Since we have all done a great job of pondering (12+pages) one of the issues other than the rules was what is going to make a track want to book your group.. So stop pondering for a while and put on your what if hats,, if we (mods) needed a gimmick, what if we were to bring back the Thunder Mods (you need to be older to remember). Here is my base, USA type chassis (stock clips) open motor,QC coil overs on the rear,fab front a arms top and bottom, 10" slicks, wide fives, no roof, 8" spoiler with 3 vertical braces.. So stop pondering for a minute and dream about a new class of Thunder. These could be a step up from the current mods after the outlaw LM cost themselves out of business.. I know a lot of people are going to beat on me for starting something new and costly, but I know there are a lot of guys out there that would love to come and play. Maybe someone has some old thunder mod pictures they could post. Still pondering,, but dreaming as well.
The Wizard

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Here is my dad's thunder mod from 1991.

Actually, I liked the Thunder Mod's. I wished they would have held on. They gave the race fans something different to see and many fans really liked being able to see through the open roof and into the car.

I think the majority of fans liked them because they looked similar to the supermodifieds, It was something different and new. It just never caught on. Maybe Keith can remember what the car counts were like then.

Most guys ran old slicks they bought off the super late model guys.

Chris

i have a bunch of old pictures from our thunder mod feature wins at k-zoo and tri city from 1991 but i am just not bright enough to get the pics on here. oh well i guess but to respond to this thread yes as a fan now i would like to see the thunder mods again and would go see them if they could get a full field.

i can tell you that there were usually between 15-20 for the races that we got to run in 1991. we were sponsored by randy hosler then and we would get his old tires from him from his 2 supers for free. we actually also had some real good races at tri city, k-zoo, and what was then michigan ideal speedway to. i know dan logan could also tell everybody alot about them because he ran all the races to. there were also some races held the year before if i am not mistaken.

Keith,, great picture of your dads mod. I forgot he ran them as well.. I know that Kropf,Wing,Logan and a few others use to put on great shows at the big "O"

Click to view attachment

Would this fit the rules you are discussing?

If we want a real modified lets bring back Zoo Mods or go one better, someone start up a DIRT modified class (the east coast ones). Even if they were the dirt sportsman I'd take those over the IMCA/UMP/MMA/whoever is sanctioning racing this week modifieds. Dirt or pavement.

Kevin, my dad only ran mods at the very end of the 1989 season, the full 1990 season and then the begining of the 1991 season. In the 1990 Thunder Mod series he gave up the seat to numerous drivers to help bring in fans, Tim Fedewa and Gary Fedewa were the two that drove it the most. Dan Logan drove it once at Angola in the last race of the season. I know John Boy Hotchkiss drove it once at Angola but I don't remember if it was a Thunder Mod show or not. It had a very bad engine in it, if Dan isn't to old to remember, it was basically running on 7 cylinders. He had a sponsor that paid for his tires so that was nice.

He mainly ran Springport and Owosso with it and it was fast at Springport but mid pack on back at Owosso. He had the track record at Springport for a little while and finished 4th or 5th in points in 1990. He only ran one Thunder Mod show in 1991, I thought they only ran one that year before it folded, at K-Zoo and he finished 3rd to Dan Bailey and Roger Wing. We had no clue about that wing and lucky for us we got there late and they put us in the middle of the ISMA guys and a couple of them helped us get the right angle on the wing. He sold the car around June or July of 1991 and retired from racing. I know he really liked the Thunder Mod series.

TJ it would be nice to see real modifieds in the area,, always look forward to my trip to Syracuse in the fall,, I think the old Butler mods are as close as anybody ever got, but even then they were more like the old super mods. The Slade boys, and the Pink Panther (Don Taylor).
Chris, I think one of the best shows at the dealer's Choice use to be the old Open Mods,, that was kind of like Thunder Mods on dirt. Maybe that would be a good compromise between east Coast types and the Old Butler cars.. Any thoughts on Thunder Mods on dirt??
Gregg, nice mod. take the roof off and lets go Thunder mods.

Open Mod was my favorite division at Dealers Choice. You had the Zoo Mods, Butler and Avilla Cars, Late Models with sideboards and no fenders and IMCA cars plus a few Pro stocks thrown in there. Kevin, if you make a class like this happen I would go to any race you had in the state during my time on leave. It would be cool if it were a dirt series I'd prefer it but I can do asphalt too. Shoot if the new car comes together I might even run a show.Or even better convince Rick Beebe to bring the Dealers Choice out of retirement and bring open modified back!!!!

I still have an old Thunder Mod wing that was built by Roger Wing. I ended up with it fom my dad some how before he died. It sat at Fedewa's in Holt for a long time. We used it in one of the last "great" Dealer's Choice @ Cyrstal my rookie year of driving (pictured below).

I used it one more time a couple of years later, after we put some bigger sides on it @ a GLOM race @ Butler.



I remember the #34 car pictured above. The car was sold to a guy in St.Johns that my dad new also. I think I still know where that wing is also (it was used by a friend in GLOM races).

Todd, If you know where either wing is at, and if either are for sale,trade,get out of the way. PM me, please.
The Wizard

I had a chance to see the dirt sportsman for the first time last year at Ohsweken. I thought this would be a perfect alternative to an e-mod style car with skinny tires. The sportsman put on a good show, didn't spin out much, and it looks different than everything else. Even if they ran them on asphalt it would at least break up the monotony of abc bodies and cloned race cars around here. It is kind of hard for me to get used to those monster mufflers they run on the DIRT mods though (very neighbor friendly though).

NOW that's what I'm talkin about !!

TJ,, I know racecars are supposed to be loud, but those big mufflers are kind of nice. I'm adding them to my dirt mod along with the 180 headers. Does anyone remember anything about the old Zoo mod rules? were they basic IMCA cars with big slicks, or were there other differences? I was to busy with dirt in those days to remember.
Jake, I don't think you will get Rick to have anything to do with Marc Times or Dealer's Choice.. And I'm also sure that Dick would never give up that name with big $$ attached, so you would have to come up with something. The Outlaw stuff or GLOM is cool, but if this was to come back, I'd rather not get to that extreme. Let the tracks run a "Run what ya Brung" show at the end of the year themselves and pack the stands. My thoughts were more along the line of something closer to a LM on dirt/asphalt and maybe allow the wing at a max 25 Sq. foot deal so you could buy old SOD/Allstar stuff.. Hell I'd even open that up to ISMA type wings that articulate, since I know where to find 2 or 3. I guess I'll keep listening and dreaming.
Any other thoughts?

The picture i got from racingjunk. The reason i put it there is it is a Troyer modified which seems would fit your rules you are talking about.

I know there was a group in Indiana that was trying to start a NASCAR type modified group with a few different (cost saving) rules. I don't know what ever happened to that group. I know they had one or two cars built for shows, but I don't know if they ever raced.

Traveling on the under card for the SOD or AVSS you would have a nice niche fit. At least I think so anyhow.