 3 |
| Erick Rudolph | 3 |
| Earl Paules | 3 |
| Kyle Ebersole | 2 |
| Tony Hirschman | 2 |
| Tim Mangus | 2 |
| Rusty Smith | 2 |
| Don Wagner | 2 |
| Rick Kirkendall | 1 |
| Dave Pecko | 1 |
| Duane Delamarter | 1 |
| Charlie Rudolph | 1 |
| Tyler Rypkema | 1 |
| Ken Woolley Jr. | 1 |
| Wilbur Hebing | 1 |
| John Markovic | 1 |
| Kory Rabenold | 1 |
| Ted Christopher | 1 |
| William Thomas | 1 |
| Chris Ammon | 1 |
| Bill Woods | 1 |
| George Skora III | 1 |
| Brian Bowen | 1 |
| Rick Fuller | 1 |
| Tommy Catalano | 1 |
| Scott Lesher | 1 |
| Doug Wolcott | 1 |
| Daren Scherer | 1 |
| Kyle Strohl | 1 |
| Donny Lia | 1 |
| Rick Woods | 1 |
| Bryan Sherwood | 1 |
| Jimmy Blewett | 1 |
| Tim Arre | 1 |
| Bobby Holmes | 1 |
| Tim Connolly | 1 |
| Jeff Ulrich | 1 |
| Mike Stefanik | 1 |
| Danny Knoll Jr. | 1 |
The Race of Champions Dirt Modified Tour was formed in 2005 as an alternative for dirt modified and sportsman cars. [13] The Dirt 602 Sportsman Modified Series continues on, but the modified portion was disbanded in 2017.
| Year | Driver | |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Mike Bowman | |
| 2016 | Matt Sheppard | |
| 2015 | Stewart Friesen | |
| 2014 | Stewart Friesen | |
| 2013 | Stewart Friesen | |
| 2012 | Danny Johnson | |
| 2011 | Billy Decker | |
| 2010 | Stewart Friesen | |
| 2009 | Pat Ward | |
| 2008 | Pat Ward | |
| 2007 | South | Pat Ward |
| North | Ronnie Johnson | |
| NATIONAL | Pat Ward | |
| 2006 | South | Jimmy Horton |
| North | Mitch Gibbs | |
| NATIONAL | Alan Johnson | |
| 2005 | South | Jeff Strunk |
| North | Bobby Varin | |
| NATIONAL | Mitch Gibbs, Bobby Varin | |
The Race of Champions 250 is the yearly stock car race using modified race cars and is the direct descendant of the National Open. Although the first 14 open championships were held on a dirt surface, Langhorne Speedway was paved in 1965, and the event has since been held on asphalt surfaces. The tracks hosting the event have ranged from the .375 mile Lake Erie Speedway in Erie, Pennsylvania to the 2.5 mile Pocono Raceway tri-oval. [9]
Langhorne Speedway was an automobile racetrack in Middletown Township, Bucks County, near the borough of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, a northern suburb of Philadelphia.
The Oswego Speedway is a 5/8 mile race track in Oswego, New York. It was built in 1951 and was paved with asphalt since the 1952. The track has held dates on several national tours - the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, ASA National Tour, and USAC Silver Crown Series. It was temporarily covered with dirt in 2016 when it held a one-off Super DIRTcar Series race. The track is the Labor Day Weekend home of the 200-lap, non-wing, big-block supermodified Budweiser Classic and Race of Champions.
Donald "Dutch" Hoag was an American racing driver who won the Langhorne National Open five times when it was the most prestigious event for Modified and Sportsman racers.
James "Jimmy" Horton III is a racecar driver currently racing a dirt modified for the Halmar Racing Team weekly at the Orange County Fair Speedway and other major events across the northeast. He raced in 48 NASCAR Winston Cup races in eight seasons. He was a regular on the ARCA circuit in the 1980s and 1990s. Horton has won many of the most noted races for dirt track modifieds in the Northeastern United States.
Grandview Speedway is a one third-mile automobile race track located just east of Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania, United States. Featuring moderately high banks and a wide racing surface, it is suitable for close racing and passing. The track is sanctioned by NASCAR in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.
The Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds is a North American big block modified touring series currently promoted by World Racing Group. The series primarily races on dirt ovals in the Northeastern United States and Canada along with select dates in Florida and North Carolina.
William “Billy” Rafter is a retired American champion stock car driver from Clarence Center, New York and a pioneer of the sport.
Douglas "Doug" Hoffman was an American Modified racing driver. He won 482 feature events and 25 championships at 40 different tracks in nine states and two Canadian provinces.
Robert "Bob" Zeigler was a driver and promoter of modified stock car racing. Equally adept at driving on both dirt and asphalt surfaces, he was recognized for his driving talent and respected for building a speedway during what many believe to be the golden age of stock car racing.
Joe Plazek is a Canadian stock car racing driver. He was a three time New York State Fair Champion, and also won Rookie of the Year honors while competing in the Canadian premier touring stock car series.
Mervyn "Merv" Treichler is a retired American stock car racing driver who competed on both asphalt and dirt surfaces. In 1970 he won the Race of Champions, the premier asphalt race for modifieds. He also claimed the marquee events for dirt modifieds at Super Dirt Week in 1981 and 1982.
Clarence "Butch" Jelley was an American dirt modified racing driver. Known for driving car number "Y" with a with a cartoon character devil painted on the side, and later car number "X" featuring a skunk mascot, he was always a favorite of the younger race fans.
Robert "Bobby" Cain was a pioneering American stock car and sprint car racing driver. Raised in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country he and his cars were known to racing fans as the "Quaker Shaker".
D. James "Jim" Shampine was one of the most successful drivers in Supermodified competition and an equally skilled racer in asphalt and dirt-track Modified stock cars. He won 92 feature races at Oswego Speedway NY, and with his innovative car designs captured 38% of the Supermodified events held from 1970 to 1979.
Stan Ploski Jr. is a retired American Dirt Modified racing driver. Ploski had a 16-year winning streak at Flemington Speedway NJ (1966–1981), and captured 74 modified features at the venue over his career.
Sammy Beavers is a retired American Dirt Modified racing driver. Beavers is known for his philanthropic work and annual holiday party for the children at the Matheny School in Peapack, New Jersey.
John "Irish Jack" Murphy was an American Modified and Supermodified racing driver. Equally skilled on asphalt and dirt-track stock cars, he won the inaugural Oswego International Classic in September 1957.
E. David "Dave" Kneisel was an American dirt modified race car driver. He was also a noted builder of race cars, founding Kneisel's Speed and Sport shop in Clarks Summit PA, which continued to field cars for multiple drivers after Kneisel's death.
Sterling "Buck" Holliday was a pioneering American Modified racing driver from Waddington, New York. Equally adept on both dirt and asphalt surfaces, he competed successfully at race venues on either side of the St. Lawrence River.
Robert "Bobby" Varin is an American dirt modified and sprint car racing driver. He has been credited with over 150 feature event wins at race tracks in the Northeastern United States.