How Road America’s addition to IMSA’s Endurance Cup suits a rapidly growing event

The addition of Road America to the slate of IMSA Endurance Cup races has seemingly come at the perfect time. With attendance records being broken on a regular basis and streaming viewership numbers at an all-time high, capitalizing on that momentum by shifting the beloved Wisconsin road course’s sports car race from two hours 45 minutes to six hours made sense. From the moment the announcement dropped last year at Sebring, the fans began to vote with their wallets, with the campgrounds and spectator areas both set to be packed throughout the weekend.

“The IMSA event here has grown tremendously over the past five years,” Mike Kertscher, president of Road America, tells RACER. “So the question came about a longer race. And the timing was right. The Road America 500 put the circuit on the map, so to have a big-time endurance race here again is pretty special.

“We don’t release numbers; we talk in percentages," he continues. "I can always tell when we release our ticket specials and start selling tickets back in the winter, if it’s going to be a big rental. I could see it in ticket sales, golf cart rentals and camping passes. Demand was through the roof. It varied week by week, but we’ve been anywhere from 20 to 30 percent up year on year, and last year was a record for us. We’re going to have to play with some weather here, it looks like, but race day looks like it’s going to be fabulous and we won’t be turning people away because we have the space.

“It’s a testament to John (Doonan) and his team for what they’ve built. It wasn’t always that way. IndyCar was a tentpole for us, and the NASCAR events. But the momentum of IMSA now is remarkable, and this one is without question on the same plane as IndyCar in terms of attendance, and ahead in some aspects when I look at activation and hospitality.”

Unmatched vistas and amenities to match. Brandon Badraoui/Lumen via Getty Images

The push to make IMSA’s Road America round a “key pillar” of the Endurance Cup and, if all goes to plan, keep it that way for years to come, stems from IMSA President John Doonan’s deep adoration for the venue. Doonan, a Midwest native who grew up attending the IMSA races at "America’s National Park of Speed" as a fan, was visibly emotional while speaking with RACER about the event, sitting on a golf cart overlooking the downward slope into Turn 5.

“It’s heaven on earth,” he reflects. “When I first came here, I was six weeks old, and my dad was racing in Formula Vees at the time. I’ve been here every year since, so 56 years. I’ve been at every IMSA race; I was here in 1979 for the first one. And that’s in part because it’s such a beautiful property. And it’s become even more beautiful and accessible. When I was young, you would have to crawl through the forest to reach the fences and see parts of the track; now you can see pretty much all of it. It’s why so many people come. It’s why fans have been begging for an Endurance Cup race here.”

But this weekend wasn’t made possible simply because it’s the IMSA president’s local track. It’s the result of years of hard work from the 28-strong full-time team at the circuit. “Every year we come here, there are more and more improvements,” Doonan notes. And he’s right. As a facility for spectators and teams, it’s exceptional, and an eye-opener for first-time visitors.

It’s maintained superbly, and truly has the feel of a national park. No building on site looks in any way tired; there’s a natural look to the vast array of viewing areas, an impressive selection of food vendors that operate as not-for-profit, and a number of innovations dotted across the site put in place to improve the fan experience.

There are beautiful wood carvings made from trees struck by lightning, frisbee golf installations, QR codes at each corner linking to stats and information about each section of the track, and a new live tracker system for fans to use when searching for shuttle buses. It’s no wonder the place has such a strong reputation among racegoers - the attention to detail paid by the circuit owners stands out.

It’s for that reason that there’s been real growth in recent years of fans coming for the first time and making it a regular habit, locally and from far away.

“I’d say around 40 percent of the fans that come here each year for the IMSA race are from out of state,” Kertscher says. “It’s part of my vision here, to welcome fans. It’s hard work, which goes a long way. If you don’t have the passion and pride, it’s not going to work. We’re always looking at what we can do; we look at other events for ideas too and aren’t afraid to try new things. Every year we want to get better. We want to improve the facility. The reinvestment is a big deal for us in terms of capital expenditures. In 10 years we’ve spent about 36 million dollars in capital investment on this facility, and we hope it shows.”

Riding the crest of a wave brings packed grids and crowds to match. Michael Levitt/Lumen via Getty Images

Sports car racing has long been cyclical, and IMSA’s WeatherTech Championship is no more immune than any other series to going through peaks and troughs. Right now, it’s still riding the crest of a wave, and crucially, nobody within the organization seems to be resting on their laurels. They’re prepared to listen to fans and stakeholders to keep everything feeling fresh and appealing when it comes to the calendar, the ruleset, its digital strategy and fan access.

Just this week McLaren became the latest manufacturer to join the list of partner OEMs with single-make series sanctioned by IMSA, revealing that its North American Trophy series is coming, and crucially, as an addition, not to fill a void left by a departing series.

“It was outreach from McLaren,” Doonan explains when asked about the deal coming together. “Giorgio Sanna is a longtime member of the community with a previous brand. They asked us, or maybe he told us, ‘You’re doing this.’ But for us, I don’t want to sound repetitive, but we see the single-make series as the prized possessions of the brands. Younger fans love them and they check a lot of boxes in adding content to our weekends.”

And there’s still hope that serves as a signal that McLaren will come to the top series in a big way in years to come in GTP with its new prototype, along with Ford – which also has a single-make series on the IMSA package – and Genesis.

“I text my buddy Zak Brown (McLaren’s CEO) about that (GTP) often, and we want them badly,” Doonan adds. “The same with Ford and Genesis. I’d love to see my former employer back in the top category as well with Mazda. You never know!”

The IMSA Labs initiative is also beginning to take off, with ORACLE on board and a longer-term vision in place. The racing has delivered its share of thrills, spills and drama too throughout the year so far, with the championship stretch run now in full swing as the track action begins at Elkhart Lake.

“This weekend represents a big weekend for us,” Doonan concludes. “Daytona drew 180,000 fans as a four-day total, Sebring 115,000 total. I have to believe that this is going to rival one or both of those.”