Road racing at Elkhart Lake began in the late 1940s, spurred by post-World War II economic growth and a surge in sporting automobiles. The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) organized the first road race at Elkhart Lake in 1950 in partnership with the Chicago Region SCCA and the Village of Elkhart Lake. That circuit used County Road P as the start-finish straight, ran north to County Road J, south into the village, and west on what is now County JP, totalling 3.3 miles (5.3 km). Two further editions in 1951 and 1952 used a longer 6.5-mile course on County Roads J, A, and P; much of that original course remains drivable today.
After a child was killed at Watkins Glen in 1952, the United States discontinued motorized contests of speed on public highways. Racing shifted to private closed courses. In 1955, Clif Tufte founded what is now known as Road America, creating a configuration that has changed little since. The first race on the new track was held by the SCCA on 10 September 1955. The original 1950 open-road course was registered on the National Register of Historic Places on 17 February 2006.
Road America is among a small number of road circuits worldwide that have retained their original configuration. The track features significant elevation changes and a long front straight where speeds approaching 200 mph (320 km/h) have been recorded. Its most recognisable feature is "the kink," a high-speed turn on the backside of the circuit. Grandstands are located at several points around the course, and permanent hillside seating can accommodate crowds exceeding 150,000.
In late 2006, Road America removed the old Bill Mitchell bridge and replaced it with a tunnel as the main paddock entrance. Completed in May 2007 and opened on 31 May for the AMA Suzuki Superbike Championship weekend, the tunnel is 16.5 ft (5.0 m) high and 36 ft (11 m) wide, carrying two traffic lanes and pedestrian walkways on each side. Its construction created a new spectator viewing area.
The facility also includes the Briggs & Stratton Motorplex, a 0.8-mile (1.3 km) karting track inside the Carousel, which hosts weekly summer events and approximately six Saturday events per season.
The SCCA held the first Road America race in 1955. The Road America 500, a sports car race, has been part of successive championships — the SCCA National Sports Car Championship, the United States Road Racing Championship, the IMSA GT Championship, and currently the IMSA SportsCar Championship. The Grand Prix of Road America began as part of the Champ Car World Series and now belongs to the IndyCar Series.
CART ran at Road America from 1982 to 2007 (with the exception of 2005). The NASCAR Grand National held a single race at the track in 1956; NASCAR returned with Cup Series races in 2021 and 2022, then moved the Cup Series to the Chicago street circuit from 2023. The NASCAR Xfinity Series has raced at Road America since 2010. Other series with histories at the circuit include Can-Am (1967–1974, 1977–1983), Trans-Am Series, the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Racing Series, Stadium Super Trucks (from 2018), and the SCCA National Championship Runoffs (2009–2013). Stadium Super Trucks run a shortened course bypassing turns 6 to 12 for most of the race, reverting to the full layout on the final lap.
In the American Le Mans Series era, notable qualifying benchmarks included an Audi R10 TDI setting an LMP1 pole time of 1:46.935 at the 2008 Road America 500, and BMW Team RLL setting a GT pole time of 2:05.447 at the 2011 Road Race Showcase.
The official lap record for Road America is 1:39.866, set by Dario Franchitti during qualifying for the 2000 Motorola 220. The race lap record is 1:41.874, set by Alex Zanardi in the 1998 Texaco/Havoline 200.
At the 2005 Brian Redman International Challenge, a driver starting fifth accelerated before the green flag and forced his way into a gap, triggering a multi-car collision involving most of the Group 6 field. The worst injury was a broken arm.
On 3 August 2006, Cristiano da Matta, then driving for the RuSPORT Champ Car team and 2002 Champ Car series champion, struck a deer during open testing. The deer impacted him in the cockpit; he was unconscious when extracted and was airlifted to Theda Clark Medical Center for surgery to remove a subdural hematoma.
On 12 July 2008, Adam Schatz, 26, of Chicago, died in a karting accident during the Road America Super Nationals, Championship Enduro Series. Running second in the closing stages, his kart made contact with another during a bump-drafting sequence, veered into the wall, and was launched ten feet into the air, ejecting Schatz onto the track. He died one week later from brain stem and spinal cord injuries.
During the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge weekend, Steve Hill and Jim Booth made contact approaching turn 5. Booth's car went airborne into the catch fence at approximately 150 mph, causing significant damage and throwing debris into the spectator area. Neither driver, crew, nor spectators were injured.
Road America has been included in numerous racing video games, including iRacing, Automobilista 2, the Forza Motorsport series, CART Precision Racing, Raceroom Racing Experience, Need for Speed: Shift, Shift 2: Unleashed, Project CARS, Project CARS 2, TOCA Race Driver 2, and several entries in the NASCAR Heat series.
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