Kohler Grand Prix

Kohler Grand Prix
Verizon IndyCar Series
Venue Road America
Corporate sponsor Kohler
First race 1982
Distance 222.64 miles (358.304 km)
Laps 55
Previous names Road America 200 (1982, 1987, 1989)
Provimi Veal 200 (1983–1985)
Race for Life 200 (1986)
Briggs & Stratton 200 (1988)
Texaco/Havoline 200 (1990–1999)
Motorola 220 (2000–2002)
Mario Andretti Grand Prix at Road America (2003)
Champ Car Grand Prix of Road America (2004)
Grand Prix of Road America (2006)
Generac Grand Prix (2007)
Most wins (driver) Mario Andretti (3)
Emerson Fittipaldi (3)
Most wins (team) Newman/Haas Racing (10)
Most wins (manufacturer) Lola (12)

The Kohler Grand Prix is an IndyCar Series race held at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. For twenty-five years, the event was part of the CART series, with the first race being held in 1982. The event was put on hiatus in 2008 after the unification of Champ Car into the Indy Racing League.

On August 8, 2015, it was announced that the race would return as part of the 2016 IndyCar Series season on June 23–26, 2016. Will Power won the race with Tony Kanaan and Graham Rahal coming in second and third respectively. The race weekend included all three series under the Mazda Road to Indy and the Pirelli World Challenge (GT/GT-A/GT Cup & GTS) as support races.[1]

Since its original inception in 1982, Road America has been widely regarded by competitors, fans, and media, as one of the best, most challenging, and popular venues on the circuit.[2]

Race history

The first major open wheel racing at Road America was a USAC/SCCA Formula 5000 (SCCA Continental Championship) race held from 1974-1976.

The CART Indy car series first visited Road America in 1982. Road America was one of several road and street races that was added to the series during the 1980s. Immediately the race became a popular event, owing much to the challenging, competitive, and picturesque nature of the course. Along with Milwaukee, the CART series for many years featured two stops annually in the state of Wisconsin.

Since it was added to the schedule, Road America has been the longest track utilized on the Indy car circuit. At 4.048 miles (6.515 km), fuel mileage has been a deciding factor in many races. On more than one occasion, competitors have run out of fuel within sight of victory, occasionally leading to surprise winners. In some years, rain has been a factor, again adding a difficult challenge to even the most experienced drivers.

Throughout nearly its entire history as part of the CART calendar, the race was scheduled for either August or September, usually late in the CART Indy car season. The race was oftentimes a pivotal race in the championship hunt. The race began as a 50-lap/200-mile race, but was later lengthened. In 2007 only, the race was paired in a double-header weekend with the ALMS Road America 500.

The high speeds obtained on the course have seen several major crashes. Josele Garza flipped wildly in the 1986 race and landed on the guardrail. A. J. Foyt went off in turn one in 1990, and nearly ended his career due to severe leg and ankle injuries. During a test session in 2003, Cristiano da Matta hit a deer, suffering a subdural hematoma. Katherine Legge suffered one of the most severe crashes during the 2006 race. the car lost a rear wing going into the Turn 11 Kink, and flipped into the catchfence.

Race revival

In February 2003, CART officials filed a lawsuit against the promoters of the race, stating they had failed to pay sanctioning fees due from the previous year's race, and failed to make payments due for the 2003 race.[3][4] On March 11, series officials cancelled the race outright.[4] The reaction among media and fans was very negative, as many believed the series was dropping one of its marquee events. A few weeks later, the track issued a countersuit against CART,[5] stating that the sanctioning body broke the contract by cancelling the race. Mario Andretti stepped in to mediate,[6] and in April the two sides came together to reinstate the event. The race was renamed the "Mario Andretti Grand Prix" in his honor.[7]

After coming back for two more seasons, Road America was left off the 2005 Champ Car schedule due to lack of sponsorship and declining attendance.[8] Promoters, however, brought the race back for 2006 and 2007.[9] The track was to be part of the 2008 Champ Car schedule, but it became a casualty of the 2008 open wheel unification, and went on hiatus for nearly a decade.

After several years of speculation, the race was revived as part of the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2016[2] to a rousing success. It essentially replaced the Milwaukee 250 on the schedule.

First wins

Despite the demanding and challenging nature of the course, Road America has been the site of the first career win for several drivers in Indy car racing. In early years, Héctor Rebaque and "Uncle" Jacques Villeneuve both scored their first and only wins in the Indy cars. In 1986, Emerson Fittipaldi won his second-career CART series race at Road America, but it was notably his first such win on a road course. In the 1990s, Paul Tracy won his first career pole position at Road America, and Jacques Villeneuve followed in the footsteps of his uncle in winning his first Indy car race here as well.

Dario Franchitti, Christian Fittipaldi, Bruno Junqueira, and Alex Tagliani also all scored their first-career CART/Champ Car series wins at Road America.

Unser jinx

The father and son duo of Al Unser Sr. and Al Unser Jr., both champions in the CART series, notably failed to ever win at Road America, in some occasions with shocking heartbreak. That is in stark contrast to the rival Andretti family, which scored six wins at the track.

Al Sr. ran out of fuel on the final lap while leading in 1982. Al Jr. was leading handily in 1985 until he lost control in a sudden rain shower, crashed and broke his ankle. Unser Jr. crashed again in 1986, and ran out of fuel in 1988. In 1991, Unser Jr. narrowly got beat out by Michael Andretti in the final two laps. In 1996, Unser Jr. blew his engine on the final lap, two corners short of victory.

Al Unser Jr. also started on the pole in a Can-Am race at Road America, but broke the transmission on the second lap.[10]

Race results

Season Date Driver Team Chassis Engine Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph)
Report
Laps Miles (km)
USAC/SCCA Formula 5000
1974 July 28 United States Mario Andretti Vel Miletich Lola Chevrolet 25 100 (160.93) 0:53:02 124.741 Report
1975 July 27 United States Mario Andretti Vel Miletich Lola Chevrolet 25 100 (160.93) 0:54:22 110.355 Report
1976 July 25 United States Jackie Oliver Phoenix Racing Shadow Dodge 25 100 (160.93) 0:58:29 102.590 Report
Aug 28 United States Brian Redman Carl Haas/Jim Hall Lola Chevrolet 20 80 (128.75) 0:42:59 111.640 Report
Aug 29 Australia Vern Schuppan Earle M. Jorgensen Lola Chevrolet 25 100 (160.93) 0:54:38 109.816 Report
1977

1981
Not held
CART/Champ Car
1982 Sep 19 Mexico Héctor Rebaque Forsythe Racing March Cosworth 50 200 (321.868) 1:49:56 109.156 Report
1983 July 31 United States Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Cosworth 50 200 (321.868) 2:00:42 99.41 Report
1984 Aug 5 United States Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Cosworth 50 200 (321.868) 1:43:08 116.347 Report
1985 Aug 4 Canada Jacques Villeneuve (Sr.) Canadian Tire Racing March Cosworth 50 200 (321.868) 1:45:12 114.066 Report
1986 Oct 4 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing March Cosworth 50 200 (321.868) 2:26:42 81.8 Report
1987 Aug 30 United States Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Chevrolet 50 200 (321.868) 1:39:52 120.155 Report
1988 Sep 11 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing Lola Chevrolet 50 200 (321.868) 1:38:11 122.215 Report
1989 Sep 10 United States Danny Sullivan Penske Racing Penske Chevrolet 50 200 (321.868) 1:37:43 123.05 Report
1990 Sep 23 United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Chevrolet 50 200 (321.868) 1:53:00 106.192 Report
1991 Sep 22 United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Chevrolet 50 200 (321.868) 1:35:05 126.205 Report
1992 Aug 23 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Penske Racing Penske Chevrolet-Ilmor 50 200 (321.868) 1:48:26 110.656 Report
1993 Aug 22 Canada Paul Tracy Penske Racing Penske Chevrolet-Ilmor 50 200 (321.868) 1:41:20 118.408 Report
1994 Sep 11 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Forsythe/Green Racing Reynard Ford-Cosworth 50 200 (321.868) 1:42:37 116.922 Report
1995 July 9 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Team Green Reynard Ford-Cosworth 50 200 (321.868) 1:55:29 103.901 Report
1996 Aug 18 United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Ford-Cosworth 50 200 (321.868) 1:56:33 102.947 Report
1997 Aug 17 Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 50 202.4 (325.731) 1:57:54 102.995 Report
1998 Aug 16 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green Reynard Honda 50 202.4 (325.731) 1:35:30 127.145 Report
1999 July 11 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi Newman/Haas Racing Swift Ford-Cosworth 55 222.64 (358.304) 1:37:00 137.697 Report
2000 Aug 20 Canada Paul Tracy Team Green Reynard Honda 55 222.64 (358.304) 1:37:53 136.457 Report
2001 Aug 19 Brazil Bruno Junqueira Chip Ganassi Racing Lola Toyota 45* 182.16 (293.158) 2:00:28 90.721 Report
2002 Aug 18 Brazil Cristiano da Matta Newman/Haas Racing Lola Toyota 60 242.88 (390.877) 1:56:43 124.856 Report
2003 Aug 3 Brazil Bruno Junqueira Newman/Haas Racing Lola Ford-Cosworth 34* 137.632 (221.497) 1:35:28 86.493 Report
2004 Aug 8 Canada Alex Tagliani Rocketsports Lola Ford-Cosworth 48* 194.304 (312.701) 1:45:07 110.903 Report
2005 Not held
2006 Sep 23 United States A. J. Allmendinger Forsythe Racing Lola Ford-Cosworth 51 206.448 (332.245) 1:54:43 107.967 Report
2007 Aug 12 France Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing Panoz Cosworth 53 214.544 (345.275) 1:40:58 127.481 Report
2008

2015
Not held
Verizon IndyCar Series
2016 Jun 26 Australia Will Power Team Penske Dallara Chevrolet 50 202.4 (325.731) 1:39:10 121.426 Report
2017 Jun 25 New Zealand Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 55 222.64 (358.304) 1:47:19 123.431 Report

Support race winners

Atlantic Championship
Season Date Winning Driver
1978 July 23 United States Howdy Holmes
1979 July 22 United States Bob Earl
1980 July 19 United States Bob Earl
1981 July 26 United States Whitney Ganz
1982 July 24 United States John David Briggs
1983 July 16 Brazil Roberto Moreno
1986 July 26 Canada Scott Goodyear
1987 August 29 United States Ted Prappas
1988 July 17 United States Colin Trueman
1989 September 10 Canada Claude Bourbonnais
1990 September 23 United States Jimmy Vasser
1996 August 17 Canada Patrick Carpentier
1997 August 17 United States Alex Barron
1998 August 16 United States Anthony Lazzaro
1999 July 11 Canada Andrew Bordin
2000 August 20 United States Buddy Rice
2001 August 19 Brazil Hoover Orsi
2002 August 18 Mexico Luis Díaz
2004 August 8 United Kingdom Ryan Dalziel
2005 August 21 Estonia Tõnis Kasemets
2006 September 24 United States Jonathan Bomarito
2007 August 12 France Franck Perera
2008 August 9 United States Jonathan Bomarito
August 10 United States Jonathan Summerton

ARS / Indy Lights
Season Date Winning Driver
1986 September 20 United States Mike Groff
1988 September 11 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio II
1989 September 10 Republic of Ireland Tommy Byrne
1990 September 23 Canada Paul Tracy
1991

2015
Not held
2016 June 25 United States Zach Veach
June 26 Uruguay Santiago Urrutia
2017 June 24 Brazil Matheus Leist
June 25 Canada Zachary Claman DeMelo
Pro Mazda Championship
Season Date Winning Driver
2016 June 25 United States Aaron Telitz
United States Aaron Telitz
2017 June 25 Brazil Victor Franzoni
June 26 Australia Anthony Martin
U.S. F2000
Season Date Winning Driver
2016 June 25 Australia Anthony Martin
Australia Anthony Martin
2017 June 23 Netherlands Rinus VeeKay
June 24 Netherlands Rinus VeeKay

Race summaries

CART PPG Indy Car World Series

CART FedEx Championship series

Champ Car World Series

Verizon IndyCar Series

Footnotes

Works cited

References

  1. "IndyCar racing returns to Road America in '16". IndyCar.com. Brickyard Trademarks, Inc. August 8, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "IndyCar racing returns to Road America in '16". IndyCar.com. Brickyard Trademarks, Inc. August 8, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  3. "CART sues Road America". The Indianapolis Star. February 13, 2003. p. 34. Retrieved April 27, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 Cavin, Curt (March 11, 2003). "CART drops Road America". The Indianapolis Star. p. 29. Retrieved April 27, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "CART hit with countersuit". The Indianapolis Star. April 9, 2003. p. 32. Retrieved April 27, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Andretti mediating". Poughkeepsie Journal. April 12, 2003. p. 3C. Retrieved April 27, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Road America race back on 2003 CART schedule". The Indianapolis Star. April 24, 2003. p. 32. Retrieved April 27, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Road America's place on Champ Car schedule at risk". The Cincinnati Enquirer. August 7, 2004. p. 28. Retrieved April 27, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Road America added, Las Vegas gone in 2006". motorsport.com. 2005-11-29. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
  10. "SCCA Can-Am race - Road America, Elkhart Lake, WI (July 25, 1982)". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  11. Collins, Bob (September 20, 1982). "Rebaque inherits Elkart Lake win". The Indianapolis Star. p. 25. Retrieved April 12, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  12. Overpeck, Dave (August 1, 1983). "Andretti 1st at Elkhart Lake". The Indianapolis Star. p. 23. Retrieved April 12, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  13. Overpeck, Dave (August 6, 1984). "Andretti wins another one". The Indianapolis Star. p. 17. Retrieved April 12, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  14. Walters, Bob (August 6, 1985). "Villeneuve is CART winner (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 19. Retrieved April 12, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  15. Walters, Bob (August 6, 1985). "Villeneuve is CART winner (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 22. Retrieved April 12, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  16. Walters, Bob (September 22, 1986). "Rain postpones Race for Life 200". The Indianapolis Star. p. 17. Retrieved April 13, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  17. Walters, Bob (October 5, 1986). "Fittipaldi 'rains' at Elkart Lake (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 82. Retrieved April 13, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  18. Walters, Bob (October 5, 1986). "Fittipaldi 'rains' at Elkart Lake (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 91. Retrieved April 13, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  19. Shaffer, Rick (August 31, 1987). "Mario coasts to easy win at Elkhart Lake". The Indianapolis Star. p. 13. Retrieved April 13, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  20. Shaffer, Rick (September 12, 1988). "Fittipaldi has fuel to win at Elkhart". The Indianapolis Star. p. 19. Retrieved April 13, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  21. Shaffer, Rick (September 11, 1989). "Michael runs dry, Danny drives by". The Indianapolis Star. p. 14. Retrieved April 14, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  22. Shaffer, Rick (September 24, 1990). "Michael's win tightens race for CART title (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 33. Retrieved April 14, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  23. Shaffer, Rick (September 24, 1990). "Michael's win tightens race for CART title (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 34. Retrieved April 14, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  24. Shaffer, Rick (September 23, 1991). "Michael fights off rain, Al Jr. for win (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 32. Retrieved April 14, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  25. Shaffer, Rick (September 23, 1991). "Michael fights off rain, Al Jr. for win (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 34. Retrieved April 14, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  26. Shaffer, Rick (August 23, 1992). "Tracy crashes but still qualifies for first pole (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 63. Retrieved April 15, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  27. Shaffer, Rick (August 23, 1992). "Tracy crashes but still qualifies for first pole (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 70. Retrieved April 15, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  28. Shaffer, Rick (August 24, 1992). "Emmo's close victory tightens season race (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 29. Retrieved April 15, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  29. Shaffer, Rick (August 24, 1992). "Emmo's close victory tightens season race (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 33. Retrieved April 15, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  30. Miller, Robin (August 23, 1993). "Woozy Tracy puts hurt on field in winning Elkhart Lake". The Indianapolis Star. p. 28. Retrieved April 15, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  31. Harris, Mike (September 12, 1994). "Villeneuve, Unser share racing laurels". The Indianapolis Star. p. 34. Retrieved April 15, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  32. Cavin, Curt (July 10, 1995). "Villenueve takes command at Elkhart Lake (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 23. Retrieved April 18, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  33. Cavin, Curt (July 10, 1995). "Villenueve takes command at Elkhart Lake (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 23. Retrieved April 18, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  34. Miller, Robin (August 19, 1996). "Raceway robbery times two (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 27. Retrieved April 18, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  35. Miller, Robin (August 19, 1996). "Raceway robbery times two (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 29. Retrieved April 18, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  36. Miller, Robin (August 19, 1995). "Cars, emotions flip out of control (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 27. Retrieved April 18, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  37. Miller, Robin (August 19, 1996). "Cars, emotions flip out of control (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 29. Retrieved April 18, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  38. Miller, Robin (August 18, 1997). "Zanardi nearly clinches CART championship". The Indianapolis Star. p. 18. Retrieved April 19, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  39. Miller, Robin (August 17, 1998). "Great Scot! Franchitti finds victory lane". The Indianapolis Star. p. 14. Retrieved April 18, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  40. Miller, Robin (July 12, 1999). "Victory falls into place for Fittipaldi (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 17. Retrieved April 20, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  41. Miller, Robin (July 12, 1999). "Victory falls into place for Fittipaldi (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 18. Retrieved April 20, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  42. Miller, Robin (August 21, 2000). "Tracy charges to victory after slow, sputtering start". The Indianapolis Star. p. 26. Retrieved April 21, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  43. Miller, Robin (August 20, 2001). "Junqueira slips past Andretti to give Ganassi 1st win of '01". The Indianapolis Star. p. 30. Retrieved April 20, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  44. "Da Matta puts end to slump with win". The Indianapolis Star. August 19, 2002. p. 29. Retrieved April 27, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  45. Trujillo, Melissa (August 4, 2003). "Rain can't spoil Junqueira's day (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 23. Retrieved April 20, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  46. Trujillo, Melissa (August 4, 2003). "Rain can't spoil Junqueira's day (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 25. Retrieved April 20, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  47. Stapleton, Arnie (August 9, 2004). "Tagliani finally finds victory lane (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 23. Retrieved April 29, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  48. Stapleton, Arnie (August 9, 2004). "Tagliani finally finds victory lane (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 29. Retrieved April 29, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  49. Jenkins, Chris (September 25, 2006). "Allmendinger takes flag at Road America". The Pantagraph. p. 33. Retrieved April 29, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  50. "Bourdais conquers Road America at last". The Indianapolis Star. August 13, 2007. p. D8. Retrieved April 29, 2016 via Newspapers.com.
Preceded by
Rainguard
Water Sealers 600
IndyCar Series
Kohler Grand Prix
Succeeded by
Iowa Corn 300
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