If motorsports and camping are your lifeblood, then Road America in Wisconsin may be the home you’ve never known.
America’s “national park of speed” contains one of the most technically challenging tracks that runs like a four-mile northern stream through the hilly wooded country of Eastern Wisconsin.
The 640-acre complex in Elkhart Lake hosts several big motorsports events each spring through fall, from NASCAR’s Xfinity Series to MotoAmerica motorcycle racing, to this year’s inaugural running of the Verizon IndyCar series. Several big weekends across almost all forms of circuit-racing draw legions of hardcore fans in RVs and tents.
Aside from spectator events, Road America is home to a driving school and a zipline, which may be wholly unrelated to each other, but they deserve mention in describing the huge pull the complex has on anyone in search of an adrenaline rush.
While much of the country is wholly unfamiliar with any motorcycle sport outside of the X-Games and any stock car racing beyond the Daytona 500, those who follow each individual series follow them passionately.
The MotoAmerica weekend draws lovers of lean angles and lap times, two-wheeled racing fans dedicated to the 1000cc flow of power through 14 turns.
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Verizon IndyCar draws the international racing elite, fans from diverse locales coming to cheer drivers from all over the world.
AHRMA weekend is a vintage motorcycle party, one of the most popular camping events each year that draws motorheads who value carburetion over fuel injection.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series weekend stands as one of the most intriguing in the schedule, a track loved by many drivers and hated (for its technical difficulty) by others. In the effort to include more varied racing circuits than just ovals, NASCAR’s Xfinity weekend at Road America may be more influential on the future of the sport than many followers realize.
New facilities this year include several huge digital screens strategically placed around the property installed primarily for the inaugural IndyCar race. Other new buildings will help to accommodate the drivers’ needs for top-of-the-line garage facilities and the fans’ needs for the best visitor experience.
Road America’s location in Eastern Wisconsin is near the familiar cities of Johnsonville (as in the bratwurst) and Kohler (as in the washing machines), whose brand presence is made clearly known in the many billboards, banners and food menus at the track.
Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin may only claim 1,000 residents, but it offers everything the non-camping traveler needs with several restaurants, three resorts and a few bed and breakfasts.
For those who want walkable nightlife options, nearby Sheboygan offers hotels, dining and nightlife on the shores of Lake Michigan.
While our national parks offer camping within remote landscapes and big speedways boast major motorsports events, only Road America gives an equal dose of both. Around bends, over hills and down harrowing straightaways, both horse and will power are put to the test, and you can watch it from within the natural beauty of a crisp northern greenscape at Road America.
