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Road America

Race track From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Road America is a motorsport road course near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the IndyCar Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship, Sports Car Club of America GT World Challenge America and Trans-Am Series and the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.

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Current track and facilities

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Road America is a permanent road course. It is halfway between Milwaukee and Green Bay and classified as an FIA Grade Two circuit.[3]

The track is situated on 640 acres (260 ha) near the Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive. It has hosted races since 1955 and hosts over 400 events a year.[4] Of its annual events, 9 major weekends are open to the public, including 3 motorcycle events including the MotoAmerica (AMA FIM) series, 3 vintage car events, Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) events, the United Sports Car Racing Series, the Pirelli World Challenge, and the NASCAR Xfinity Series.[citation needed]

Road America is one of only a handful of road circuits in the world maintaining its original configuration[4] being 4.048 mi (6.515 km) in length with 14 turns. The track features many elevation changes, along with a long front stretch where speeds approaching 200 mph (320 km/h) may be reached. One of the best known features of this course is a turn on the backside known as "the kink".[citation needed]

Road America's open seating allows spectators to venture throughout the grounds. Grandstands are available in several locations, as well as permanent hillside seating where crowds of more than 150,000 can be accommodated.[citation needed] Road America held one NASCAR Grand National race (now NASCAR Cup Series) in 1956 and two more Cup Series races in 2021 and 2022; NASCAR then opted to move the Cup Series and become a race in and around Chicago streets starting in 2023.

Briggs & Stratton Motorplex

In addition to the main course, the facility includes a 0.8-mile (1.3 km) karting track called the Briggs & Stratton Motorplex inside the Carousel. The motorplex hosts two series of karting events. It hosts weekly events on Tuesdays in the summer. It also hosts approximately six Saturday events during the summer. The motorplex also hosts events sanctioned by the North Woods GP series running Supermoto and street bike racing using small displacement motorcycles.[citation needed]

Off road racing circuit

The Motorplex was built at the site of an earlier off road racing circuit used for several SODA events in the 1990s. The 1995 event was televised tape delayed on ESPN2 by reporters Marty Reid, Ivan Stewart, and Jimmie Johnson.[5] The course was 1.1 miles (1.8 km) long with 150 feet (46 m) of elevation change.[5] The track featured a blind jump nicknamed "The Hell Hole".[5]

Tunnel

In late 2006, Road America began a project to remove the old Bill Mitchell bridge and use a tunnel as the main entrance to the paddock. The tunnel project was completed in May 2007 with the grand opening celebration on May 31 for the AMA Suzuki Superbike Championship weekend.[6] The tunnel is 16.5 ft (5.0 m) high and 36 ft (11 m) wide and has two lanes of traffic and two pedestrian walkways on either side. With the removal of the bridge, a new spectator viewing area was created.[citation needed]

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History of racing at Elkhart Lake

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Open road course

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The site of the 1951 and 1952 start finish line for road races in downtown Elkhart Lake

In the late 1940s, road racing was gaining popularity, owing to the post World War II economy, and the influx of sporting automobiles. The Sports Car Club of America was the main organizer of these races, and in 1950, the Chicago Region SCCA and the Village of Elkhart Lake organized the first road race at Elkhart Lake.

The 1950 circuit start-finish line was on County Road P. Competitors went north to County Road J, then South into the Village of Elkhart Lake, and West on what is now County JP (then called County Highway X), and reconnected with County Road P for a total distance of 3.3 mi (5.3 km).

For the next two races, in 1951 and 1952, a different course was used. It was 6.5 mi (10.5 km) long, on County Roads J, A, and P. To date, one may still drive most of the original course.

The original course was registered on the National Register of Historic Places on February 17, 2006. Signs have been installed marking key locations on the course.[7][8]

Private road course

After the tragedy at Watkins Glen in 1952, where a child was killed, the U.S. discontinued motorized contests of speed on public highways. This was a major blow for competition auto racing, ending a long-standing tradition. It did not permanently stop road racing but shifted it to private courses. In 1955, Clif Tufte started what is now known as Road America, in a configuration that has changed little since. The addition of Road America as a private track meant a transition from racing through the streets of tiny Elkhart Lake to racing on a big, wide, dedicated race track.[9]

Racing at Road America

Many different racing series have raced at Road America. The first was the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) on September 10, 1955.[10] The Road America 500 is a sports car race that was part of different championships, among them the SCCA National Sports Car Championship, the United States Road Racing Championship and the IMSA GT Championship. Currently it is a points-paying race of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. The Grand Prix of Road America is an open-wheel race held as part of the Champ Car World Series. It is now part of the IndyCar Series.

Other notable series include NASCAR's Grand National (now NASCAR Cup Series) in 1956 and NASCAR Xfinity Series since 2010, CART from 1982 to 2007,[11] Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Racing Series, CanAm, Trans-Am, AMA, and the SCCA National Championship Runoffs from 2009 to 2013. The Stadium Super Trucks began racing at the track in 2018; the trucks run a shortened course that bypasses turns 6 to 12, though the full layout is used on the final lap.[12][13]

Road America also holds a variety of vintage racing events, including the Brian Redman International Challenge, now the HAWK with Brian Redman.

ALMS race history

At the 2008 Road America 500 an Audi R10 TDI set an LMP1 pole time of 1:46.935. At the 2009 Road Race Showcase, Dyson Racing Team set an LMP2 pole time of 1:51.010. At the 2011 Road Race Showcase, BMW Team RLL set a GT pole time of 2:05.447, while at the same event a Porsche 997 GT3 set a GTC pole time of 2:14.126.

NASCAR race history

Cup Series

Main article: Kwik Trip 250

One NASCAR Grand National (now NASCAR Cup Series) race was held in 1956. The track hosted two more Cup series races in 2021 and 2022 before being planned to be replaced by the Chicago Street Race in 2023.[14][15]

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Xfinity Series

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Xfinity cars in 2019
Main article: Henry 180

On December 21, 2009, NASCAR announced that with the situation at the Wisconsin State Fair Park unclear, and losing races at the Milwaukee Mile, it would move Milwaukee's Xfinity Series race to Road America. The first race was held on June 19, 2010, and was won by Carl Edwards.[18] In 2015, the race moved to late August during an off-weekend for the Sprint Cup Series.

More information Year, Date ...
  • 2011: Race extended due to three green–white–checker finish attempts and ended under caution when the three attempts to finish the race failed.
  • 2013: Race extended due to two green-white-checker finish attempts.
  • 2014, 2016, 2022–2023: Race extended due to green-white-checker finish attempt.

Indy Car / Champ Car race results

Main article: Grand Prix of Road America

The CART Champ Car series held races at the track from 1982 to 2007, with the exception of 2005. The Verizon Indy Car Series revived the event beginning in 2016.

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Major incidents and events at the track

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2005 BRIC wreck

At the beginning of the Group 6 race in the 2005 Brian Redman International Challenge, there was a large incident consisting of most of the field: The driver starting fifth (Ray Mulacek, 1969 Chevrolet Camaro) accelerated well before the green flag and tried to force his way between the wall and the car in front of him, resulting in contact with the wall. A following car checked up and was rear-ended, causing a spin that led to further contact as following cars were unable to avoid the growing incident. After just a few seconds of green flag racing, the red flag was waved. Following the initial incident, the failure of trailing drivers to heed red flags being shown at 14 and 15 (under the bridge at the crest of the hill) may have compounded the issue. Nobody was seriously injured, with the worst injury being a broken arm.[19]

Cristiano da Matta deer incident

On August 3, 2006, Cristiano da Matta, driver of Champ Car's RuSPORT team and 2002 series champion, was involved in a collision with a deer during Champ Car open testing at Road America. The deer ran in front of his car as he was heading towards turn 6. He hit the deer with his right front tire, the deer then flew back and hit da Matta in the cockpit.[20] Da Matta was unconscious when the safety crew extricated him from the car,[21] and was airlifted via ThedaSTAR to Theda Clark Medical Center south of Appleton, where he underwent surgery to remove a subdural hematoma.[22]

Death of Adam Schatz

Adam Schatz, 26,[23] from Chicago, Illinois, died in a karting accident during the Road America Super Nationals, Championship Enduro Series on July 12, 2008.

Bump drafting was a determining factor of the crash.[24]

During the end of the race, Schatz was in second place. On the main straight, shortly after the last turn, Schatz saw the kart in third position on his left and tried to pull ahead to be bumped. As he did so, the kart in fourth position bumped the third, speeding the third kart up. At this point Schatz was not clear as to what was happening, and as he moved to his left, the two karts made contact.

Schatz's kart veered hard left and hit the wall. The impact sent the kart flying ten feet into the air ejecting the driver onto the track. The rest of the drivers avoided Schatz, some drivers stopped and after seeing Schatz's condition, waved to get medical help.[24]

The race was immediately stopped as medical assistance arrived on the place of the accident. Schatz had suffered brain stem and spinal cord injuries and his heart had stopped. He was revived by the doctors and taken to the Theda Clark Memorial Hospital in Neenah, Wisconsin, but his injuries proved to be too severe to survive and one week later he died.[25]

2015 CCR Tifosi Challenge red flag wreck

During the Pirelli World Challenge weekend, drivers Steve Hill and Jim Booth were involved in an intense battle for first. The drivers contacted each other heading towards turn 5, causing Jim Booth to go airborne into the catch fence at 150 mph. This caused significant damage to the fence throwing debris into the spectator area. Booth's car was completely destroyed while Hill was able to continue the race with minor damage. Neither of the drivers, personnel, or spectators were injured during the incident.[26]

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Lap records

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The official lap record for Road America is 1:39.866, set by Dario Franchitti during the qualifying of the 2000 Motorola 220 while the race lap record is 1:41.874, set by Alex Zanardi in the 1998 Texaco/Havoline 200. As of August 2025, the fastest official race lap records at Road America for different classes are listed as:

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Events

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Current
Former

Other events outside racing

Road America is host to several non-automotive events.

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In pop culture

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Video games

The Road America track has been included in multiple racing video games, including Automobilista 2, the Forza Motorsport series, CART Precision Racing, iRacing, Raceroom Racing Experience, NASCAR Heat 2, NASCAR Heat 3, NASCAR Heat 4,NASCAR Heat 5, Need for Speed: Shift, Shift 2: Unleashed, Project CARS, Flag to Flag ,Project CARS 2, TOCA Race Driver 2, and Ride 3.

Wisconsin license plate

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An example of Wisconsin's Road America license plate with a vanity slogan; if no message is so chosen by the driver, a five-digit number, followed by "RA" within the rightmost letter space is produced instead.

On October 4, 2021, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation introduced a special license plate honoring Road America, colored black and featuring an outline map of the Road America track (with a northward orientation; this article's infobox map features the track orientated westward) on its left side. The plate itself is fully black with all-white lettering, and has proven to be popular among state drivers for its 'blackout' design, especially among car clubs, and making vanity plate messages stand out, becoming the most requested specialty design in 2023, above specialty plates for the state's sports teams and a Harley-Davidson-specific design.[79]

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Photo gallery

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    Welcome sign
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    The sign marking the start/finish line on the original road course
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    A group of Group 9 BOSS cars going around turn eight at the Kohler International Challenge
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    Fans looking east at Turn Five during the 1995 June Sprints
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    Looking up the frontstretch hill
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    2010 NASCAR Xfinity Series race
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    Victory lane
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    Turn 5

Notes

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