RevNew International Racing Association

The **RevNew International Racing Association (IRA)** (formerly known as the International Dirt Association (1993-1999), RPM International Dirt Association (2000-2005), and the International Dirt Association (2006-2018).

## History

### Early Beginnings

After being forced out of his own dirt racing series by former partners, the Piston Cup, Bill Rutherford held an event in 1992 at Springfield Raceway in Springfield Missouri. The event was a huge success with his 17 year old son, Winford Bradford Rutherford winning it.

### International Dirt Association (IDA) (1993-2018)

By 1993, Bill had got funding to turn this 1 event into an actual dirt series. Bill was able to get 5 tracks, including Springfield onboard for a summer series in 1993 called the International Dirt Association (IDA), this included 3 USA tracks, 1 Canada track, and 1 Mexico Track.

In 1994, Bill took the series further, he expanded to 8 tracks throughout the months of July and August and had a total of 28 racers full-time, along with 18 other part-time racers. He ran races in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Greenland. This same schedule lasted until 1998 when Bill added 2 more tracks, 1 in the United Kingdom and the other in Puerto Rico. In 1999, Bill's cousin, Jeremy Rutherford had a horrible crash in the Charlotte North Carolina race. The 46 year old was rushed to the hospital where he was put in a coma. This was the first major accident of the series. In February of 2000, Jeremy did wake up from the coma and was okay.

The 2000 IDA Season was the first one with a major sponsor, RPM and CEO Kurt Billard came back to Bill with an offer to sponsor the series. The IDA became the RPM International Dirt Association. This lasted from 2000-2005 when once again, the Piston Cup intervened with Bill. Since RPM signed on to sponsor the Developmental Piston Cup Tour Series for 2006, they were not gonna allow them to sponsor the IDA anymore. Billard was forced to back out of the IDA. From 2006-2010, the IDA and Bill struggled to stay afloat. 2010 was the lowest point of the series with only 4 events, all but 1 inside the USA since Bill couldn't afford to go to other countries.

But the 63 year old had hope still, and after multiple negotiations leading up to the 2011 season, he was able to put together an 8 race schedule with 2 US races, 2 Canada races, 1 UK race, and 1 Cuba race. He also gained multiple international partners, one including Vodaphone, a major UK company. The popularity skyrocketed in 2011, the series soon became even more popular than the Piston Cup Dirt Series and more US fans wanted to watch the IDA instead. In 2012, the Piston Cup sent their Dirt Series to Spain for a 1 off race in order to win over the international pride but a Russia and Australia race were added to the 2012 IDA schedule which really launched the beginning of the IDA's Golden Age.

By 2017, Bill had 15 races on the schedule in multiple different countries along with a huge fan-base, Bill retired and let his son, Winford Bradford Rutherford take the series over as his racing career ended a few years back in the Piston Cup. 2017 was a huge year for the IDA, they were able to get huge international performers to perform at the events, including Dinoco Records as one of the producers.

### RevNew International Racing Association

In 2018, Winford and numerous companies and partners invested in the IDA and formed the International Racing Association (IRA) with RevNew, a France company most seen in the 24 Hours Of Le Mans as the major sponsor of the group. 2018 saw the once only dirt series split off into the RevNew International Dirt Series (IDS) and then the new series, the RevNew International Endurance Championship (IEC). As of 2023, the IRA is rumored to be starting a plane racing series like the Wings Around The Globe to challenge them.

#### RevNew International Dirt Series (IDS)

With the dirt series now split off into it's own little part as the IRA expands rapidly, the IDS now expands to 20 dirt tracks across the USA, Canada, the UK, Russia, Australia, Mexico, Cuba, Columbia, China, and Spain. 4 in the US, 2 in Canada, 2 in Mexico, and 2 in Australia. The series does not allow next gens to race and only allows stock cars.

### RevNew International Endurance Championship

Winford Bradford Rutherford branched the Association into Dirt Racing and now Endurance Racing with the RevNew International Endurance Championship with hosts 8 hour timed races across the world.