NASCAR Cup race at Road America

Since 2021, the NASCAR Cup Series has raced at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The series first raced on the 4.048 mi (6.515 km) road course in 1956, but it did not return to the schedule until 2021 as part of Independence Day weekend.

TBA
NASCAR Cup Series
VenueRoad America
LocationElkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Corporate sponsorTBA
First race1956
Distance250.48 miles (403.11 km)
Laps62
Stage 1: 14
Stage 2: 15
Final stage: 33
Previous namesInternational Stock Car Road Race (1956)
Circuit information
SurfaceAsphalt
Length4.048 mi (6.515 km)
Turns14

The NASCAR Xfinity Series' Henry 180 serves as a support event to the race.

History

The first, and prior to 2021 only, NASCAR Cup Series race at Road America was a 250-mile event held in 1956, when the series was known as the Grand National Series. The race, promoted as "America's First International Stock Car Road Race",[1] was officially sanctioned by NASCAR but the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) provided support for the event and foreign cars were allowed entry.[2][3] The FIA's Commission Sportive Internationale secretary Hubert Schroeder served as race overseer. As road racing was rare for the series at the time, speculation among fans revolved around American cars' ability to maneuver the course; the field featured 25 American vehicles, a Jaguar Mark VII, and four Renaults.[4] The race was run on August 12; although Speedy Thompson took the lead as the leaders went through pit stops,[4] an engine failure forced him to retire from the race and Tim Flock led the final ten laps to win.[5] After the race, Flock remarked that "road racing is all right."[4]

Road America began hosting NASCAR again in 2010 with the NASCAR Nationwide Series, which replaced the series' race at the Milwaukee Mile.[6]

In June 2020, it was reported that Road America was in negiotiaions to host the Cup Series in 2021.[7] When NASCAR revealed the 2021 Cup Series schedule on September 30, 2020, Road America was included on the Fourth of July weekend.[8] Following the late addition of the Go Bowling 235, Road America became one of seven road courses on the 2021 Cup calendar, the most in series history.[9]

Past winners
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 63 258.3 3:29:50 73.858 Report [5]
1957
–
2020		 Not held
2021 July 4 [8]

References
  1. "America's First International Stock Car Road Race". The Sheboygan Press. August 9, 1956. Retrieved January 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Driver Showdown Expected At Road America Next Week". The Sheboygan Press. August 3, 1956. Retrieved January 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Stock Cars Test Road America Course First Time Aug. 12". Green Bay Press-Gazette. July 28, 1956. Retrieved January 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "They laughed when NASCAR's stock cars took to the road at Elkhart Lake, but Tim Flock gave the show a Detroit surprise". Sports Illustrated. August 20, 1956. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  5. "1956-37". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  6. Mejia, Diego (December 22, 2009). "Nationwide to race at Road America". Autosport. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  7. Stern, Adam (June 17, 2020). "Road America Talking To NASCAR About Landing Cup Series Race". Sports Business Daily. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  8. Long, Dustin (September 30, 2020). "Road America to host 2021 Cup race on July 4". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  9. Nguyen, Justin (December 8, 2020). "NASCAR's road course love story continues with Daytona RC addition to create Florida tripleheader, Fontana removed". The Checkered Flag. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
Previous race:
Pocono 350		 NASCAR Cup Series
TBA		 Next race:
Quaker State 400
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.