Road America

Road America

Elkhart Lake
Opening:	1955
Track layout
Route data
Important events:	NASCAR Xfinity Series ( Johnsonville 180 ) IndyCar Series (Kohler Grand Prix) IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship AMA Superbike SCCA Speed ​​World Challenge Series
Route length:	6.515  km (4.05  mi )
Curves:	14th
Audience capacity:	50,000
http://www.roadamerica.com

Coordinates: 43 ° 48 ′ 0 ″  N , 87 ° 59 ′ 40 ″  W.

Road America is a permanent race track in Elkhart Lake . Since the opening in 1955, races from a wide variety of motorsport series have been held on the street circuit every year, currently the IndyCar Series , NASCAR Xfinity Series , AMA Superbike Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship are racing on the track.

Route and facilities

Welcome sign

The course has a length of a little more than 4  miles or the equivalent of around 6.5 km and has a total of 14 bends. There are also several height differences that have to be overcome during a lap, as well as a long start and finish straight on which speeds of up to 200  mph can be achieved. The racetrack is particularly known for its back straight with the so-called "kink", a kink that has already been the undoing of many racing drivers and who therefore had to retire from the race.

The facility itself has grandstands with a capacity of 10,000 spectators, but due to the many hills along the circuit, more than 150,000 spectators can attend a race. There are also 13 special stands, but these are not easily accessible. However, camping is permitted on the site.

In addition to the main race track, there is a 0.8 mile or 1.29 km long kart track within the carousel, the so-called "Briggs & Stratton Motorplex". It was built on the site of a former off-road course that the SODA series raced on in the 1990s.

history

Open road course

Information sign at the start and finish lines of the original course

In the late 1940s, the popularity of road racing in the United States increased significantly. These were organized by the Sports Car Club of America and together with the community of Elkhart Lake they organized the first road race in town in 1950.

The start and finish was on County Road P . The participants drove north to County Road J , from there towards the community and then west to the then County Highway X . Via County Road P we went back to the start and finish line. The lap length on this course was 3.3 miles or the equivalent of 5.3 km. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 17, 2006 , and signs were posted along the route.

A different route was used for the next two races in 1951 and 1952. The course on county roads J, A, and P was 6.5 miles and 10.5 km, respectively.

Private street course

Champ Cars at Turn 8 at the Kohler International Challenge

After the tragic accident in Watkins Glen in 1952, in which a twelve-year-old child was killed, motor sport races on public highways were banned. Nevertheless, this drastic measure did not mean the end of street races, but rather they were shifted to private racetracks. In 1955, Cliff Tufte opened what is now known as Road America. The configuration has not changed significantly since it opened.

Race on Road America

Many different racing series used Road America to host races. The first was the Sports Car Club of America on September 10, 1955. In 1956 was the Grand National Series of NASCAR at Road America as a guest - it should be due to the lack of commercial success until 2010 the only NASCAR race at the course . From 1982 until bankruptcy in 2008, the Champ Car World Series held a race here every year. Other racing series include the American Le Mans Series , the Grand-Am , USAC , CanAm , Trans-Am , IMSA , and the AMA . A NASCAR Xfinity Series race has also been held since 2010, and the IndyCar Series returned to the track in 2016.

Web links

Commons : Road America  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

• Official website