This Weekend in NASCAR – Storylines: Road America

• Next Race: Jockey Made in America 250 Presented by Kwik Trip
• The Place: Road America
• The Date: Sunday, July 4
• The Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
• TV: NBC, 2 p.m. ET
• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 250 miles (62 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 14), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 29), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 62)

After nearly 65 years, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to Road America

For the first time in nearly 65 years, the NASCAR Cup Series will return to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin to compete on the world famous Road America this Sunday, July 4 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The Jockey Made in America 250 Presented by Kwik Trip race marks just the second time in series history that Road America has hosted a Cup event.

In the early 1950’s, sports car races were being run on the streets in and around Elkhart Lake, but the state legislature banned racing on the public roads soon after. A man named Clif Tufte organized a group of local citizens and leaders of the Chicago Region of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). This group developed plans and sold stock to build a permanent racecourse. The overall vision of Road America grew out of the dreams of Tufte, a highway engineer, who chose 525 acres of Wisconsin farmland outside the Village of Elkhart Lake for the track. Ground broke for Road America in April of 1955 and the track’s first SCCA national race weekend was held later that same year (September 10, 1955). 

At 4.048-miles in length, with 14 turns, the track is virtually the same today as it was when it was first laid out. The natural topography of the glacial Kettle Moraine area was utilized for the track, sweeping around rolling hills and plunging through ravines making it one of the most challenging tracks in the world.

The first, and up until this weekend, the only, NASCAR Cup Series race at Road America was on August 12, 1956. An estimated crowd of 10,000 braved terrible weather to watch the event. And in an unusual ruling, NASCAR limited the cars to 10 gallons of fuel at start the race. 

The August 12, 1956, race was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tim Flock driving a Mercury for car owner Bill Stroppe. Flock led 17 laps of the 63-lap event, making just two pit stops en route to his win; his fourth victory of the 1956 season. Flock won with an average speed of 73.858 mph and did it in 3 hours, 29 minutes, and 50 seconds. He won the race by a 17 second margin of victory over second place. Bill Stroppe’s cars actually finished 1-2 in the race with Flock winning and his teammate Billy Myers finishing second. 

Road America will be the fourth of seven road courses on the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell won the first road course race of the season at the Daytona Road Course, followed by Hendrick Motorsport’s driver and 2020 series champion Chase Elliott won at Circuit of The Americas and then Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson won at Sonoma Raceway.

Previous experience at Road America could be advantageous

For drivers and teams when it comes to approaching how to prepare for the debut of a track on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, any previous experience or knowledge of the facility can be advantageous to the process. With this weekend’s venue, Road America, brand new to the series, drivers with experience at the 4.048-mile course in the NASCAR Xfinity Series might have a slight upper hand.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series has competed 11 times at Road America (2010-Present) and 28 of the 40 drivers entered in this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race have competed in the Xfinity Series at Road America, led by 2021 Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell, Ross Chastain and Josh Bilicki with five Xfinity Series Road America starts each.

Road America is one of eight tracks this season that have been chosen to hold practice and qualifying. The lone practice for the weekend is scheduled for Saturday at 12:35 p.m. ET – 1:25 p.m. and the qualifying session will be on Sunday prior to the race at 11:05 a.m. ET. Two of the 40 NASCAR Cup Series drivers entered this weekend have won at least one pole in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Road America – AJ Allmendinger (two poles: 2013, 2019) and Michael McDowell (one pole: 2011).

The 11 NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Road America have produced 11 different winners. Four of the 40 NASCAR Cup Series drivers entered this weekend at Road America have won in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the 4.048-mile road course – Austin Cindric (2020), Christopher Bell (2019), Michael McDowell (2016) and AJ Allmendinger (2013).

Pulling Double Duty at Road America

AJ Allmendinger, Austin Cindric, Josh Bilicki, Justin Haley, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch will all be competing in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday, July 3, and the NASCAR Cup Series race on July 4 at Road America.

Hendrick Motorsports winning pace

Hendrick Motorsports is at the top of their game this season already winning nine races in the first 19 events of the 2021 season. Hendrick Motorsports in 2007 set the Modern Era record for the most wins by an organization in a single season with 18 victories, until it was surpassed in 2019 when Joe Gibbs Racing scored 19 Cup victories in a single season.

What is interesting is that at this point in the 2007 season (19 races completed), Hendrick Motorsports had produced nine wins just like this year heading into to the 20th race on the schedule at Road America.  

Hendrick Motorsports is coming off a streak of six consecutive NASCAR Cup Series wins – a record in the Modern Era that the organization has accomplished twice (2007, 2021).  

With 17 races left in the 2021 season and so many similarities to the 2007 season, it will be fascinating to see if the Hendrick camp can make a run at the Joe Gibbs Racing single season wins record.

• Next Race: Henry 180
• The Place: Road America
• The Date: Saturday, July 3
• The Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
• TV: NBC, 2 p.m. ET
• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 182.16 miles (45 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 10), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 20), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 45)

Left and right turns at Road America

It’s a Fourth of July weekend full of road-course racing in Wisconsin at Road America. The 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course spread across 640 acres in Elkhart Lake has been home to 11 NASCAR Xfinity Series races. This season, the NASCAR Cup Series will head to Road America as well after the Xfinity Series kicks off the weekend Saturday afternoon with the Henry 180 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Last weekend at Pocono Raceway, the Xfinity Series saw Austin Cindric holding off a hard-charging Ty Gibbs to capture his fourth victory of the season. Justin Allgaier finished third, Noah Gragson finished fourth and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top five. There were six cautions for 21 laps and 11 lead changes. Cindric topped Gibbs crossing the finish line by 0.331 seconds.

This weekend, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will compete in practice and qualifying at Road America for the fourth time this season. All other lineups have been set by metric qualifying due to COVID-19 procedures at the start of the 2021 season.

The Xfinity Series first and only practice at Road America will be on Friday, July 2 at 4:05 p.m. ET on NBCSN and the qualifying session will be on Saturday, July 3 at 11:35 a.m. ET on NBCSN beginning at 12 p.m. ET.

Can Road America’s Xfinity different winners streak continue?

Count ‘em up. A total of 11 different NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers have visited Road America’s Victory Lane in as many races and in this weekend’s Henry 180 will be on at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio we could see an 11th.

The top two different winner streaks by track in the NASCAR Xfinity Series belong to Road America (11 different winners) and Michigan (10 different winners).

The record for the most consecutive different winners a single track is 23, set at New Hampshire Motor Speedway between the 1990-2009 seasons.

Road America currently holds the longest active Xfinity Series different winners streak at 11 – dating back to the 2010 season.

Three former Xfinity Series Road America winners are entered this weekend – Austin Cindric, AJ Allmendinger, Jeremy Clements and Justin Allgaier.

• Next Race: Corn Belt 150 Presented by Premier Chevy Dealers
• The Place: Knoxville Raceway
• The Date: Friday, July 9
• The Time: 9 p.m. ET
• TV: FS1, 8 p.m. ET
• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 75 miles (150 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 40), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 150)

source – NASCAR communications