The Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America (formerly the Road America 500) is a 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 Sports Car Championship. Following a spectator death at the 1952 Watkins Glen Grand Prix, racing on open roads was discouraged, and the race went into hiatus until 1955, when a permanent circuit was opened. In 1963, the race shifted to the new United States Road Racing Championship, until the USRRC's demise in 1968. After an 11-year hiatus, the IMSA GT Championship revived the event in 1979. In 1988, IMSA shortened the race to 500 kilometres (310 mi), and again in 1991 to 300 kilometres (190 mi). The race was shortened to 2 hours in 1992. After a return to a 500-km distance, the race was cancelled in 1994. It was revived once again in 2000, by the Grand American Road Racing Championship, to a 500-mile distance. The race was an American Le Mans Series event from 2002 until 2013, run at varying race distances of either 2 hours and 45 minutes or 4 hours. In 2014 the race joined the schedule of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship after the merger of the American Le Mans Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series.
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| IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Road America |
| Corporate sponsor | IMSAFastlane.com |
| First race | 1950 |
| First USCC race | 2014 |
| Duration | 2 hours 40 minutes |
| Previous names | Elkhart Lake Road Race Road America 500 Grand Prix of Road America |
| Most wins (driver) | Augie Pabst (3) Chuck Parsons (3) Geoff Brabham (3) |
| Most wins (team) | Briggs Cunningham Racing Team (4) |
| Most wins (manufacturer) | Porsche (10) |
Porsche has won the event nine times, most recently in 2007. Augie Pabst, Chuck Parsons, and Geoff Brabham have each won three times as drivers.
Winners edit
Elkhart Lake road circuit edit
| Date | Overall Winner(s) | Entrant | Car | Distance/Duration | Race Title | Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-championship | |||||||
| 1950 |  Jim Kimberly |
Jim Kimberly |
Ferrari 166 MM | 100 miles (160 km) | Elkhart Lake Road Race | report | |
| SCCA National Sports Car Championship | |||||||
| 1951 | John Fitch |
Briggs Cunningham |
Cunningham C-2R | 200 miles (320 km) | Elkhart Lake Road Race | report | |
| 1952 | John Fitch |
Briggs Cunningham |
Cunningham C-4R-Chrysler | 200 miles (320 km) | Elkhart Lake Cup | report | |
Road America edit
References edit
- ^ "ALMS 2012 Road Race Showcase Official Race Report" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association. 7 September 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ^ "2013 Orion Energy Systems 245 at Road America Official Race Report" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ^ "2014 Continental Tire Road Race Showcase Official Race Report" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ^ "Official Race Results" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-12-09. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
- ^ Road America 500 Kilometers 1990, Racing Sports Cars, retrieved 2009-11-14
- ^ History for Fond du Lac, WI, Weather Underground, retrieved 2009-11-14
External links edit
- United SportsCar Championship official site
- World Sports Racing Prototypes: SCCA Nationals archive
- World Sports Racing Prototypes: USRRC archive
- World Sports Racing Prototypes: IMSA archive
- World Sports Racing Prototypes: Grand-Am archive
- World Sports Racing Prototypes: ALMS archive
- Racing Sports Cars: Road America archive
- Ultimate Racing History: Road America archive
- Audi Allroad