DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR will race in the state of Wisconsin after all next season.
The NASCAR Nationwide Series will make its inaugural trip to Road America, a 4.048-mile road course in Elkhart Lake, Wis., in place of the recently canceled event at The Milwaukee Mile June 19.
“We’re excited to be staying in Wisconsin and racing in front of the passionate fans there at a historic venue that’s new to our NASCAR Nationwide Series,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s vice president of racing operations.
While Road America is new to the NASCAR Nationwide Series, it’s not the first time NASCAR has raced there. On Aug. 12, 1956, Tim Flock won the only other NASCAR national series race, in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, at the then one-year-old track. In 2001, current NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Paul Menard won there in the former NASCAR RE/MAX Challenge Series.
“It’s a really great race track,” Menard said. “It’s in a very picturesque setting in the Wisconsin countryside. It has every kind of corner you can imagine. When I was a kid, my dad would take me to Road America. The fans love it there."
Road America will be the third road course on the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule. The series also will race at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int'l and at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.
“Road America is a very unique track that will provide great racing and will test driver skill and ability on what is a very large course,” said Joe Balash, director of the NASCAR Nationwide Series. “And yes, we’ll be prepared to race in the rain if necessary,” he said, in reference to the series’ last two races in wet weather in Montreal. The 2008 event was the first NASCAR national series points race contested in the rain.
Teams will be permitted to participate in a full day of additional event practice June 17, prior to the start of official on-track activity June 18.
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