The IMSA SportsCar Weekend (formerly the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America, Road America 500) is a sports car race held at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The event began in 1950, in 1951 was added to the SCCA National Sports Car Championship and was contested for the final time on the roads around the village and lake of Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. 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 Road America 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. After running as a 500 mile event beginning in 1957, IMSA shortened the race to 500 kilometres (310 mi) in 1988, 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 contested at IMSA's standard sprint race duration of 2 hours and 40 minutes.
 | |
| IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Road America |
| First race | 1950 |
| First IMSA race | 2014 |
| Duration | 2 hours 40 minutes |
| Previous names | Elkhart Lake Road Race Road America 500 Grand Prix of Road America Continental Road Race Showcase |
| Most wins (driver) | Augie Pabst (3) Chuck Parsons (3) Geoff Brabham (3) Lucas Luhr (3) |
| Most wins (team) | Briggs Cunningham Racing Team (4) Penske Racing (4) |
| Most wins (manufacturer) | Porsche (11) |
Porsche has won the event eleven times, most recently in 2024. Augie Pabst, Chuck Parsons, Geoff Brabham and Lucas Luhr have the most victories as drivers with three each.
Winners
editElkhart 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
- ^A Race scheduled for 500 miles (800 km) but ended at 460 miles (737km) due to heavy rain and track flooding.
- ^B Scheduled for two 250-kilometer heats, the first heat was cancelled due to heavy rain.[5][6]
- ^C A 300-kilometer GTP/Lights race and 200-kilometer GTO/GTU/AAC race were held, totaling 500 kilometers.
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