The Taxman Group Racing Team, headed off to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for our 2nd racing weekend of 2024. After a very enjoyable and successful racing weekend at Hallett Raceway outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma, we were now ready to head out to Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. This weekend at Road America would be sponsored by Sportscar Vintage Racing Association, SVRA, which always means for a lot of very fast and well-prepared race cars from all over the country.
Road America is a permanent road course. It is located midway between the cities of Milwaukee and Green Bay. The track sits on 640 acres in Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine. It has hosted races since September 1955 and currently has over 400 events a year. Road America is one of only a handful of road circuits in the world maintaining its original configuration being 4.048 miles in length with 14 turns. The track features many elevation changes, along with a long front stretch where speeds approaching 200 mph may be reached. Road America's open seating allows spectators to venture throughout the grounds. Grandstands are available throughout the track, as well as permanent hillside seating where crowds of more than 150,000 can be accommodated. The course is even faster now, having been repaved last year.
My racing group had 34 cars and was composed of group 6,8, and 12b race cars. I would be racing with a Devon Evolution, 4 Corvettes, Porsche RSR, 4 Porsche 911s, 2 Porsche 914-6, 2 Chevy Camaros, Dodge Challenger, 2 Toyota GR86 Cup, 6 BMWs, Pontiac Firebird, Caterham C400, 2 Mazda MX5, 2 Mustangs, Datsun 510, Lexus IS300, Lotus Elan, and a Jaguar XJS. It was quite an eclectic and interesting group of vintage race cars!
We had begun our trip up to Elkhart Lake on Thursday morning at 7 am. The 7 hour ride to the track was uneventful. We signed our release forms at registration and decided to set up on the upper level West Paddock lot, right next to the pit area. This would allow us to watch the race cars come down the main straight as well as be able to check tire pressure when we came off the track. The buys, Richard Schwartz, Mark Shapland, and Floyd Allyn, set up the paddock while I took the XKE to Tech to get inspected and certified. The weather going up was a little rainy, but by the time we got set up, the clouds were gone and the forecast for the next 3 days was perfect for racing.
The Friday schedule called for 2 group practice sessions, the first at 9:45 am and the second after lunch at 3:00 pm. I had ordered in 2 new sets up tires. 1 set of Goodyear Bluestreak and 1 set of Hoosier TDRs. The Goodyears are a little heavier and tackier and I decided to use them for practice and both qualifying races, saving the new Hoosier tires for the two feature races. Larry Ligas, a very fast and seasoned driver, swears that the Hoosiers are 3 seconds a lap faster. The Jaguar ran really well as I got reacquainted with Road America once again. In my first practice I ran a 2:43 and in the 2nd Practice I ran a 2:45, beating my best times from the year before. My times put me about in the middle of this very large race group. After a full day of prep and racing, the team headed out for a nice dinner.
The schedule called for two races on Saturday, a qualifying race at 9:00 am and a Sprint race at 2:40 pm. I ran a fast lap of 2:47 in qualifying, placing me 20th on the starting grid. I got off to a quick start on the Road America Straight, picking up a couple of places between turn 1 and turn 3. Then full throttle down the Moraine Sweep at 7000 rpm. Turn 5 is a hard left then uphill. Turn 6 and 7 are the Hurry Downs kink, so no braking and try to cut thru the middle. Turn 8 is a very late apex left hander that leads into the Carousel. The best path thru the Carousel is to stay in the middle and follow the tire marks and try to maintain a constant speed. A dog leg right at turn 11 leads you to the Kettle Bottoms Straight. I needed to be full throttle again, 7000 rpms so that no other car could dive bomb in on me and take away my line at the notorious turn 12, called Canada Corner. After turn 12 you head uphill through the esses of Thunder Valley and finally turn 14, the sweeper before the long Road America Straight. I had been racing pretty much bumper to bumper with the two Mazda MX5s, Lotus Elan, and BMW e30. We all finished within a car length of one another.
We had changed the tires for the Sprint Race and I noticed right away that they were very responsive and fast, which is a good thing! I finished 20th overall in the Sprint Race, 1st in my class, and was presented with a Gold Medal at the podium celebration. I would have done much better, however, we had miscalculated on the fuel and I started to lose fuel pressure on my last 1 ½ laps. This didn’t allow me to make a run at the 3 cars ahead of me. In fact, I barely made it back to our pit area before running completely out of fuel. I had been running consistent 2:43 lap times and very comfortable on the track. All the years of racing and seat time have really improved my driving and confidence level. After Saturday racing was completed, we went into the town of Plymouth and had a fabulous and well-deserved steak dinner. Then headed back to our VRBO and sat around the fire pit and enjoyed a couple of Jack Daniels and Coke and relaxed. It had been a great day.
On Sunday, we only had one race, the main Feature at 1:50 pm. We decided to have a big Wisconsin breakfast and didn’t rush to get to the track. We put in fresh spark plugs and prepped the car and got ready for the last race. We made sure to put in an extra gallon of fuel! There were many fans at the track and the guys would show them the car when they stopped by our pit area. I got off to a great start and stayed with the lead cars for two laps. By the 3rd lap, I was in a tight group of 6 cars, Porsche 914-6, Lexus IS300, Lotus, BWM, and Mazda MX5. I decided to stay in the back of this pack and was only getting to 6000 rpms in the straight, and decided to wait till the last 1 ½ laps to make my move. On the last lap, the pack got really tight and I moved into the fifth position as we approached the last turn before the final straight to the checkered flag. I made a good turn and took the right passing lane. I passed 3 cars on hill going up the straight and another at the flag. What a race? When I got the checkered flag, I had finished FIRST IN MY CLASS once again and had my fastest time ever at Road America! After the podium ceremony, we packed up the trailer for the trip home. What a wonderful weekend of racing!
Our next stop will be Blackhawk Farms Raceway in South Beloit, Illinois. Only 314 miles from St. Louis and a fun little track. Why don’t you come out and enjoy the races with us.
