The Grand Prix of Road America, also known as the Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America for sponsorship reasons, is an

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

race held at

Road America 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 Champ ...

Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin Elkhart Lake is a village in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, located within the northwestern part of the county within the Town of Rhine. The population was 967 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolit ...

. For twenty-five years, the event was part of the CART series, with the first race being held in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

. The event was put on hiatus in 2008 after the unification of Champ Car into the

Indy Racing League The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

. On August 8, 2015, it was announced that the race would return beginning with the

2016 IndyCar Series season The 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series was the 21st season of the IndyCar Series and the 105th season of American open wheel racing. It included the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. Scott Dixon entered as the reigning Drivers' Champion, while C ...

. The race weekend typically includes all three series under the

Mazda Road to Indy , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...

and the

Pirelli World Challenge The GT World Challenge America is a North American auto racing series launched in 1990 by the Sports Car Club of America. It has been managed by the Stephane Ratel Organisation since 2018, and has been sanctioned by the United States Auto Club s ...

(GT/GT-A/GT Cup & GTS) as support races.

Race history

The first major open wheel racing at

was a USAC/

SCCA The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional r ...

Formula 5000 Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars tha ...

(

SCCA Continental Championship The SCCA Continental Championship was an annual, professional, open-wheel motor racing series organized by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), under various names, from 1967 to 1976. The inaugural series was staged in 1967 as the SCCA Grand Prix ...

) held from 1974 to 1976. The

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

Indy car series first visited Road America in

. Road America was one of several

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

and

street A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, ...

races that were added to the series during the 1980s. Immediately, the race became a popular event, owing much to the challenging, competitive, and picturesque nature of the course. Along with

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, the CART series for many years featured two stops annually in the state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. Since its inception, Road America has been the longest track utilized on the Indy car circuit. At 4.048 miles (6.515 km), fuel mileage has been a deciding factor in many races. On more than one occasion, competitors have run out of fuel within sight of victory, occasionally leading to surprise winners. In some years, rain has been a factor, again adding a difficult challenge to even the most experienced drivers. Throughout nearly its entire history as part of the

/ CCWS series calendar, the race was scheduled for either August or September, usually late in the season. The race was oftentimes a pivotal race in the championship hunt. The race began as a 50-lap/200-mile race, but was later lengthened. In 2007 only, the race was paired in a double-header weekend with the

ALMS Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of virtue or Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving, and it is a widespread p ...

Road America 500 The Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America (formerly the Road America 500) is a sports car racing, sports car race held at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The event began in 1950, and in 1951 was added to the SCCA National S ...

. The high speeds obtained on the course have seen several major crashes.

A. J. Foyt Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. (born January 16, 1935) is an American retired auto racing driver who has raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes United States Automobile Club Champ cars, sprint cars, and midget cars. H ...

went off in turn one in 1990, and nearly ended his career due to severe leg and ankle injuries. During a test session in 2006,

Cristiano da Matta Cristiano Monteiro da Matta (born 19 September 1973) is a Brazilian former professional racing driver. He won the CART Championship in 2002, and drove in Formula One with the Toyota team from 2003 to 2004. Career biography Origins and early car ...

hit a

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

, suffering a

subdural hematoma A subdural hematoma (SDH) is a type of bleeding in which a Hematoma, collection of blood—usually but not always associated with a traumatic brain injury—gathers between the inner layer of the dura mater and the arachnoid mater of the meninges ...

Katherine Legge Katherine Anne Legge ( ; born 12 July 1980) is a British professional auto racing driver, competing in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. She is also featured in ''Richard Hammond's Crash Course''. Racing career Early racing and Atlantics ...

suffered one of the most severe crashes during the 2006 race. the car lost a rear wing going into the Turn 11 Kink, and flipped into the catchfence.

Race revival

In February 2003,

officials filed a lawsuit against the promoters of the race, stating they had failed to pay sanctioning fees due from the previous year's race, and failed to make payments due for the 2003 race. On March 11, series officials cancelled the race outright. The reaction among media and fans was very negative, as many believed the series was dropping one of its marquee events. A few weeks later, the track issued a countersuit against CART, stating that the sanctioning body broke the contract by cancelling the race.

Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, t ...

stepped in to mediate, and in April the two sides came together to reinstate the event. The race was renamed the "Mario Andretti Grand Prix" in his honor. After coming back for two more seasons, Road America was left off the 2005 Champ Car schedule due to lack of sponsorship and declining attendance. Promoters, however, were able to bring the race back for

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

. The track was to be part of the 2008 Champ Car schedule, but it became a casualty of the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

open wheel unification. The event went on hiatus for nearly a decade. After several years of speculation, the race was revived as part of the IndyCar Series in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

to a rousing success. It essentially replaced the Milwaukee 250 on the schedule.

First wins

Despite the demanding and challenging nature of the course,

has been the site of the first career win for several drivers in

Indy car racing Indy may refer to: Computing and technology *Indy (software), used for Internet access to music *Internet Direct, or "Indy", a software library *SGI Indy, a computer workstation Periodicals *''The Indy'', shorthand for newspapers that include " ...

. In early years,

Héctor Rebaque Héctor Alonso Rebaque (born 5 February 1956) is a Mexican former racing driver who raced in Formula One and CART IndyCar in the 1970s and 1980s. He also ran for his own Formula One team called Rebaque in 1978 and 1979. Racing career Rebaque par ...

and "Uncle" Jacques Villeneuve both scored their first and only wins in the Indy cars. In 1986,

Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi (; born 12 December 1946) is a Brazilian former automobile racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the Indianapolis 500 twice each and the CART championship once. Moving up from Formula Two, Fittip ...

won his second-career CART series race at Road America, but it was notably his first such win on a road course. In the 1990s,

Paul Tracy Paul Anthony Tracy (born December 17, 1968) is a Canadian-American former professional auto racing driver who competed in CART, the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar Series. He is known by the nicknames "PT" and "the Thrill from West Hill" ...

won his first career pole position at Road America, and

Jacques Villeneuve Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve ( born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian professional racing driver and amateur musician who won the 1997 Formula One World Championship with Williams. In addition to Formula One (F1) he has competed in various ot ...

followed in the footsteps of his uncle in winning his first Indy car race here as well.

Dario Franchitti George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...

Christian Fittipaldi Christian Fittipaldi (born 18 January 1971) is a Brazilian former racing driver who has competed in various forms of motorsport including Formula One, Champ Car, and NASCAR. He was a highly rated young racing driver in the early 1990s, and parti ...

Bruno Junqueira Bruno Junqueira (born November 4, 1976) is a Brazilian race car driver who most recently competed in the IRL IndyCar Series. He is a former Formula 3000 champion and three-time runner-up in the Champ Car World Series. Racing career Early c ...

, and

Alex Tagliani Alexandre Tagliani (; born October 18, 1973), nicknamed "Tag", is a Canadian professional racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series, driving the No. 18 Chevrolet Camaro for 22 Racing. Tagliani has competed in a variety ...

also all scored their first-career CART/Champ Car series wins at Road America. In 2020,

Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist (born 7 November 1991) is a Swedish professional racing driver who currently drives the No. 6 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP in the NTT IndyCar Series. He was named Rookie of the Year for the IndyCar Series in 2019. Racing care ...

won his first career IndyCar Series race, while

Patricio O'Ward Patricio "Pato" O'Ward Junco (born 6 May 1999) is a Mexican professional auto racing driver who competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP. He is the 2018 Indy Lights champion. Early life and care ...

(who finished second, and had led the most laps) scored his first pole position and first podium finish.

Unser jinx

The father and son duo of Al Unser Sr. and

Al Unser Jr. Alfred Unser Jr. (born April 19, 1962), nicknamed "Little Al", "Al Junior", or simply "Junior", is a retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner. History Unser was born into a racing family in Albuquerque, New Mexic ...

, both champions in the CART series and multiple time

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

winners, notably failed to ever win a race at Road America, in some occasions with shocking heartbreak. That is in stark contrast to the rival Andretti family, which scored six wins at the track, and only one win (

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

) at Indy. Al Sr. ran out of fuel on the final lap while leading in 1982. Al Jr. was leading handily in 1985 until he lost control in a sudden rain shower, crashed and broke his ankle. Unser Jr. crashed again in 1986, and ran out of fuel in 1988. In 1991, Unser Jr. narrowly got beat out by

Michael Andretti Michael Mario Andretti (born October 5, 1962) is an American semi-retired auto racing driver and current team owner. Statistically one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, Andretti won the 1991 CART P ...

in the final two laps. In 1996, Unser Jr. blew his engine on the final lap, two corners short of victory. Al Unser Jr. also started on the pole in a

Can-Am The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an Sports Car Club of America, SCCA/Canadian Auto Sport Clubs, CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987. History Can-Am started out as a race series for group 7 sports racers with two r ...

race at Road America, but broke the transmission on the second lap.

Race results

*1986: Race started on September 21 but stopped after 3 laps due to rain. The remainder of the race ran on October 4. *2001 & 2004: Race shortened due to time limit. *2003: Race shortened due to darkness after 2 rain delays. *2020: Race postponed and was made into a doubleheader

Support race winners

Race summaries

CART PPG Indy Car World Series

*1982: The first CART Indy car race at Road America saw a wild second half and a surprise winner.

and

Bobby Rahal Robert Woodward Rahal (born January 10, 1953) is an American former auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500. He also won the 2004 ...

battled for the lead early in the first half. Andretti eventually pulled out to a 28-second lead until gearbox problems put him out on lap 29. Rahal took the lead on lap 30, and was leading when rain began to fall on lap 38. With Al Unser Sr. and rookie

in second and third, Rahal shockingly ran out of fuel on lap 45. Unser took the lead, but he too was low on fuel. Unser ran out of fuel on the final lap just after taking the white flag. Rebaque led the final lap and scored his first and only win in Indy car competition. Polesitter

Rick Mears Rick Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951) is a retired American race car driver. He is one of four men to win the Indianapolis 500 four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) and is the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six (197 ...

ran a steady fifth, and secured enough points to clinch the 1982 CART Championship. *1983:

Josele Garza Josele GarzaBiography
(born March 15, 1962 in

's car failed to crank on the grid due to a faulty kill switch. He joined the field dead last, and charged to fourth place by lap 38. In spectacular fashion, Garza passed

, and

to take the lead on lap 40. Unser Jr. went to the grass as Garza passed him, causing Andretti and Rahal to take evasive action. Four laps later, however, Garza spun out, handing the lead to Rahal. For the second year in a row Rahal was in sight of victory, but ran low on fuel, this time dropping out on lap 47.

, despite clutch and gearbox issues, took the victory, his first in Indy car competition since 1981. *1984:

won the pole position, led 34 of the 50 laps, and dominated the race to win for the second consecutive year. Andretti's nearest competitors all suffered trouble, allowing Andretti to cruise to victory.

Danny Sullivan Daniel John Sullivan III (born March 9, 1950), better known as Danny Sullivan, is an American former racing driver. He earned 17 wins in the CART Indy Car World Series, including the 1985 Indianapolis 500. Sullivan won the 1988 CART Champions ...

suffered an engine fire,

experienced fuel pickup problems, and

Roberto Guerrero Roberto José Guerrero Isaza (born 16 November 1958) is a Colombian Americans, Colombian-American former race driver. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982, becoming the first Colombian to start a Formula ...

twice spun off course. Andretti won by a margin of over 1 minute and 14 seconds and the race went caution-free.

Tom Sneva Thomas E. Sneva (born June 1, 1948) is a retired American race car driver who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1983. He primarily raced in Indy cars, and was named to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005. A former math teacher from Spokane ...

led the points standings going into the race, but blew an engine on lap 33. Andretti took over the points lead, and would go on to win the 1984 CART championship. *1985:

took the lead on lap 16 and was leading the race when rain started falling on lap 35. Unser Jr. was headed for the pits to put on rain tires, but lost control in the wet conditions and crashed in turn 13. Unser suffered a fractured ankle and wound up 17th.

took the lead on lap 37, but moments later spun out in turn 5. He kept the engine running, and pulled away without losing the lead. Villeneuve led the final 14 laps to score his first and only Indy car win. It was the second time in four years a driver had scored their first career win at Road America. Substituting for the injured

, Alan Jones finished third, his one and only Indy car start. *1986: The race was scheduled for Sunday September 21. Morning rain made the track damp, but the race was started on time with all cars utilizing rain tires. Just seconds after the green flag fell, a huge downpour flooded the track and brought visibility down to near zero.

and

Raul Boesel Raul de Mesquita Boesel (, born 4 December 1957) is a Brazilian former racing driver who raced for the March and Ligier Formula One teams and later raced in Champ Car and the Indy Racing League. He won the 1987 World Sportscar Championship and t ...

crashed in turn 11,

spun out, and

Dominic Dobson Dominic Dobson (born September 14, 1957) is a German-born former CART and Craftsman Truck Series driver who made 7 starts in the Indianapolis 500 with a best finish of 12th in 1992, over 60 starts in the CART (Championship Auto Racing Series), wi ...

hit a guardrail. Officials red flagged the race on lap 3, and postponed the resumption for Saturday October 4. After the two-week delay, the race picked up on lap 3. A light rain and cold temperatures made for difficult conditions. Of the 23 cars that restarted the race, 19 were involved in crashes or spins.

was leading the race on lap 32 when he spun out in turn 5. Moments later, the yellow came out for a heavy rain shower. Eighth place runner

quickly ducked into the pits for fuel. As the rest of the field shuffled through pits stops during the yellow, Fittipaldi,

Roberto Moreno Roberto Pupo Moreno (born 11 February 1959), usually known as Roberto Moreno and also as Pupo Moreno, is a Brazilian former auto racing, racing driver. He participated in 75 Formula One Grands Prix, achieved 1 podium, and scored a total of 15 c ...

, and

, moved to the front of the field. Moreno and Villeneuve dueled for the lead until they collided on lap 44. Fittipaldi drove by to take the win, his first Indy car win on a road course.

charged on the final restart from sixth place, and tried to pass for the lead on the final lap, but Fittipaldi held him off by 0.33 seconds. *1987:

won the pole position and led all 50 laps en route to victory. It was Andretti's third win at Road America.

Geoff Brabham __NOTOC__ Geoff Brabham (born 20 March 1952) is an Australian racing driver. Brabham spent the majority of his racing career in the United States. Racing career CART He raced successfully in CART early in his career, finishing 8th in 1982, 1 ...

finished second in the Judd AV machine, 41 seconds behind. *1988: Front row starters and Penske teammates

and

both ran out of fuel on the track, as did

later on, putting all three of those drivers out of contention.

dominated the race, and won over second place

by 9 seconds. Third place finisher

ran out of fuel on the cool down lap. *1989:

led

in the closing laps, but both cars were running low on fuel. With two laps to go, Sullivan ducked into the pits for a splash-and-go stop for fuel. Andretti stayed out and held a 7-second lead at the white flag. Sullivan charged to catch Andretti, while Andretti was desperately conserving fuel. As they approached the Kink on the final lap, Andretti suddenly ran out of fuel. Sullivan dove to the grass to make the pass for the lead, and took the victory. *1990:

lost his brakes going into turn one on lap 26, and went off the course, crashing through an embankment and into a ravine. Foyt suffered serious injuries to his legs and feet, and would require months of rehabilitation. After a lengthy red flag,

was the leader of the race, with

second, and

third. Suddenly, on lap 39 Sullivan's gearbox failed, putting Michael Andretti into the lead. Andretti held off Fittipaldi over the final ten laps to win for the first time at Road America. *1991:

held a 19-second lead over

with two laps to go. Andretti ducked into the pits for a splash-and-go stop for fuel, and shockingly came out of the pits just ahead of Unser who was flying down the frontstretch to catch him. The two cars were nose-to-tail with a lap and a half to go when a light rain shower doused the track. Unser's car got loose in the wet conditions, and he nearly spun out in the carousel. Unser backed off the fight and Andretti held on for the victory. *1992:

qualified for the pole position, his first career pole in Indy car racing, and the 100th Indy car pole position for

Penske Racing Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, the organiza ...

, but suffered a huge crash moments later. The car went off course in turn 13, went airborne, then crashed head on into two guardrails. Tracy was unhurt.

led 41 of the 50 laps, but in the closing laps it was a three-car battle for the lead. Fittipaldi led

and

across the finish line. The first three cars were separated by only 1.093 seconds. *1993:

won the pole position for the second year in a row, but again suffered a serious practice crash. Tracy raced with a sore ankle, a sore neck, and bruises on his legs and feet. Tracy led 49 of the 50 laps, and beat second place

Nigel Mansell Nigel Ernest James Mansell, (; born 8 August 1953) is a British retired racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship (1992) and the CART Indy Car World Series ( 1993). Mansell was the reigning F1 champion when he moved over ...

by 27 seconds. *1994: CART series rookie

started on the front row and won his first career Indy car victory.

was leading his

Penske Penske Corporation, Inc. () is an American diversified transportation services company based in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Roger Penske is the chairman of the privately held company, and Rob Kurnick is the president. Holding ...

teammate

and Villeneuve when a caution came out on lap 31. On the lap 36 restart, Villeneuve made a daring pass down to the inside to pass both Unser and Tracy going into turn one. Tracy bumped Villeneuve, and then Villeneuve and Unser touched, but all three cars raced away unscathed. Tracy blew his engine on lap 44, and Villeneuve drove to victory. Al Unser Jr.'s second-place finish was enough to clinch the 1994 CART championship. *1995:

started from the pole and led 46 of the 50 laps for a dominating victory. A slippery track saw many cars go off-course, but no serious crashes. Villeneuve became the third driver to win back to back races at Road America. *1996: A wild race from start to finish. On the opening lap, polesitter

Alex Zanardi Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi (; born 23 October 1966) is an Italian professional racing driver and paracyclist. He won the CART championship in 1997 and 1998, and took 15 wins in the series. He also raced in Formula One from 1991 to 1994 and aga ...

touched wheels with

Gil de Ferran Gil de Ferran (born November 11, 1967 in Paris, France) is a French-born Brazilian professional racing driver and team owner. De Ferran was the 2000 and 2001 Champ Car champion driving for Team Penske and the winner of the 2003 Indianapolis 5 ...

in turn two. Zanardi slid into the grass, and de Ferran slid through a sand barrier. André Ribeiro was involved in two major incidents. On lap 14, he collided with Greg Moore, sending Moore hard into a concrete barrier, then sliding fast into a tire barrier. Six laps later, Ribeiro was battling

Mark Blundell Mark Blundell (born 8 April 1966) is a British racing driver who competed in Formula One for four seasons, sports cars, and CART. He won the 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans. He was a Formula One presenter for the British broadcaster ITV until the ...

, the two cars bumped, and

Maurício Gugelmin Maurício Gugelmin (born 20 April 1963) is a Brazilian former racing driver. He took part in both Formula One and Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). He participated in 80 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting in for the March team. Gugelmin achi ...

tried to pass them. He touched wheels with Gugelmin's car, and Gugelmin cut across and took out Blundell. Under a full-course yellow, Davy Jones lost control, hit a tire barrier, and the car flipped over.

Parker Johnstone Parker Johnstone III (born March 27, 1961) is a former race car driver and motorsports announcer from Redmond, Oregon. An accomplished musician, he was the principal trumpet of the International Youth Orchestra, touring Europe, playing with Herb ...

also went off course and flipped over.

was leading the race on the final lap when he blew his engine with two corners remaining.

inherited the win, holding off

at the finish line. *1997: Heavy rain delayed the start by two hours, and soaked the track. At the start,

Gualter Salles Gualter Salles (born September 28, 1970, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), is an open wheel race car driver. He raced in the 1997-2000 and 2003 CART seasons, with 49 career starts. His best finish came in his last race, the Gold Coast Indy 300 at Surfers ...

spun at the exit of turn one, and clipped wheels with

. Tracy's car spun and rammed into a tire barrier, landing upside-down.

led the race early with

in second. On lap 36, Blundell and Zanardi pitted for fuel under a caution. Zanardi had the faster pit stop, and came out of the pits first to take the lead. Zanardi led the final 15 laps, with Blundell close behind until his engine blew with two laps to go.

CART FedEx Championship series

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

: Swift pit work during the second round of pit stops put

in the lead on lap 30. Franchitti took the lead from polesitter

, and led the rest of the way. Andretti lost second place on the final lap when he blew a tire and crashed hard in turn 3. It was Franchitti's first career Indy car win, and the first win for car owner Barry Green since 1995.

Bryan Herta Bryan John Herta (born May 23, 1970) is an American former race car driver. He currently runs his own team, Bryan Herta Autosport in the NTT IndyCar Series. His team won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with driver Dan Wheldon and the 2016 Indianapol ...

narrowly escaped injury after spinning out on lap 10, and Alex Barron crashed and landed on top of his car. *1999: The race was lengthened from 50 to 55 laps.

Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born September 20, 1975) is a Colombian racing driver. He won the International F3000 championship in 1998, the CART FedEx Championship Series in 1999 in his debut year in the series, and the IMSA WeatherTech S ...

led 46 laps, but suffered a broken gearbox with only seven laps to go.

took the lead and won his first-career CART series race. *2000:

started seventh, but an electrical glitch shut the engine off on the first lap. He was able to get the engine restarted, but dropped to the tail end of the field. Without the benefit of a full course caution, Tracy remarkably charged back to the front of the field. Tracy took the lead on lap 38 after

suffered a seized gearbox. Tracy ran out of fuel on the cool down lap and had to be towed to victory lane. *

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

: Rain on Saturday and Sunday morning left the track drenched with standing water. Down the backstretch toward Canada Corner, a steady stream of runoff water was cascading over the track. The race was started as scheduled, but on lap 5

Max Wilson Max Wilson (born August 22, 1972 in Hamburg, West Germany) is a racing driver of Brazilian parentage. Racing career Junior formulae Wilson started his motor racing career in 1985 in go-karts. He moved into single-seaters in 1993, when he was o ...

crashed over top of

. The red flag was put out on lap 14, and the race would be shortened to 45 laps due to the two-hour time limit.

attempted to pass

for the lead in turn five with nine laps remaining, but the two cars collided and slid high.

slipped by both cars, and drove to victory - his first in the CART series.

Memo Gidley José Guillermo "Memo" Gidley is a Mexican-born racing driver, of German and Canadian ancestry, born in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico on September 29, 1970. He holds dual citizenship - American and Mexican. In his early years, he sold his a ...

survived a horrendous crash when his car hit one of the bridge abutments. *

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

: The race distance was lengthened for the second time, to 60 laps (240 miles).

took the lead on lap 39 during a sequence of pit stops, and led to the finish. It was de Matta's sixth victory of the season, and broke a three-race slump. It served as an important turning point towards winning the 2002 CART championship. *

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

: A dispute between the series officials and the promoters nearly cancelled the race. However,

stepped in as a mediator, and the race was reinstated. Rain delayed the race twice, including a two and a half hour red flag. Ultimately, the race was shortened from 60 laps to 34 laps due to darkness.

took the lead from the pole position and led all 34 laps to win. Only 19 laps were run under green flag conditions. Points leader

spun out on lap 11, and was unable to continue.

Champ Car World Series

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

started 13th and gambled on track position by pitting under green early in the race. The gamble paid off as a caution came out on lap 12, allowing Tagliani to shuffle closer to the front of the field. A controversial restart on lap 14 saw race leader

Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (born 28 February 1979) is a French professional racing driver. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, having won 37 races. He won four successive championships ...

held up behind the pace car, allowing second place

to get the jump going into turn one. The two cars touched, causing a bent suspension on Bourdais' car. In the closing laps,

passed

Rodolfo Lavín Rodolfo Lavín Martínez (born July 30, 1977) is a Mexican racing driver from San Luis Potosí. He most notably raced in the Champ Car World Series. In Mexico, Lavín raced in Formula Azteca and Formula 3. With funding in the form of sponsorsh ...

to take the win, his first Champ Car victory. The race was shortened from 52 laps to 48 laps due to a 1:45 time limit. *2006 Grand Prix of Road America, 2006: The race returned after a one-year absence. In the closing laps,

was leading

and A. J. Allmendinger. Bourdais was looking to win the race and clinch his third straight Champ Car championship, but he needed one final pit stop. With 7 laps to go, Bourdais ducked into the pits, and came out on the track just ahead of Allmendinger. But going into turn five, Allmendinger made the pass for the lead and pulled away. Just moments later,

suffered a violent crash near the Kink. The car lost part of the rear wing, sending the car into a spin and to the concrete wall at about 180 mph. The car flipped into the catch fence, broke apart, then tumbled down the track. Legge was not seriously injured, but the race was red-flagged for 42 minutes to clean up the incident. The race resumed for a two-lap sprint to the finish. A. J. Allmendinger pulled away, and

came home second. *2007 Generac Grand Prix, 2007: After coming close three previous times,

finally won at

. Bourdais had just announced he was departing Champ Car at the end of the season to join Scuderia Toro Rosso in Formula One for 2008 Formula One season, 2008. Bourdais led 51 of the 53 laps. His closest competitors Robert Doornbos and Will Power both suffered trouble, allowing Bourdais to overpower the field. It would end up being the final Champ Car race at Road America. *2008 Champ Car season, 2008: The 2008 race was scheduled for August 10, but was cancelled in the wake of the 2008 IndyCar Series season#Unification with Champ Car, open-wheel unification.

IndyCar Series

*2016: After a hiatus of eight years, Road America returns to the open wheel schedule as part of the IndyCar Series. Will Power won the pole position, beating out Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan. Championship leader Simon Pagenaud qualified fourth. Dixon would drop out on lap 7 with engine failure. Power would lead most of the race, with Kanaan, Graham Rahal, and Pagenaud all battling for second. On lap 40, the only caution period came out after the rear suspension on Conor Daly's car failed, sending him off course and into the wall in turn one. On the restart on lap 44, Power held his lead, while Kanaan took second. Pagenaud dropped in the standings with a misfire, and Power held on to win. *2017: Hélio Castroneves started on the pole and took the lead at the start. Josef Newgarden took second position. The race saw some teams elect to use a four pit stop strategy, while others chose a three-stop strategy. After the first round of stops, Castroneves held a narrow lead over Newgarden, with Scott Dixon third. On lap 20, Newgarden passed Castroneves for the lead and began to pull away. Takuma Sato brought out the first yellow after a spin and contact in turn 11 on lap 29. On the ensuing restart, Dixon swung to the outside of Newgarden through turn 1 and grabbed the lead. Castroneves moved past Newgarden a few turns later. After the final round of pit stops, Dixon maintained his lead, while Newgarden was able to move past Castroneves to take back second. The second caution came after Tony Kanaan crashed in turn 11 after breaking his front wing in an attempt to pass Alexander Rossi. After one final restart, Dixon drove to victory, holding off Newgarden in second. *2018: Josef Newgarden started on the pole and led 53 of the 55 laps to victory. Though Newgarden dominated most of the race up front, the battle among the rest of the top five was heated all day. Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi took second and third at the start, battling much of the race, although Rossi would suffer a late tire puncture and a disappointing 16th-place finish. On the final round of pit stops, running third, Scott Dixon pitted on lap 42, while leader Newgarden and second place Hunter-Reay pitted a lap later on lap 43. Dixon on warmer tires went on a charge to try and catch the leaders while they pitted. The leaders managed to come out just ahead of Dixon, and a bobble by Dixon in turn 14, allowed them to hold off his challenge. Hunter-Reay finished second, and Dixon third. *2019: Rookie Colton Herta started on the pole, but Alexander Rossi grabbed the lead at the start. Rossi dominated the race, leading 54 of the 55 laps, and won by a commanding margin of 28.4391 seconds over second place Will Power. Rossi gave up the lead only once for one lap during his final pit stop. The race went caution-free with only one car dropping out, Marco Andretti, with mechanical problems. Polesitter Herta finished 8th. *2020 (Saturday): Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was rescheduled from June 21 to the weekend of July 11–12, and became a doubleheader. In the first race, polesitter Josef Newgarden led 25 of the first 27 laps, but stalled his engine during a pit stop on 28. He fell back and would finish 14th. Will Power inherited the lead on lap 30. A full-course caution on lap 38 brought Power to the pits, where he too suffered problems. Power's crew had trouble dropping the jack, which allowed Scott Dixon to take the lead. Dixon led the final sixteen laps, scoring his third straight IndyCar win to start the 2020 season. *2020 (Sunday): The second race of the doubleheader saw

start from the pole position. At the start, Will Power made contact with the back of Ryan Hunter-Reay's car, which sent Hunter-Reay spinning and crashing in turn one. Then in turn three, Power made contact side by side with Graham Rahal. Rahal lost control and spun to the grass, making hard contact with a concrete barrier. Then on lap 6, Power would spin out on his own in turn 13, bringing out the second of two yellows. Power recovered to finish 11th after placing second on Saturday. O'Ward dominated most of the race, leading 43 laps, and pulling out to as much as a 9-second lead at one point. O'Ward and

were running 1st-2nd when they made the final pits stops on laps 41 and 43, respectively. O'Ward, running the alternate red tires, held about a 5-second lead with ten laps to go. Rosenqvist began closing the gap, as O'Ward's tires were beginning to go away. Rosenqvist caught O'Ward with two laps to go, and the two cars battled side by side into turn 6 on lap 54. Rosenqvist took the lead, and led the final two laps to score his first career IndyCar win. *2021: Josef Newgarden secured his second consecutive pole, achieving the unlikely feat of qualifying on pole with harder compound primary tires. Newgarden let Alex Palou, Colton Herta, and Will Power for most of the race before his gearbox gave out on the third to last lap, handing the victory to Palou. *2022: Alexander Rossi qualified on pole. After an early series of cautions Josef Newgarden beat Rossi off pit road in the first series of green flag pit stops. Newgarden would dominate the race from that point on, holding the lead despite some late cautions. Reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Marcus Ericsson took second while Rossi rounded out the podium.

Footnotes

Works cited

UltimateRacingHistory.com - Road AmericaRacingReference.info - Road AmericaIndyCar.com - Road America

References

{{coord, 43, 47, 51, N, 87, 59, 38, W, region:US_type:event, format=dms, display=title Champ Car Grand Prix of Road America, Recurring sporting events established in 1982 Recurring events disestablished in 2007 Recurring sporting events established in 2016