The ABC Supply Wisconsin 250 at Milwaukee IndyFest Presented by the Metro Milwaukee Honda Dealers was 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 the
Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectato ...
in
West Allis, Wisconsin
West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 census.
History
The name West Allis derives from Edward P. Allis, ...
.
History
Open wheel racing
An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have the ...
at the track dates back to 1937.
AAA
AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to:
Airports
* Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA)
* Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA)
Arts, entertainment, and me ...
sanctioned races in 1937–1939, 1941, and 1946–1955. The track was paved in 1954.
USAC sanctioned Championship car races from 1956 to 1979. In 1980, the race switched to a
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 ...
/Champ Car race, and continued through 2006.
IndyCar
INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...
started holding races at the track in 2004, and thus for a brief time from 2004 to 2006, the track hosted both a Champ Car race (June) and an IndyCar race (August).
Starting in 2007, IndyCar became the lone event. The race was put on hiatus for 2010, stemming from management difficulties regarding payment of sanctioning fees. In 2011, the race returned and continued to be held through 2015.
After the 2011 race the promoter withdrew due to losses and the race was again at risk of cancellation.
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 PP ...
and
Andretti Sports Marketing / ASM was asked by IndyCar to promote the event in order to keep the historic event on the series schedule. In February 2012, Andretti announced the return of the race as the
Milwaukee Indyfest
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 ...
and named longtime Andretti sponsor Kevin Heal
as the Managing Director of Andretti Sports Marketing and General Manager of the event. The Milwaukee IndyFest transformed the standard race at the historic Milwaukee Mile to include an unprecedented infield festival reminiscent of street racing formats with vendors, paddock access, music stages, family zones and the signature Ferris Wheel. The Milwaukee IndyFest ran for four years, with
ABC Supply Co joining as the Title Sponsor in 2013.
Race scheduling
For most years starting in 1949, Milwaukee traditionally hosted the first race following the
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 ...
. From 1947 to 1982, Milwaukee generally hosted two races, the first race right after Indy in June, and the second in August or September. The latter sometimes in the days surrounding the
Wisconsin State Fair
The Wisconsin State Fair is an annual event held at the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. The modern fair takes place in August (occasionally beginning late July) and lasts 11 days.
History
The first W ...
.
After 1982, the second race was dropped. With only one race annually going forward, the track decided to keep the traditional June "right after Indy" date.
In 1986, the race was scheduled for Sunday June 1. However, due to rain on May 25–26, the
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 ...
was postponed to Saturday May 31. After discussions with track, television, and series leaders, the Milwaukee race was pushed back one week to make the accommodation.
From 2004 to 2006, when both Champ Car and IndyCar were holding races at the track, Champ Car still utilized the June date, while IndyCar chose to hold their race in late July. In 2007, when IndyCar became the lone open wheel race at the track, there was a renewed interest in placing the event on its traditional June date immediately after Indy. This arrangement lasted only three years (2007-2009), as the race was put on hiatus for 2010.
When the race revived for 2011–2013, for a variety of reasons, race organizers decided to move the race to the Saturday of Father's Day weekend.
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
took the weekend immediately after Indy, and
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
maintained its position on the second weekend of June. Starting in 2014, the race moved permanently to August, reviving the old
state fair
A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in th ...
date.
Race history and facts
From 1950 to 1987, the June race was called the Rex Mays Classic, in honor of
Rex Mays
Rex Houston Mays Jr. (March 10, 1913 – November 6, 1949) was a AAA Championship Car race driver. He was a two-time AAA champion and won 8 points-scoring races.
He made his Indianapolis 500 debut in 1934 and won the pole in 1935, 1936, and ag ...
, a two-time AAA national champion killed in a race in 1949. Meanwhile, the August race was named the Tony Bettenhausen 200 from 1961 to 1982 in reference of
Tony Bettenhausen
Melvin Eugene "Tony" Bettenhausen (September 12, 1916 – May 12, 1961) was an American racing driver, who won the National Championship in 1951 and 1958.
Bettenhausen was nicknamed the "Tinley Park Express" in honor of his hometown. He was ...
, who died after a crash in 1961.
In the
1963 Tony Bettenhausen 200
The 1963 Tony Bettenhausen 200 was the seventh round of the 1963 USAC Championship Car season, held on August 18, 1963, at the Milwaukee Mile, in West Allis, Wisconsin.
The race was the first American Championship Car race won by a rear-engined ...
,
Jim Clark
James Clark Jr. OBE (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland, who won two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965. A versatile driver, he competed in sports cars, touring cars and in the Indianapol ...
and
Team Lotus
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar, and sports car racing. More ...
became the first to win an American Championship race with a rear-engined,
monocoque
Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell".
First used for boats, ...
car. After finishing second in
that year's Indianapolis 500, Lotus decided to run the car again at Milwaukee and
Trenton. Clark and teammate
Dan Gurney
Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner who reached racing's highest levels starting in 1958. Gurney won races in the Formula One, Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am, ...
broke the track record by over a second in qualifying, and Clark led all 200 laps to win, lapping the entire field except for second place
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 ...
.
Indianapolis 500/Milwaukee winners
For most years from 1949 to 2009, Milwaukee traditionally hosted a Championship/Indy car race the weekend immediately following the Indianapolis 500. Numerous drivers managed to win both races in the same year in back-to-back weeks.
*1947: Bill Holland
*1956: Pat Flaherty
*1964: A. J. Foyt
*1971: Al Unser Sr.
*1974: Johnny Rutherford
*1982: Gordon Johncock
*1983: Tom Sneva
*1988: Rick Mears
*1994: Al Unser Jr.
*2000: Juan Pablo Montoya (Indianapolis was an IRL race, Milwaukee was a CART series race)
Past winners
AAA Championship Car history
*1937: Race shortened due to scoring error.
: Non-championship race
: Shared drive
USAC Championship Car history
: Shared drive
CART History
*1994: Race shortened due to rain.
*2005-06: This race used a time limit (1:45), standard for all CCWS races.
IRL IndyCar Series History
Support Race History
References
External links
Milwaukee IndyFest
{{IndyCar Series races
Milwaukee Indy 225
Recurring sporting events established in 1937