OSHKOSH OR BUST!

In the last 25 years, I've been to Crandon, Baja, Pikes Peak, Glamis, Bark River, Parker, Wheatland, Las Vegas, Barstow and most of the other off-road hot spots that old timers and newbies alike will cite as the "ultimate off-road experience". But I've never been to a race in Oshkosh. And frankly, all I've heard in the last couple of months from enthusiastic WSORR staffers and racers, particularly those who live in the Fox Valley...."you're going to love Oshkosh!"

Well, I'm more than ready to add Oshkosh to my list. There are lots of things that define an "ultimate off-road experience", and it is different for everyone- wheel-to-wheel racing, the facility, partying in the pits, action under the lights, the crowd, WSORR's $100,000 purse, a BorgWarner, Decision at Sundown and Chairman's Cup or a combination of them all. For me, I define it as an off-road "energy or buzz". The buzz for Oshkosh certainly seems to be building.

WSORR is helping to kickstart that buzz by rolling out a huge radio blitz promotion on Oshkosh, Green Bay, Appleton and Fox Valley radio stations with special free ticket giveaways beginning at 5 o'clock Monday morning, July 21 through July 25 on WAPL, WDUZ, The Fan Sports Radio, Kick Country, The Zone and more! We wrap it all up with a LIVE REMOTE from Oshkosh Speedzone 4-6 p.m. on Friday July 25 live and in person trackside.

We are also utilizing Internet/Video advertising with the 30 second ad you can take a look at by pressing the play button in our "Featured Video" section of this homepage.

It's been 12 years since a major off-road tour paid a visit to Oshkosh so the theme for this event has been "It's Back". If you are nostalgic or just plain curious as to what the build-up was to that last major race, here are a few sections from an article found on the Off-Road.com website dated August 26, 1996:

LAST SODA POINTS RACE TO DECIDE CHAMPIONS FOR '96
Oshkosh, Wisconsin --The eighth and final (points) stop on SODA's fast-paced race schedule is the Chevrolet Off Road Finals. The race will be held at the Winnebago Expo Center in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on September 14 and 15. Chevrolet, a division of General Motors located in Detroit, Michigan, is the title sponsor of this year's race.

This event will determine SODA champions for the 1996 racing season as well as the True Value Pro Points Series champions in classes 4, 7s and 8 and True Value Off Road Series champions in classes 1-1600, 9/10, 11s and 13.

This is the home track for racers Bill Groboski, Terry Friday, Cory Friday, Bill Wojahn, Dwayne and Jill Walkowski and many others. The Chevrolet Off Road Finals event is presented for the benefit of the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.

The City of Oshkosh and the Winnebago Expo Center are located half-way between Milwaukee and Green Bay. Aside from the exciting 2-day SODA racing weekend, Oshkosh is also known for the Oshkosh Truck Company and Oshkosh B'Gosh Clothing.

There's a look back in the history books and while on the topic of media coverage of the World Series and our raceteams be sure and click on the link in our Latest News section featuring Keith Steele and Dave Waldvogel from DIRTSPORTS. It's exciting to see some of these rising stars get the attention they deserve. There are plenty of other WSORR stars and stories to be featured in the future and we'll let you know when we spot a good one.

One final note- an update on Adam Guberud, our PRO Super Buggy racer who was injured and had surgery following the Bark River race. As an organization we have to walk a very fine line following an incident like this- we would like to provide as much information as possible to the many concerned racers, fans and friends who contact us inquiring about Adam. But we also absolutely need to protect Adam and his family's privacy during his recovery and so are very guarded about what we make public.

I can tell you this- Adam is aware of the concern and interest generated by all of you out there and appreciates it. He is also one tough son-of-a-gun (of course those of you racing in the PRO Super Buggy class already know that) because he is determined to get back and up to full speed as soon as possible. We will follow his progress and let you know as much as we can.

It has been noted by his doctors, rescue team and re-emphasized by our WSORR officials that the HANS head and neck safety restraint system Adam was wearing was a critical factor in protecting him during the crash.

We are hoping that the other WSORR drivers injured in Bark River- Mark Steinhardt, Craig Biesek, and Mark Oberg will make it to Oshkosh so we can tell them all "Get Well Quick" in person.

Hope you all can make it to Oshkosh too....you don't want to miss the big two nights of thunder when bigtime off-road racing comes back to Fox Valley!

Steve Weiss
WSORR Director of Communications

UPCOMING EVENTS-

JULY 25-26
ROUNDS VII & VIII
OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

AUGUST 9-10
ROUNDS IX & X
BARK RIVER, MICHIGAN
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

AUGUST 29-31
ROUNDS XI & XII
CRANDON, WISCONSIN
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO