 ROAD AMERICA
A road race course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Wisconsin Highway 67, it has hosted races since the 1950s. It currently hosts races in the SCCA Speed World Challenge Series, American Le Mans, ASRA, and AMA Superbike series. On June 19, 2010, the track held its first NASCAR event since the 1950s when the Nationwide Series took to the track for the Bucyrus 200.
The vision of Road America grew out of the dreams of
a man named Clif Tufte. A trained civil engineer, Tufte spent almost a year planning one of the world's finest and most challenging road courses.
Tufte's dream became a reality in April 1955 when the
track was carved out of 525 acres of Wisconsin farmland. By September 10, 1955 the track's first SCCA national race weekend was held.
Millions of dollars in improvements have been made throughout the years, but the original 4.048-mile, 14-turn configuration has never been altered.
In 2005, Elkhart Lake's Road America, Inc. celebrated
its 50th anniversary.
Road America hosts the Brian Redman International Challenge for vintage cars which has been renamed the Kohler International Challenge with Brian Redman.
The First Race at Road America: September 10 & 11, 1955
Phill Hill won the 148 mile feature race in a Ferrari Monza after a sensational fight with the D Jaguar of Sherwood Johnston.
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KOHLER INTERNATIONAL
CHALLENGE WITH BRIAN REDMAN
PRESENTED BY FORD
JULY 15-18
This peak-of-summer event is an annual tradition with its blend of art-on-wheels and great competition between everything from cult favorites to priceless limited production models.
Event host Brian Redman and other special guests add personal flair, while gorgeous cars race, tour and participate in the Road & Track Concours d'Elegance. No other vintage event in the country draws more eyes or wheels.
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14th Annual
Road America Camping Trip
2010
July 16-18, 2010
Summertime is camping time. Just you, your navigator, your MG, and a tent is all it takes to enjoy a weekend of Classic Motor Sport with several dozen of your closest friends and fellow aficionados at Road America Race Track in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, this year starting on Friday July 16 through Sunday July 18. This event is a great experience that should be on your ?bucket list of things to do, so let us describe a standard weekend at the Kohler International Challenge with Brian Redman:
Drive your MG about an hour north of Milwaukee, to Plymouth Rock Campground just across the street and a bit south from a main entrance to Road America. Get there on Friday by 4 P.M., preferably early enough to set up your tent by 5. An earlier arrival means there will be no one to ?help you and provides you an opportunity to ?help others set up their tents later – in other words, pick your spot and no one bothers you. Then, just before 5 P.M., it is off to find a space in Elkhart Lake along the main streets to watch the last cars for the Friday night Enduro Race arrive for the Race Car Concours. This police-sanctioned running of race cars on the street provides many examples of cars that are only seen in museums and as pictures in books. It is a fabulous way to kick off the racing weekend!
Dinner follows at the Marsh Lodge and Three Guys and Grill ((920) 876-2535), located at the end of County J out of Elkhart Lake. Bring either mosquito repellant or a few units of whole blood. Long sleeves are the mark of the survivor.
Saturday can be a full day at the track – tickets for both days are $50 at the gate or $40 online prior to July 7. Check the Road America website. Saturday night is supper together at the campground. (Unfortunately, registration at the campground is essential to participate in supper due to campground policies.) Bring your own meat (if carnivorous) and a small side dish to pass (typically, there is too much of everything).
After supper there is another opportunity to visit Elkhart Lake, look at concours street cars on parade, and maybe have a drink at Siebkens, the very same place immortalized in Levy‘s The Last Open Road. Saturday night is campfire time, though this no longer lasts into the wee hours as it did many years ago.
Sunday can be another day at the track or any of many tours and attractions in the area. Plymouth Rock Campground has a small camp store, many activities especially for kids, and usually a dance for adults on Saturday night in the Mayflower Inn.
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July 2010
