Road racing in the Elkhart Lake area began in 1950, when the Chicago Region SCCA and the Village of Elkhart Lake organised the first race on county roads. The 1950 circuit started on County Road P, ran north to County Road J, south into the village, and west to reconnect with County Road P, covering 3.3 miles. Races in 1951 and 1952 used a different 6.5-mile course on county roads J, A, and P. The original course was registered on the National Register of Historic Places on 17 February 2006.
After a child was killed in an accident at the 1952 Watkins Glen race, the United States moved away from public-road motor racing. In 1955, Clif Tufte created what is now Road America as a private road course, in a configuration that has changed little since opening.
The Sports Car Club of America held the first race at the new permanent circuit on 10 September 1955. Road America is classified as an FIA Grade Two circuit. The track is situated on 640 acres near the Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive, halfway between Milwaukee and Green Bay. More than 400 events take place annually, with nine major weekends open to the public.
At 4.048 miles, Road America is one of the longest circuits in North American racing. The track features many elevation changes and a long front straight where speeds approaching 200 mph can be reached. The best-known feature is a high-speed kink on the backside of the circuit, taken flat in many classes and demanding precise car control on exit.
Road America held one NASCAR Grand National race in 1956. CART/Champ Car raced here from 1982 to 2007, with the exception of 2005. The Road America 500, a sports car endurance race, has been part of multiple championships including the SCCA National Sports Car Championship, the United States Road Racing Championship, the IMSA GT Championship, and the current IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Other major championships to have used the circuit include Can-Am, Trans-Am, AMA, Formula 5000, and the SCCA National Championship Runoffs from 2009 to 2013.
NASCAR's top series returned to Road America for the 2021 and 2022 Kwik Trip 250 races before opting to move the Cup Series event to Chicago streets starting in 2023. The NASCAR Xfinity Series has raced at Road America since 2010. The IndyCar Series returned in 2016 after a hiatus following the end of the CART era, using the full course including the Boot section.
At the 2005 Brian Redman International Challenge, a large opening-lap incident occurred when the fifth-starting car accelerated before the green flag, contacted the wall, and triggered a chain reaction involving most of the field; no one was seriously injured.
On 3 August 2006, Champ Car driver Cristiano da Matta hit a deer at high speed approaching turn 6 during open testing. The deer struck da Matta in the cockpit and he was rendered unconscious, requiring airlifting to hospital for surgery to remove a subdural haematoma.
In addition to the main circuit, Road America operates the Briggs and Stratton Motorplex, a 0.8-mile karting track inside the Carousel that hosts weekly Tuesday events and a series of Saturday races through summer. In late 2006 a tunnel was constructed to replace the Bill Mitchell bridge as the main paddock entrance, completed in May 2007, standing 16.5 feet high and 36 feet wide with two traffic lanes and pedestrian walkways.
A Wisconsin specialty license plate honouring Road America was introduced in October 2021, featuring an outline map of the circuit. It became the most requested specialty plate design in the state in 2023.
Road America appears in numerous racing games and simulations including Automobilista 2, the Forza Motorsport series, Need for Speed: Shift, Shift 2: Unleashed, Project CARS, Project CARS 2, CART Precision Racing, NASCAR Heat 2 through 5, TOCA Race Driver 2, TOCA World Touring Cars, Ride 3, Raceroom Racing Experience, and iRacing. In iRacing, Road America's full 4.048-mile layout is a centrepiece for IndyCar Series content and endurance-format events, with the circuit's long straights, heavy braking zones, and the famous kink providing the technical depth that has defined real-world racing at Elkhart Lake for over seventy years.