Bucket List Big Block Modified Races

[klempa 3]

I just started following big block modified racing after following mainly sprints and midgets for the last few years. What are the bucket list tracks and races to attend? Coolest atmospheres? Fastest tracks?

[ChrisAkulis 1,754]

Eastern States 200 at Middletown; Fulton 200; Grandview Freedom ‘76

[WheelsUpHammerDown10 1,666]

I haven’t been for a modified race, but I’ve heard the Drummond/Granby back-to-back for the SDS series is a pretty awesome atmosphere. 
 

They love their modifieds up there.

[scottnorwood 530]

Atmosphere I would say Super DIRT Week at Oswego with satellite shows, Outlaw 200 at Fulton, Eastern States Weekend.

Also, Fonda200 is pretty cool atmosphere, I didn't go to Port Royal last year but will at some point if the 200 becomes an annual thing.

It probably flies under the radar a bit but Quebec swing for SDS is kind of crazy. The crowds and car counts are big.

[klempa 3]

Great ideas, thanks everyone! 

[con7 836]

For pure racing, I think some of the best tracks for modifieds are Brewerton, Albany-Saratoga, and Fonda. Sometimes a “regular show” can be more exciting than a big show with formats being the way they are these days. 

[Jack Brady 492]

3 hours ago, WheelsUpHammerDown10 said:

I haven’t been for a modified race, but I’ve heard the Drummond/Granby back-to-back for the SDS series is a pretty awesome atmosphere. 
 

They love their modifieds up there.

Love them so much, some guys don't come home with their cars or haulers. 

[Jack Brady 492]

But on topic, depending on where you live. If you get a chance to get to the new designed Bridgeport Speedway in New Jersey. You will not be disappointed. To me it was probably the biggest thing to happen in 2020 in modified racing.  Besides the Port Royal 200 that is.

[Sicklajoie 440]

I second Bridgeport Speedway. Just absolutely awesome racing. Even watching the videos is edge of your seat excitement.

[Rmitchell 623]

Can't go wrong with Land of Legends, Albany Saratoga and Brewerton for big blocks. Cornwall speedway is my favorite track though. Mohawk, Can-Am and Fulton are great for small blocks. Airborne is also a great track but dropped 358's 

[B-Train 36]

I’m in New Jersey but Super DirtCar Series races at Weedsport are races I hate to miss. They’ve done a fantastic job revamping the whole experience there. First class operation.  They’ve thought of everything. Big HD video board in the infield, videos in the concession area, a big one in the midway where they have an outdoor pub and often have a live band pre and post race.  The Dirt Motorsports Hall of Fame on the property with tons of memorabilia from years gone by and lots of cool race cars too. And the track is probably less than 3/8 mile so no infield obstructions. It’s specials only but they’ve definitely spent money on the place and they deserve to be supported in my opinion.

I’ve come to really enjoy going to Orange County. I’m a sucker for those old worn out fairgrounds too. Good variety of concessions and their own onsite 31st lap tavern. Disappointed that looks like Big Blocks are being phased out a bit going to mostly midweek shows that I’ll never be able to make. Used to love the nights when they’d have big blocks and 358s on the same Saturday night with good fields in both. In addition to the aforementioned Eastern States Weekend, Nostalgia Night in early June has become a really cool event. Sightlines with haulers in the infield is a negative but it’s always interesting to see what’s going on in the pits.

Haven’t been to the new Bridgeport yet but always thought that they had everything in place to be a great venue to attend a race with one exception:The track was too big and wide so the actual racing was often a snooze fest especially compared to nearby New Egypt when they had it rolling about 15 years ago. With the new downsized track it looks like they’ve addressed the final piece at Bridgeport.

As far as Canadian tracks go, Granby was the best one I attended. Have driven by but never attended a race at Drummond but it didn’t look like much. I’d rate Cornwall behind Granby and well above Merrittville and Brockville Ontario. I did the Ransomville NY and Merrittville SDS double with a dash of Niagara Falls area sightseeing and that’s a fun trip.

[scottnorwood 530]

11 minutes ago, B-Train said:

I’m in New Jersey but Super DirtCar Series races at Weedsport are races I hate to miss. They’ve done a fantastic job revamping the whole experience there. First class operation.  They’ve thought of everything. Big HD video board in the infield, videos in the concession area, a big one in the midway where they have an outdoor pub and often have a live band pre and post race.  The Dirt Motorsports Hall of Fame on the property with tons of memorabilia from years gone by and lots of cool race cars too. And the track is probably less than 3/8 mile so no infield obstructions. It’s specials only but they’ve definitely spent money on the place and they deserve to be supported in my opinion.

I’ve come to really enjoy going to Orange County. I’m a sucker for those old worn out fairgrounds too. Good variety of concessions and their own onsite 31st lap tavern. Disappointed that looks like Big Blocks are being phased out a bit going to mostly midweek shows that I’ll never be able to make. Used to love the nights when they’d have big blocks and 358s on the same Saturday night with good fields in both. In addition to the aforementioned Eastern States Weekend, Nostalgia Night in early June has become a really cool event. Sightlines with haulers in the infield is a negative but it’s always interesting to see what’s going on in the pits.

Haven’t been to the new Bridgeport yet but always thought that they had everything in place to be a great venue to attend a race with one exception:The track was too big and wide so the actual racing was often a snooze fest especially compared to nearby New Egypt when they had it rolling about 15 years ago. With the new downsized track it looks like they’ve addressed the final piece at Bridgeport.

As far as Canadian tracks go, Granby was the best one I attended. Have driven by but never attended a race at Drummond but it didn’t look like much. I’d rate Cornwall behind Granby and well above Merrittville and Brockville Ontario. I did the Ransomville and Merrittville SDS double with a dash of Niagara Falls area sightseeing and that’s a fun trip.

This is a good write up. One thing about Drummond is when you go for SDS the place is absolutely jam packed and the crowd is nuts. When your working on a car in the pits and you can hear the roar of the crowd its pretty electric.

[klempa 3]

B-Train, there was a lot of good info in that post thank you!

I’m in southeastern PA so grandview and Bridgeport are my home tracks. Bridgeport this year is what got me interested in Modifieds more, that track is awesome and the fans really turn out for the mods. I went on the Danny Serrano weekend mainly to watch the USAC East Coast cars but the big blocks there were awesome! I’ve seen Mods at Grandview but only as supporting class to USAC Sprints or Midgets and they didn’t do it for me like the Big Blocks at Bridgeport did. Are the “NASCAR” 358s as Grandview calls them less powerful than what would run at Bridgeport?
 

The Canada SDS swing may be a bit far for me at the moment. Sounds like I need to try to hit Weedsport and OCFS this year in addition to Bridgeport and Port Royal!

[DowntheBackStretch 1,696]

21 hours ago, con7 said:

For pure racing, I think some of the best tracks for modifieds are Brewerton, Albany-Saratoga, and Fonda. Sometimes a “regular show” can be more exciting than a big show with formats being the way they are these days. 

I agree.  And these three tracks can show a lot of speed.  Usually a lot of passing too.

[Stewyfan44 396]

On 1/16/2021 at 11:58 AM, WheelsUpHammerDown10 said:

I haven’t been for a modified race, but I’ve heard the Drummond/Granby back-to-back for the SDS series is a pretty awesome atmosphere. 
 

They love their modifieds up there.

100%..I go to the SDS races in quebec every year..The atmosphere is great.I bet if you did a driver survey they would say the same

[Stewyfan44 396]

On 1/16/2021 at 10:29 AM, ChrisAkulis said:

Eastern States 200 at Middletown; Fulton 200; Grandview Freedom ‘76

I've been to eastern states, and fulton..is grandview as cool as it looks on the video's I 've seen..It looks really racey

[B-Train 36]

Grandview is racy but sometimes too much. Big banking in the corners and short straightaways so they can fly there. But a lot of banging for mods. I like it for sprints. The distance to Grandview for me is about the same as OCFS and Bridgeport but I never choose to go there unless it’s a midweek or special show so that says something I guess. If you’re sitting anywhere from the start of front stretch around the 3rd and 4th turns visibility is often an issue for me because of the dust but also because the lights are on the inside of the track. Lighting used to be an issue at the old 5/8 Bridgeport too. Grandview is just an especially dumpy place in my opinion and the food concessions are probably the worst I’ve had anywhere and I’ve been a lot of places.

Most modified tracks are probably actually running 358s now and don’t think there is any discernible difference except maybe at big tracks like Oswego, Lebanon Valley, OCFS, or the old Bridgeport. It seems like at smaller tracks, drivers might actually choose to run a 358 instead of a big block anyway but I’m not technically knowledgeable enough to know all of the reasons.

I saw the STSS at Port Royal two years ago and that would be a good event to go to if they’re back. 
 

Fonda is another cool rundown fairgrounds with its dusty old covered grandstands and I think the track layout makes the racing exciting. Since Brett Deyo is running things they’ll probably put on a good show. One of the best modified races I’ve ever seen was the 50 lap STSS event there in 2019 run by Deyo.

[premiumdiesel 307]

does anyone miss octoberfest 350 at hagerstown? I dont miss the 6hr ride up 81 and 88 

[B-Train 36]

51 minutes ago, premiumdiesel said:

does anyone miss octoberfest 350 at hagerstown? I dont miss the 6hr ride up 81 and 88 

Never went to Oktoberfest but used to go to the end of March Super Dirt Series lidlifter at Hagerstown but probably hasn’t been one in a long time.  First big race of the year and got a great cross section of SDS regulars and NJ and PA teams anxious to race somewhere after a long winter. Paired with sightseeing to Antietam National Battlefield and Harpers Ferry, WV another cool trip and a really good track. I think I made that long trip only to get rained out a couple times but after no races for 5 months I’d take the chance even with an iffy forecast. Deyo seems to be creative and finds different tracks for STSS so maybe someday there will be a chance to revive that.  SDS going in the opposite direction going to places like Can Am far to the north at the time of the year is disappointing to me.

[premiumdiesel 307]

Eastern States is the best value. Plus its the oldest and the fairgrounds just has that old old feeling to it that makes that race so special. The track is a mess though and the "hard clay" is no longer there. What you have there now is a sand pile disguised as a race track. The 31st lap is where the action is after the racing and let me tell you about them egg sammy's you can get till the dawns early light. The down fall to going to ES is that you need a large amount of cash to go because everything is expensive but f it you only live once and this race only happens once a year so f it spend the $. 

[Josh Bayko 1,768]

I’ve been to all the “big” modified races over the years, except for the big show at Port Royal this past year, so I guess that could be my bucket list race. 

[racermurray 305]

Having visited several locations in NY, PA and Canada I would say if you want to attend one of the bigger events and go home saying "That was awesome"   My picks would be .......Oswego for SDS ......... Port Royal for STSS ......... I would not recommend OCFS for multiple reasons.......just my opinion .

[klempa 3]

3 hours ago, premiumdiesel said:

Eastern States is the best value. Plus its the oldest and the fairgrounds just has that old old feeling to it that makes that race so special. The track is a mess though and the "hard clay" is no longer there. What you have there now is a sand pile disguised as a race track. The 31st lap is where the action is after the racing and let me tell you about them egg sammy's you can get till the dawns early light. The down fall to going to ES is that you need a large amount of cash to go because everything is expensive but f it you only live once and this race only happens once a year so f it spend the $. 

Well sounds like it will be worth getting there sometime! Cool that there is a bar on-site!

As far as Port Royal goes, should I hit the Tusky 50 first or just do the Speed Showcase?

[racermurray 305]

10 minutes ago, klempa said:

 

As far as Port Royal goes, should I hit the Tusky 50 first or just do the Speed Showcase?

That depends on if you want to watch sprint cars (Tusky 50) or modifieds (Speed Showcase) or both !   😊

 

[con7 836]

23 hours ago, premiumdiesel said:

does anyone miss octoberfest 350 at hagerstown? I dont miss the 6hr ride up 81 and 88 

Octoberfest got too rubber down and usually was a one lane snooze fest, but those March SDS shows at night were some of the best races of the year. Hagerstown used to be one of the premier dirt tracks in the east.