IMSA SportsCar Weekend

IMSA SportsCar Weekend
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
VenueRoad America
First race1950
First IMSA race2014
Duration2 hours 40 minutes
Previous namesElkhart 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)

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.

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

Elkhart Lake road circuit

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

Date Overall Winner(s) Entrant Car Distance/Duration Race Title Report
SCCA National Sports Car Championship
1955 Phil Hill George E. Tilp Ferrari 750 Monza 150 miles (240 km) Elkhart Lake's Road America Road Race report
1956 John Kilborn
Howard Hively
John Kilborn Ferrari 375 MM 6 hours Road America 6 Hours report
1957 Phil Hill Gene Greenspun Ferrari 315 S 500 miles (800 km) Road America 500 report
1958 Gaston Andrey
Lance Reventlow
North American Racing Team Ferrari 335 S 500 miles (800 km) Road America 500 report
1959 Ed Crawford
Walt Hansgen
Briggs Cunningham Lister - Jaguar 500 miles (800 km) Road America 500 report
1960 Dave Causey
Luke Stear
Dave Causey Maserati Tipo 61 500 miles (800 km) Road America 500 report
1961 Walt Hansgen
Augie Pabst
Briggs Cunningham Maserati Tipo 63 500 miles (800 km) Road America 500 report
1962 Jim Hall
Hap Sharp
Jim Hall Chaparral 1-Chevrolet 500 miles (800 km) Road America 500 report
United States Road Racing Championship
1963 Augie Pabst
Bill Wuesthoff
Porsche Car Import/Oliver Schmidt Elva Mk.7-Porsche 500 miles (800 km) Road America 500 report
1964 Walt Hansgen
Augie Pabst
John Mecom Jr. Ferrari 250 LM 500 miles (800 km) Road America 500 report
1965 Jim Hall
Hap Sharp
Ronnie Hissom
Jim Hall Chaparral 2A-Chevrolet 500 miles (800 km) Road America 500 report
1966 Chuck Parsons Randy Hilton McLaren Elva Mk.II-Chevrolet 500 miles (800 km) Road America 500 report
1967 Chuck Parsons
Skip Scott
Carl Haas McLaren Elva Mk.III-Chevrolet 500 miles (800 km) Road America 500 report
1968 Chuck Parsons
Skip Scott
Carl Haas Lola T70 Mk.3-Chevrolet 500 miles (800 km) Road America 500 report
1969–1978: Not held
IMSA GT Championship
1979 David Hobbs
Derek Bell
McLaren North America BMW 320i Turbo 500 miles (800 km) Pabst 500 report
1980 John Paul Jr.
John Paul, Sr.
JLP Racing Porsche 935 JLP-2 500 miles (800 km) Pabst 500 report
1981 Rolf Stommelen
Harald Grohs
Andial Meister Racing Porsche 935 K3 500 miles (800 km) Pabst 500 report
1982 John Fitzpatrick
David Hobbs
John Fitzpatrick Racing Porsche 935 K4 500 miles (800 km) Pabst 500 report
1983 Klaus Ludwig
Tim Coconis
Zakspeed Ford Mustang GTP 460 miles (740 km) A Pabst 500 report
1984 Al Holbert
Derek Bell
Holbert Racing Porsche 962 500 miles (800 km) Budweiser 500 report
1985 Drake Olson
Bobby Rahal
Dyson Racing Porsche 962 500 miles (800 km) Löwenbräu Classic report
1986 Al Holbert
Al Unser Jr.
Holbert Racing Porsche 962 500 miles (800 km) Löwenbräu Classic report
1987 Price Cobb
Johnny Dumfries
Dyson Racing Porsche 962 500 miles (800 km) Löwenbräu Classic report
1988 Geoff Brabham
John Morton
Electramotive Engineering Nissan GTP ZX-T 500 km (310 mi) Miller High Life 500 report
1989 Geoff Brabham
Chip Robinson
Electramotive Engineering Nissan GTP ZX-T 500 km (310 mi) Miller High Life 500 report
1990 Geoff Brabham Nissan Performance Nissan NPT-90 250 km (160 mi)B Chicago Tribune presents the Nissan Grand Prix of Road America report
1991 Davy Jones Bud Light/Jaguar Racing Jaguar XJR-16 300 km (190 mi)C Nissan Grand Prix of Road America report
1992 Juan-Manuel Fangio II All American Racers Eagle Mk III Toyota 2 hours Nissan Grand Prix of Road America report
1993 John Winter
Manuel Reuter
Joest Porsche Racing Porsche 962C 500 km (310 mi) Piggly Wiggly Grand Prix 500 Kilometers report
1994–1999 Not held
Grand American Road Racing Championship
2000 Didier Theys
Freddy Lienhard
Mauro Baldi
Doran Lista Racing Ferrari 333 SP-Judd 500 miles (800 km) Sargento Road America 500 report
2001 Didier Theys
Freddy Lienhard
Mauro Baldi
Lista Doran Racing Ferrari 333 SP-Judd 500 miles (800 km) Sargento Road America 500 report
American Le Mans Series
2002 Tom Kristensen
Rinaldo Capello
Audi Sport North America Audi R8 4 hours, 15 minutes Road America 500 presented by the Chicago Tribune report
2003 Johnny Herbert
JJ Lehto
ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 2 hours, 45 minutes Road America 500 presented by the Chicago Tribune report
2004 JJ Lehto
Marco Werner
ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 2 hours, 45 minutes Road America 500 presented by the Chicago Tribune report
2005 Frank Biela
Emanuele Pirro
ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 2 hours, 45 minutes Generac 500 report
2006 Frank Biela
Emanuele Pirro
Audi Sport North America Audi R10 TDI 2 hours, 45 minutes Generac 500 report
2007 Romain Dumas
Timo Bernhard
Penske Racing Porsche RS Spyder 4 hours Generac 500 report
2008 Lucas Luhr
Marco Werner
Audi Sport North America Audi R10 TDI 4 hours Generac 500 report
2009 Scott Sharp
David Brabham
Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a 2 hours, 45 minutes Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase report
2010 Paul Drayson
Jonny Cocker
Drayson Racing Lola B09/60 2 hours, 45 minutes American Le Mans Series powered by eStar report
2011 Klaus Graf
Lucas Luhr
Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing Lola-Aston Martin B08/62 4 hours Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase report
2012 Chris Dyson
Guy Smith
Dyson Racing Lola B12/60 Mazda MZR-R 4 hours Road America Road Race Showcase report [1]
2013 Klaus Graf
Lucas Luhr
Muscle Milk Pickett Racing HPD ARX-03c Honda 2 hours, 45 minutes Orion Energy Systems 245 report [2]
IMSA SportsCar Championship
2014 João Barbosa
Christian Fittipaldi
Action Express Racing Coyote Corvette DP Chevrolet 2 hours, 45 minutes Continental Tire Road Race Showcase report [3]
2015 Dane Cameron
Eric Curran
Action Express Racing Coyote Corvette DP Chevrolet 2 hours, 40 minutes Continental Tire Road Race Showcase report
2016 Dane Cameron
Eric Curran
Action Express Racing Coyote Corvette DP Chevrolet 2 hours, 40 minutes Continental Tire Road Race Showcase report
2017 Pipo Derani
Johannes van Overbeek
Tequila Patrón ESM Nissan Onroak DPi 2 hours, 40 minutes Continental Tire Road Race Showcase report
2018 Jon Bennett
Colin Braun
CORE Autosport Oreca 07 2 hours, 40 minutes Continental Tire Road Race Showcase report[4]
2019 Jonathan Bomarito
Harry Tincknell
Joest Racing Mazda RT24-P 2 hours, 40 minutes Road Race Showcase at Road America Report
2020 Hélio Castroneves
Ricky Taylor
Team Penske Acura ARX-05 2 hours, 40 minutes IMSA SportsCar Weekend Report
2021 Pipo Derani
Felipe Nasr
Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R 2 hours, 40 minutes IMSA SportsCar Weekend Report
2022 Filipe Albuquerque

Ricky Taylor

WTR - Konica Minolta Acura Acura ARX-05 2 hours, 40 minutes IMSA Fastlane SportsCar Weekend report
2023 Matt Campbell

Felipe Nasr

Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 2 hours, 40 minutes IMSA SportsCar Weekend report
2024 Nick Tandy

Mathieu Jaminet

Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 2 hours, 40 minutes IMSA SportsCar Weekend report
  • ^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

  1. ^ "ALMS 2012 Road Race Showcase Official Race Report" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association. 7 September 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  2. ^ "2013 Orion Energy Systems 245 at Road America Official Race Report" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  3. ^ "2014 Continental Tire Road Race Showcase Official Race Report" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Official Race Results" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-12-09. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  5. ^ Road America 500 Kilometers 1990, Racing Sports Cars, retrieved 2009-11-14
  6. ^ History for Fond du Lac, WI, Weather Underground, retrieved 2009-11-14