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Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, IndyCar Series, SCCA Pirelli World Challenge, ASRA, AMA Superbike series, and SCCA Pro Racing's Trans-Am Series. NASCAR will replace Road America with street racing through Downtown Chicago starting in 2023.

Road America

"America's National Park of Speed"[1]
Road America track layout
Location	Town of Plymouth, Sheboygan County, at N7390 Highway 67, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States
Time zone	UTC-6 (UTC-5 DST)
Coordinates	43°47′51″N 87°59′38″W
Capacity	Open seating without capacity limitation
FIA Grade	2
Owner	Road America, Inc.
Operator	Road America, Inc.
Opened	10 September 1955; 67 years ago (1955-09-10)
Former names	Elkhart Lake Road Races (1955–1960)
Major events	Current: IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Road America (2016–present) IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship IMSA Fastlane SportsCar Weekend (2014–present) NASCAR Cup Series Kwik Trip 250 (1956, 2021–2022) NASCAR Xfinity Series Henry 180 (2010–present) GT World Challenge America (1991–1996, 1998, 2002–2004, 2006, 2008–2009, 2014–present) FR Americas (2021–present) MotoAmerica (1980–present) Trans-Am Series (1970–2005, 2009–present) Former: American Le Mans Series Road America 500 (2002–2013) CART Road America 200 (1982–2004, 2006–2007) Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series (2000–2001, 2011–2013) SCCA Runoffs (2009–2013, 2020)
Grand Prix Course (1955–present)
Surface	Asphalt
Length	4.048 miles (6.515 km)
Turns	14
Race lap record	1:41.874 ( Alex Zanardi, Reynard 98I, 1998, CART)
Motorcycle Course (2003–present)
Surface	Asphalt
Length	4.000 miles (6.437 km)
Turns	15
Race lap record	2:10.998 ( Jake Gagne, Yamaha YZF-R1, 2021, Superbike)
Karting road course
Surface	Asphalt
Length	0.8 miles (1.3 km)
Off road racing road course (defunct)
Surface	Clay
Length	1.1 miles (1.8 km)
Elkhart Lake Road Race Circuits
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Show map of Wisconsin Show map of the United States
Location	Cty Hwys, J, P, JP, A, and Lake St., Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Area	56.7 acres (22.9 ha)
Built	1950
NRHP reference No.	06000053[2]
Added to NRHP	February 17, 2006
Website	www.roadamerica.com

Current track and facilities

Road America is a permanent road course. It is located midway between the cities of 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 September 1955 and currently hosts over 400 events a year.[4] Of its annual events, 9 major weekends are open to the public which include 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 miles (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]}

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]}

History of racing at Elkhart Lake

Open road course

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. ruled to discontinue motorized contests of speed on public highways. This was a major blow for competition auto racing and brought the end of a long-standing tradition. This did not permanently stop road racing, however, it did shift it to private courses. In 1955, Clif Tufte started what is now known as Road America, in a configuration that has changed little over the past 60 years. 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.

Racing at Road America

Many different racing series have had the occasion to race at Road America. The first was the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) on September 10, 1955.[9] 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 that was held as part of the Champ Car World Series and currently it is a part of the IndyCar Series.

Other notable series have included NASCAR's Grand National (now NASCAR Cup Series) in 1956 and NASCAR Xfinity Series since 2010, CART from 1982 until 2007,[10] 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 starting in 2018; the trucks run a shortened course that bypasses turns 6 to 12, though the full layout is used on the final lap.[11][12]

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

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.[13][14]

Year	Date	No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Race distance		Race time	Average speed (mph)	Report	Ref
						Laps	Miles (km)
1956	August 12	15	Tim Flock	Bill Stroppe	Mercury	63	252	3:29:50	73.858	Report	[15]
1957 – 2020	Not held
2021	July 4	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	62	250.48 (403.131)	2:54:33	86.271	Report	[16]
2022	July 3	8	Tyler Reddick	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	62	250.48 (403.131)	2:35:51	96.622	Report

Xfinity Series

On December 21, 2009, NASCAR announced that with the situation at the Wisconsin State Fair Park being unclear, and losing races at the Milwaukee Mile, they 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.[17] In 2015, the race moved to late August during an off-weekend for the Sprint Cup Series.

Year	Date	Winning Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Race Distance		Race Time	Average Speed (mph)
					Laps	Miles (km)
2010	June 19	Carl Edwards	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	50	202.4 (325.731)	2:57:17	68.501
2011	June 25	Reed Sorenson	Turner Motorsports	Chevrolet	57*	230.736 (371.333)	2:55:24	78.929
2012	June 23	Nelson Piquet Jr.	Turner Motorsports	Chevrolet	50	202.4 (325.731)	2:22:35	85.171
2013	June 22	A. J. Allmendinger	Penske Racing	Ford	55*	222.64 (356.224)	2:58:50	74.697
2014	June 21	Brendan Gaughan	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	53*	214.544 (345.275)	2:48:03	76.6
2015	August 29	Paul Menard	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	45	182.20 (293.222)	2:20:21	77.874
2016	August 27	Michael McDowell	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	48*	194.304 (312.702)	2:36:20	74.573
2017	August 27	Jeremy Clements	Jeremy Clements Racing	Chevrolet	45	182.20 (293.222)	2:12:53	82.25
2018	August 25	Justin Allgaier	JR Motorsports	Chevrolet	45	182.20 (293.222)	2:23:57	75.926
2019	August 24	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	45	182.20 (293.222)	2:11:38	83.031
2020	August 8	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford	45	182.20 (293.222)	2:56:37	61.830
2021	July 3	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	45	182.20 (293.222)	2:25:47	74.972
2022	July 2	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	48*	194.304 (312.702)	2:36:14	74.621

• 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: Race extended due to green-white-checker finish attempt.

Indy Car / Champ Car race results

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.

Major incidents and events at the track

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. Luckily, nobody was seriously injured, with the worst injury being a broken arm.[18]

Cristiano da Matta deer incident

On August 3, 2006, Cristiano da Matta, driver of Champ Car's RuSPORT team, 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.[19] Da Matta was unconscious when the safety crew extricated him from the car,[20] and was airlifted via ThedaSTAR to Theda Clark Medical Center south of Appleton, where he underwent surgery to remove a subdural hematoma.[21]

Death of Adam Schatz

Adam Schatz, 26,[22] 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.[23]

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.[23]

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.[24]

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.[25]

Lap records

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

Category	Time	Driver	Vehicle	Event
Grand Prix Course: 6.515 km (1955–present)
CART	1:41.874[26]	Alex Zanardi	Reynard 98I	1998 Texaco/Havoline 200
IndyCar	1:43.4651	Josef Newgarden	Dallara DW12	2017 Kohler Grand Prix
CCWS	1:44.133	Sébastien Bourdais	Lola B02/00	2006 Grand Prix of Road America
LMP1	1:48.723[27]	Marco Werner	Audi R10 TDI	2008 Road America 500
GTP	1:48.944[28]	Juan Manuel Fangio II	Eagle MkIII	1992 Road America 2 Hours
LMP2	1:49.439[27]	Franck Montagny	Acura ARX-01B	2008 Road America 500
DPi	1:51.034[29]	Dane Cameron	Acura ARX-05	2020 IMSA SportsCar Weekend
Indy Lights	1:53.013[30]	Zachary Claman DeMelo	Dallara IL-15	2017 Indy Lights Grand Prix of Road America
LMP900	1:53.403[31]	Frank Biela	Audi R8	2002 Road America 500
Group C	1:55.330[32]	Manuel Reuter	Porsche 962C	1993 Road America 500 km
DP	1:55.458[33]	Tristan Nunez	Mazda Prototype	2016 Continental Tire Road Race Showcase
LMP675	1:56.944[31]	Jon Field	MG-Lola EX257	2002 Road America 500
WSC	1:58.379[34]	Didier Theys	Ferrari 333 SP	2001 Road America 500
Formula Atlantic	1:59.174[35]	Raphael Matos	Swift 016.a	2006 Road America Formula Atlantic round
LMPC	1:59.245[36]	Patricio O'Ward	Oreca FLM09	2017 Continental Tire Road Race Showcase
Can-Am	2:00.268[37]	Geoff Brabham	Lola T530	1981 Can-Am/CRC Trans-Am Road America
LMP3	2:01.293[38]	Felipe Fraga	Ligier JS P320	2022 IMSA Fastlane SportsCar Weekend
Indy Pro 2000	2:01.330[39]	Toby Sowery	Tatuus PM-18	2018 Road America Indy Pro 2000 round
GT1 (GTS)	2:01.446[40]	Olivier Beretta	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	2005 Road America 500
LMP3	2:01.664[41]	Matthew Bell	Ligier JS P3	2020 Road Atlanta IMSA Prototype Challenge round
F5000	2:02.220[42]	Danny Ongais	Lola T332	1976 Road America F5000 round
LM GTE	2:02.281[43]	Nick Tandy	Chevrolet Corvette C8.R	2021 IMSA SportsCar Weekend
Production car / Time Attack	2:04.877[44]	Feras Qartoumy	Corvette Z06	2021 Gridlife Fall Classic Road America
FR Americas	2:04.900[45]	Raoul Hyman	Ligier JS F3	2022 Road America FR Americas round
GT3	2:05.837[46]	Jordan Pepper	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo	2022 Road America GT World Challenge America round
GTP Lights	2:06.115[28]	Charles Morgan	Kudzu DG-2	1992 Road America 2 Hours
GTS	2:06.593[32]	Scott Pruett	Oldsmobile Cutlass	1993 Road America 500 km
TA1	2:06.898[47]	Ernie Francis Jr.	Ford Mustang	2020 Road America Trans-Am round
IMSA GTO	2:09.182[48]	Pete Halsmer	Mazda RX-7	1991 IMSA GTO Road America 200 km
US F2000	2:09.656[49]	Scott Anderson	Élan DP08	2012 Road America US F2000 round
Group 5	2:10.250[50]	John Paul Jr.	Porsche 935 JLP-3	1981 Road America 500 Miles
GTO	2:11.399[51]	Paul Gentilozzi	Jaguar XKR	2000 Road America 500 Miles
AGT	2:12.453[51]	Irv Hoerr	Chevrolet Camaro	2000 Road America 500 Miles
Ferrari Challenge	2:12.838[52]	Jason McCarthy	Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo	2021 Road America Ferrari Challenge North America round
TA2	2:13.999[53]	Rafa Matos	Chevrolet Camaro	2019 Road America Trans-Am round
NASCAR Cup	2:14.089[54]	William Byron	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE NASCAR	2021 Jockey Made in America 250
NASCAR Xfinity	2:14.655[55]	Christopher Bell	Toyota Supra	2019 CTECH Manufacturing 180
SRO GT2	2.15.474[56]	C.J. Moses	Audi R8 LMS GT2	2022 Road America GT America round
GT4	2:16.673[57]	Corey Lewis	McLaren 570S GT4	2020 Road America 120
GTU	2:16.719[51]	Darren Law	Porsche 911 (996) GT3 R	2000 Road America 500 Miles
Formula 4	2:19.141[58]	Matthew Christensen	Crawford F4-16	2022 Road America F4 United States round
IMSA AAC	2:19.146[59]	Michael Dingman	Ford Mustang	1992 Nissan Grand Prix of Road America
USF Juniors	2:20.090[60]	Mac Clark	Ligier JS F4	2022 Fleet Farm Grand Prix of Road America
IMSA GTU	2:20.208[59]	John Fergus	Dodge Daytona	1992 Nissan Grand Prix of Road America
TCR Touring Car	2:20.971[57]	Michael James Lewis	Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8)	2020 Road America 120
Motorcycle Course: 6.437 km (2003–present)
MotoAmerica (Superbike)	2:10.998[61]	Jake Gagne	Yamaha YZF-R1	2021 Road America MotoAmerica round
MotoAmerica (Supersport)	2:18.013[62]	Richie Escalante	Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R	2021 Road America MotoAmerica round
MotoAmerica (Twins Cup)	2:26.685[63]	Anthony Mazziotto	Aprilia RS 660	2022 Road America MotoAmerica round
MotoAmerica (Junior Cup)	2:39.192[64]	Rocco Landers	Kawasaki Ninja 400R	2020 2nd Road America MotoAmerica round

Other events

Road America is host to several non-automotive events.

• The Tour de Road America - Bike Ride to Fight Cancer is a bike ride on the track to raise funds for the Livestrong Foundation, the Austin Hatcher Foundation, and the Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic. The annual event has taken place every August since 2004 during the Champ Car and/or American Le Mans Series weekends, and has raised over $230,000 as of 2012. It raised over $37,000 in 2012. The 10th Tour de Road America is scheduled for August 9, 2013 during the American Le Mans / Grand Am weekend (August 9–11, 2013).
• The Road America Inline Challenge is an inline skating race on the track in June. A fun lap is also part of the event, which has taken place since 2006.
• The Annual Road America Walk/Run for the American Cancer Society has raised $2.5 million plus in its 33-year existence. The Walk/Run takes place in late October. The 2007 and 2008 events included a Mid-American Stock Car Series exhibition.

In pop culture

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, Project CARS 2, TOCA Race Driver 2, and Ride 3.

Photo gallery

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

Notes

References

External links

• Road America Official Site
• Map and circuit history at RacingCircuits.info
• Road America race results at Racing-Reference
• Karting Club at the Road America Motorplex

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