Road America Road Trip

[electronjohn]

My buddy James & I are finalizing plans for another road trip to what's probably the coolest track in the US...beautiful Road America @ Elkhart Lake WI. Last trip we did was for vintage weekend & it was a gas...this time around we'll be taking in the Continental Tire Road Race Challenge.

Not taking his '64 T-bird this time...a different chariot will be our wheels. James just snagged a pristine '07 Porsche Cayman w/10K on the clock. Won't tell me what he paid...just that "I could've bought a new Kia for the check I wrote". We'll depart at oh-dark-30 Friday 8/8, meet up with his two sons in the Twin Cities & continue on our merry way. Every stop will be like a Chinese fire drill with rotation of drivers & passengers. Guess we all want a turn behind the wheel of that Porsche.

His sons will head back to MN after the Sunday race...James & I will stay one more night to take the "scenic route" back to MN. That'll involve wringing that fine piece of German engineering out on Wisconsin Hwy 33. What a great road! If you get a chance, drive it. It's one of the premier "driving roads" in the US.

 

[2526]

The brats there are the best racetrack food I've had anywhere in the world. Have a great time.

 

[Billfort]

I drove out to Road America/Elkhart Lake one weekend years ago to see a CART race. Pretty insane undertaking (I live north of Toronto) but it was worth it. Great racing on an absolutely beautiful circuit and as much as I liked Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio & Laguna Seca, Road America was really something special with those cars.

Enjoy!

 

[electronjohn]

I drove out to Road America/Elkhart Lake one weekend years ago to see a CART race. Pretty insane undertaking (I live north of Toronto) but it was worth it. Great racing on an absolutely beautiful circuit and as much as I liked Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio & Laguna Seca, Road America was really something special with those cars.

Enjoy!

Made nearly the same trip...only in reverse...almost exactly 40 years ago. James & I flipped a coin & drove his Opel Manta (I had one too...miss that car) from MN to Mosport for a Trans-Am race. Camped at the track...had a great time & saw some great racing. The trip out was I-94 to Chicago, then to Detroit, under the river to Windsor, then the 401. It was during the height of the first "energy inconvenience" so it was slowwww going until crossing the border. We were getting passed @ 75 on the 401 so let the little Opel loose.

On the way back we went straight across Michigan to Ludington & took the S.S. City Of Midland ferry across the lake to Manitowoc. Went through a BUNCH of little bottles of Jack on the ferry

 

[Billfort]

Sounds like a fun trip! Mosport is a great track; I've been going for about 40yrs and even though it's seen some rough times, has stayed open and is still a nice weekend destination. You don't see the top series there anymore (the best now is IMSA/Tudor & nascar trucks) but they have tried to upgrade the place.

Just a fantastic track layout (turn-2!) that is really too dangerous for something like F1 now, but I still remember those big thundering CAN-AM and trans-am cars around there. Seeing someone in an 800hp CAN-AM car pull the next higher gear and hit at the throttle going over that crest into blind corner 2 when most sane people would be backing off is something to behold.

I think I just talked myself into taking my daughter to Mosport for the Tudor sportcars in a few weeks.

 

[electronjohn]

Sounds like you and your daughter are in for a mini road trip of your own! It's been a lonnnnng time, but one thing I remember about Mosport was a large, steep hill somewhere in the infield. It was like a magnet for these extremely drunk guys on dirt bikes...saw several do backflips about half way up this hill

We had no dirt bikes, but were working diligently on the extremely drunk part. Sitting in our tent drinking martinis (actually gin with a rumor of vermouth) when we heard this guy walking by exclaiming "I'll give 5 dollars American for a beer!" We invited him in, said we were out of beer but howzabout one of these? Turns out he was a Marine from the Deep South on leave (damnned if I know how he ended up @ Mosport) & a real character. We were also undergoing "inhalation therapy" at the time & invited him to partake as well. He demurred, telling us "My top sarge told me about that stuff...tried it & all he wanted to do was eat crackers, drink Pepsi & screw. Passed out & woke up 2 days later in the welfare line." We were hysterical. He then announced that he'd met a guy we'd probably want to meet as well. So, we wobbled out of the tent & made our way to this classic hippie Econoline. Inside was a longhaired guy who called himself "Cosmo", holding court on a raised bed/platform/whatever in the rear of the van. Even in our addled state we could see that this guy was an even bigger character.

Ah, race weekends. We were regulars at the old Donnybrooke @ Brainerd for all the big series...Can-Am, Trans-Am, Formula A. 40-50,000 yahoos like us all whoopin' it up. There was a bike magnet there as well...a big mudhole in part of the infield. A couple yahoos had driven a Kenworth tractor to the track & decided it was just the thing to traverse the mudhole. Sunk it up to the frame...took a semi wrecker AND a Cat to get the thing out. Expensive weekend for those two

 

[Billfort]

Now that sounds like Mosport - especially in the 70's and early 80's. They have really cleaned the place up, knocked the 'edges' of that hill and even banned dirtbikes on-site but that old flavor is still there if you look a little bit.

I remember a few infield mudhole shows at Watkins Glen back then too - one with a bus instead of a Kenworth and it never would have made it home after the fire.

 

[electronjohn]

I've been lax in reporting the results of our road trip. Absolutely perfect weather...plenty of great racing. Only neg was a LOT of running under the yellow...drivers were pushing it. I've also decided that my next car is a Corvette C7...yellow like the factory rides that ran loud & fast. The Vette prototypes were even quicker.

The Continental Challenge had a nice Mustang/Camaro battle goin' on...fun!

We found out that about 1/2 of WS 33 was under construction. Fortunately...we were able to drive on the fun half Ended up putting a little over 1,100 miles on the Cayman...an absolute delight to drive. Teutonic precision in Guards Red, of course. Point it...you go there. Brakes? Right now. A beautiful machine with an excellent factory stereo, too. Comfortable...to a point. Both James & I are in our early 60s now, and 40 years ago a trip like that wouldn't faze us. Now? Stop every hour & a half or two to stretch, get the knees & hips workin' again, the like. I told him that even if we were driving my Park Avenue we'd still have to make the stops

And...we decided that the brats at the Mason's stand by Turn 3 were the winners.

 

[1koolcat]

Cool trip, John. Thanks for the update.

 

[markd51]

Well here's some vintage pics I thought I'd share with all.
I lived in Sheboygan from '68-'72, went to High School in Howards Grove, we lived on Lake Michigan 15 miles north of Sheboygan, and we were about 20 or so miles from Elkhart Lake.

I bought the '67 Stingray in Sheboygan from a High School Classmate, and there's a couple of pics of it sitting out at Corvette Corral at Elkhart Lake.

For sure, you're in the heart of Bratwurst Country there! Lots of great food in the area.

PS: The Lemans Blue 1968 SS396 Camaro was also mine, also bought in Sheboygan, and in fact the pic shown was the day I bought that car. Was stopping in by my friend Tom, the fella I bought the '67 Stingray from. The other cars in that pic were his.
Mark

 

[electronjohn]

A few pics

Since I didn't figure out my memory card dilemma until AFTER returning home I wasn't able to take all the pics I wanted to.

Do have a few, though:

#1 is down in one of our favorite spots..."Canada Corner" leading into "Thunder Valley"

#2 Is the Ferrari team facility

#3 Is the little shop set up for the 'Vettes

#4 is another favorite viewing spot...Turns 6 & 7 leading to the "Hurry Downs"

#5 is one of the cooler vehicles seen at the track. I want it.

#6 is me & a couple of dollies

 

[851 SP3]

never crossed my mind that I'd see a racing related thread here on AK. the first 15 years of my working life were in IMSA and CART. Off the top of my head, I'd have to agree with the RA brats being the best track food and I've raced (wrenched) on four continents and attended on a fifth (pre race career/Army).

 

[jhtstone]

Nice pics! I can hear the cars from here! :thmbsp:

 

[Billfort]

What did you do with IMSA and CART 851?

 

[851 SP3]

mechanic/lead mechanic/crew chief at various stages. five years in IMSA and the last ten in CART. out of the Army and into college and racing. finished college, kept racing. now on year 12 as a regular civilian.

 

[electronjohn]

Couple more pics

Here's a couple more:

One of the most enjoyable things about Road America is the near-total access spectators have to the paddock...which is HUGE. No special pass needed...just wander & gawk. You also have access to the back of pit row to geek out on the tech the teams use to keep track of performance.

#1 is the back of pit row

#2 is the cars gridded up for, IIRC, one of the GT3 races

#3 & 4 are shots of the car we were most interested in...the DeltaWing. Design objectives were minimum frontal area & minimum weight. They succeeded on both counts...we were guessing 1200# & a chat with the team manager told us 1160#...so we were pretty good guessers. Mostly carbon fiber, 1.9L turbo four producing approx 350HP. The car has to have 4 wheels to meet the rules...so the fronts are less than 3' apart with tires that looked like donut spares So...half the weight & half the horsepower of the other Tudor racers. The team tweaked the car all weekend & finished 8th overall. Pretty good IMHO. The Tudor race was supposed to be 2hr 45min, so teams had to switch drivers once & pit once. British lady driver wheeled that car damn well.

#5...another fine prancing horse undergoing tweakage.

If you've never been to Road America...bookmark their website and start making plans as soon as the 2015 schedule is posted. Hotel rooms are at a PREMIUM for race weekend & if you dally you may end up driving a considerable distance to & from the track. We stayed at the tres luxe "Starlite Motel" in New Holstein...about a 10 mile jaunt to & fro. James & I agreed that our wives would veto something like the Starlite...in fact we were quite sure they wouldn't even set foot over the threshold. Good enough for 4 guys at a race weekend...the shower worked & the beds-even with wafer-thin pillows-were comfy.

And...unless you can cart along a moped or scooter...rent a golf cart right away. Road America's just a tick over 4 miles long with outstanding viewing from a myriad of spots both inside & outside the track. Plenty of tunnels & bridges to get you from point to point.