Road America

So here's the thing about Road America - it's basically what happens when someone decides to carve a racetrack through some of Wisconsin's prettiest countryside and somehow creates something that rivals Europe's best circuits. And I'm not being dramatic here. This motorsport road course near Elkhart Lake has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the IndyCar Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship, Sports Car Club of America GT World Challenge America and Trans-Am Series and the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.

The numbers tell part of the story. The world's best racers have competed at this legendary four-mile, 14-turn road circuit for over 60 years. But what really sets this place apart is the sheer scale of it all. The 640-acre, park-like grounds offer amazing viewing opportunities, fantastic concessions and high-speed excitement to hundreds of thousands of spectators each year. That's not a typo - 640 acres. You could basically fit a small town in there.

And they're not just sitting around waiting for the big race weekends either. Over 425 events are held annually at Road America, often running multiple activities on the same day incorporating the four-mile track, the interior CTECH Manufacturing Motorplex and the beautiful grounds surrounding the facility. That's more than one event per day, which is kind of insane when you think about it.

What makes Road America special isn't just the racing though. It's the whole vibe of the place. Continually raising the state's profile nationwide in the promotion of tourism and the betterment of motorsports and quality entertainment, Road America now cultivates worldwide acclaim and is affectionately known as America's National Park of Speed. That nickname isn't just marketing fluff - people genuinely feel that way about it.

The track itself has this natural flow to it that you don't get with purpose-built modern circuits. Cliff Tufte was a civil engineer, president of the Elkhart Sand and Gravel Co, which had built its business as a major supplier of highway and railroad ballast in eastern Wisconsin. When the market dropped off, it found its greatest asset was the parcel of land it owned two-miles south of Elkhart Lake near to the town of Plymouth. Could this, in fact, provide the solution that everyone was looking for, Tufte pondered? The guy basically looked at some farmland and saw a world-class racetrack. And here's the kicker - Millions of dollars in improvements have been made throughout the years, but the original 4.048-mile, 14-turn configuration has never been altered.

But Road America isn't just for the pros. In addition to public race weekends, Road America offers a variety of group event programs, the CTECH Manufacturing Motorplex for karting and supermoto, and the Road America Motorcycle and Advanced Driving Schools. So whether you're watching from the grandstands or actually getting behind the wheel yourself, there's something here for every level of motorsports enthusiast.

The location helps too. It is halfway between Milwaukee and Green Bay and classified as an FIA Grade Two circuit. That FIA Grade Two classification means it meets international standards for hosting major racing series, which is why you'll see everything from IndyCar to NASCAR to international sports car racing here.

One more thing - the fan experience at Road America is legitimately different from most tracks. Road America's key attraction is that there is no assigned grandstand seating, and fans are free to roam about the property to find their favorite track viewing location. With 640-acres to explore there really isn't a bad seat in the house. You can basically wander around all day finding different vantage points, which is pretty cool when you're trying to see different parts of the race.