A new dirt racing series featuring modifieds is getting underway with the first race in Florida at Volusia Speedway Park set for the end of this month.
Organized under the name Southeast Dirt Modified Association, the new series is the creation of Floridians Gary Gross and Jerry Morgan and will be modeled closely upon the International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) and United Midwest Promoters(UMP) rules.

It is described by Gross as a "new organization to further the advancement of dirt modified racing in the area from south Florida to mid Georgia". The Association is not actually a sanctioning body, but is a means of setting up a method for interested dirt modified drivers, car owners, and promoters to work together to bring affordable modified dirt racing to the South.
This class of competition has been in a catch 22 situation the last couple years as tracks will not schedule races with worry of not having enough cars show up to race and car owners can't invest in new equipment because they have no commitment from the tracks to schedule races and give the class a chance to grow.

The organizers conducted studies before starting the organization asking almost every dirt track in the area if they were interested in having open wheel modifieds on their schedule and the tracks unanimously agreed they would like modifieds as a regularly weekly class or a special event class if only enough cars would show up to put on a good show.

That response brought on the formation of the organization to get the drivers and car owners a way to unite and in the future show strength in numbers to the track owners. With the promise of races from the tracks the task now is to get car owners and drivers registered with the organization and committed to attending the initial events.

Gross says " we have received interest all the way from car owners who have had their cars parked since St. Augustine paved in 1997, to drivers in lower classes of competition who want to move up, to late model drivers who have been priced out of running competitively and want to move down."

These dirt modifieds as they have been run in Florida usually follow the exact safety and construction rules of the IMCA and UMP national organizations but add a 2500 lb. minimum weight rule, allow up to 8" of rear spoilers, and allow quick change rear ends. Gross explains "With the unity offered by our orgaization we can set the standards for these type rules so car owners no longer have to guess if they will be legal at any particular track."

The organization would like to see enough cars built located close enough to each track for each track to add the dirt modifieds as a regularly weekly class of competition and also to put together a series of better paying races for those who have the means and the time to travel.

On October 29th Volusia Speedway Park will host the first Florida event in a 25 lap feature race. The series needs 20 cars to assure the race goes off as planned. Advance registrations are being requested by the Southeast Dirt Modified Association.

Oglethorpe Speedway in Savannah, Georgia has scheduled a race for dirt open wheel modifieds on Saturday night October 14th. If they get good enough response at that race they are considering adding modifieds to their big race already scheduled two weeks later.
Gross is a veteran of the St. Augustine and Volusia speedways, as well as Eldora.

Full information on that race plus more details about the Southeast Dirt Modified Association can be found at the web site address http://www.wwwp.com/mods Interested parties may also call Jerry Morgan in St. Augustine at 904-824-8410 weekdays or Gary Gross in Daytona at 904-788-9449 anytime to answer questions . Or questions and comments can be e-mailed to mods@wwwp.com.

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