Road America claims to be the "World's Fastest Permanent Road Course," with a whooping speed average of 95 mph, and there are not many other raceways able to object to that. It was paved in April 1955 in 640 acres (260 ha) of rolling hills in the Kettle Moraine, on Elkhart Lake, 60 miles north of Milwaukee. Clif Tufte, a highway engineer, came up with the idea of building a road course after Elkhart Lake's authorities banned street racing in the early 1950s. The 4.04-mile track with 14 turns he designed and built is a staple part of many high-profile motorsports series such as WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, IndyCar, NASCAR Cup, NASCAR Xfinity, MotoAmerica, the American Le Mans, and many others. The combined audience of these events is over 800,000 spectators every year.
The humid continental climate of Wisconsin means there's mild summer with lots of rainfall and cold, snowy winters with temperatures under 30 °F. Nevertheless, motorsports never stop in Road America, with more than 400 events a year like the famous Winter Autocross Series, taking place no matter who harsh climate conditions are. The track's layout is optimal for high speeds, with long straightaways and sweepers featuring spectacular elevation changes like the one nearing the final line, which looks like a vertical wall from the driver's seat.
The default layout for racing in Road America is a 14-turn clockwise circuit that starts/ends in the middle of the longest straightaway, called Road America Straight. After several sweepers and 90-degrees corners comes the Carousel, comprised of turns nine and 10. The regular circuit goes through the Bend at turn 11, a fast sweeper that elevates the average speed of the default circuit to 95 mph, ten mph faster than the other layout bypassing the Bend in favor of the Kink.
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