Super Modifieds

In the world of auto racing, the term modified or super modified, covers a lot of ground. They can be from the past or the present, and run on asphalt or dirt. For this post the term super modified, supermodified, super mod, or super means New England’s “Oswego” style radical offset asphalt super Modified. We will take a look at the International Super Modified Association. They sanction races in the U.S. and Canada at a variety of northeastern paved tracks. Paved track supermodifieds, have their own culture of fans.

In 1964 my parents and I took off in our 1961 Ford for the New York World’s Fair. As with most of our summer vacations, there would likely be at least one stop at a race track along the way.

By this point in my life I was very familiar with the form of Modified Stock Cars that competed in my home region of Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan. Beautiful old coupe and coach bodied cars. Short wheel bases with fuel injected engines of all sizes. They ran on a series of mostly ¼ mile dirt tracks, but there were three asphalt tracks that also hosted these pretty cars. We had heard that a track in Oswego, N.Y. hosted modifieds
and we made it just in time for their weekly Saturday night show. When we walked up to the gate, the sign readSuper Modified racing and boy were they right. A blazing fast 5/8^th mile blacktop track with radical and scary fast cars. Many of these cars looked like shortened and caged front engine Indy Car roadsters. I had never seen anything like it but this 13 year old boy was a fan for life. Oswego was and still is the legendary main track for these kinds of cars. Through the years the likes of radical innovator Jimmy Shampine, Nolan Swift and Doug Heveron

There is (or used to be) some similar forms of supers running in Colorado (ERA), Utah and Idaho.

The ISMA is where paved track super modified racing will come visit a track near you…at least if you live from Michigan to the Atlantic Ocean. You will find the IMSA schedule (below) to be short but it covers a beautiful mixture of short tracks. From high banked to flat and from ¼ (really 1/5 ) to 5/8^th mile in length.

This style of racing is fast and competitive.  It would be worth traveling to a non-racing show of these vehicles, just to look at them.

2012 Schedule International Super Modified Association


Saturday, May 26 Five Weekly Classes plus ISMA Waterford Speedbowl Waterford, Conn. 50

Saturday, June 30 CARQUEST Super Saturday Stafford Motor Speedway Stafford Springs, Conn. 50


Saturday, July 7 King of Wings Oswego Speedway Oswego, N.Y. 50



Friday, July 27 Hy-Miler Fast 40 Sandusky Speedway Sandusky, Ohio 40



Saturday, July 28 Hy-Miler Nationals Sandusky Speedway Sandusky, Ohio 100



Friday, Aug. 3 Supermodified Weekend Delaware Speedway Delaware, Ontario, Canada 30



Saturday, Aug. 4 Supermodified Weekend Delaware Speedway Delaware, Ontario, Canada 75

Friday, Aug. 10 Ollie Silva Memorial Lee USA Speedway Lee, N.H. 50

Saturday, Aug. 11 5th Annual Wings & Wheels Waterford Speedbowl Waterford, Conn. 50

Friday, Aug. 24 Sandusky Speedway Sandusky, Ohio 50

Saturday, Aug. 25 Weekend of Speed Berlin Raceway Marne, Mich. 50

Saturday, Sept. 1 International Classic Weekend Oswego Speedway Oswego, N.Y. 60

Saturday, Sept. 8 Star Classic Star Speedway Epping, N.H. 150


Saturday, Sept. 29 Racing Against Cancer 100 Seekonk Speedway Seekonk, Mass. 100

Saturday, Oct. 13 World Series of Racing Thompson Int'l Speedway Thompson, Conn. Heats Sunday,

Oct. 14 World Series of Racing Thompson Int'l Speedway Thompson, Conn. 50

Saturday, Nov. 3 ISMA Banquet Turning Stone Casino Vernon, N.Y.

The pictures below are not mine. They are borrowed from the World Wide Web.
Excuse the small image size of all but ISMA’s logo shot, but I felt it necessary to only use thumbnails.