Race history Kohler Grand Prix

1 race history

1.1 race revival
1.2 first wins
1.3 unser jinx

race history

the first major open wheel racing @ road america usac/scca formula 5000 (scca continental championship) race held 1974-1976.

the cart indy car series first visited road america in 1982. road america 1 of several road , street races added series during 1980s. race became popular event, owing challenging, competitive, , picturesque nature of course. along milwaukee, cart series many years featured 2 stops annually in state of wisconsin.

since added schedule, road america has been longest track utilized on indy car circuit. @ 4.048 miles (6.515 km), fuel mileage has been deciding factor in many races. on more 1 occasion, competitors have run out of fuel within sight of victory, leading surprise winners. in years, rain has been factor, again adding difficult challenge experienced drivers.

throughout entire history part of cart calendar, race scheduled either august or september, late in cart indy car season. race oftentimes pivotal race in championship hunt. race began 50-lap/200-mile race, later lengthened. in 2007 only, race paired in double-header weekend alms road america 500.

the high speeds obtained on course have seen several major crashes. josele garza flipped wildly in 1986 race , landed on guardrail. a. j. foyt went off in turn 1 in 1990, , ended career due severe leg , ankle injuries. during test session in 2003, cristiano da matta hit deer, suffering subdural hematoma. katherine legge suffered 1 of severe crashes during 2006 race. car lost rear wing going turn 11 kink, , flipped catchfence.

race revival

in february 2003, cart officials filed lawsuit against promoters of race, stating had failed pay sanctioning fees due previous year s race, , failed make payments due 2003 race. on march 11, series officials cancelled race outright. reaction among media , fans negative, many believed series dropping 1 of marquee events. few weeks later, track issued countersuit against cart, stating sanctioning body broke contract cancelling race. mario andretti stepped in mediate, , in april 2 sides came reinstate event. race renamed mario andretti grand prix in honor.

after coming 2 more seasons, road america left off 2005 champ car schedule due lack of sponsorship , declining attendance. promoters, however, brought race 2006 , 2007. track part of 2008 champ car schedule, became casualty of 2008 open wheel unification, , went on hiatus decade.

after several years of speculation, race revived part of verizon indycar series in 2016 rousing success. replaced milwaukee 250 on schedule.

first wins

despite demanding , challenging nature of course, road america has been site of first career win several drivers in indy car racing. in years, héctor rebaque , uncle jacques villeneuve both scored first , wins in indy cars. in 1986, emerson fittipaldi won second-career cart series race @ road america, notably first such win on road course. in 1990s, paul tracy won first career pole position @ road america, , jacques villeneuve followed in footsteps of uncle in winning first indy car race here well.

dario franchitti, christian fittipaldi, bruno junqueira, , alex tagliani scored first-career cart/champ car series wins @ road america.

unser jinx

the father , son duo of al unser sr. , al unser jr., both champions in cart series, notably failed ever win @ road america, in occasions shocking heartbreak. in stark contrast rival andretti family, scored 6 wins @ track.

al sr. ran out of fuel on final lap while leading in 1982. al jr. leading handily in 1985 until lost control in sudden rain shower, crashed , broke ankle. unser jr. crashed again in 1986, , ran out of fuel in 1988. in 1991, unser jr. narrowly got beat out michael andretti in final 2 laps. in 1996, unser jr. blew engine on final lap, 2 corners short of victory.

al unser jr. started on pole in can-am race @ road america, broke transmission on second lap.