Joy of Road Racing

MountaineerTom · August 8, 2001

From cart.com

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The next two race weekends on the FedEx Championship Series calendar are a treat for drivers and spectators alike. Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Road America rank as favorites for the drivers, because they offer all the challenges of a proper natural road course. And for race fans with a sense of adventure, taking in the many facets of a road course event can be far more fulfilling than just watching a pack of cars drone around an oval.

Mid-Ohio and Road America have plenty in common, but each race weekend presents a completely different challenge for the Champ Car teams. Mid-Ohio is tight and twisty, requiring a high-downforce setup to produce a car that turns well and gets off the corners with alacrity. The twisty nature of the track, along with severe elevation changes, makes Mid-Ohio the most physically difficult race for the drivers. And that's before you factor in the mid-August heat.

Elkhart Lake, on the other hand, has plenty of fast, sweeping turns and three long straights. So the recipe for success demands a low-downforce configuration to maximize straightline speed.

Another factor for the teams is Road America's sheer length. At 4.048 miles, it's the longest track on the CART calendar. Using the minimum mileage requirement of 1.85 miles per gallon, that means it takes about 2.2 gallons of methanol to complete a lap of the picturesque circuit. Thinking in terms of a 35-gallon fuel load, a car can only run about 16 laps on a tank of fuel. And if you run out of gas on a 4-mile lap, you're out of luck. Just ask Michael Andretti, Rick Mears or any of a dozen other drivers who have done so over the years.

The length of the majestic Road America track poses a challenge when spectating as well. For starters, where should you watch? The best overall choice is the hill overlooking Turn 5, a tight left-hander at the end of a long straight where most of the passing occurs. From a vantage point on the hill, you can see the cars braking for Turn 5, then accelerating up the hill toward Turn 6 (which is another great viewing spot because you can stand right next to the fence where the drivers turn in to the third-gear left-hander). Another bonus of the Turn 5 hillside is the fact is that if you look left instead of right, you can see the cars as they head into the final turn to complete the long lap.

If you're truly a hearty soul, hike (or drive) out to the Carousel, which unlike its Mid-Ohio namesake, is a very fast merry-go-round. The Elkhart Lake Carousel is a fast, 180-degree right-hander taken in fourth and fifth gear at around 140 mph. If you followed the cars out of the Carousel down the straight, you'd come to Canada corner, where there are some nicely rustic grandstands on the outside.

At 2.25 miles long, Mid-Ohio is a more manageable for a spectator. You can walk basically three-quarters of the Mid-Ohio lap in about 15 minutes, picking from a half a dozen good viewing spots. The entrance to the Esses is always good value, as is a spot further around the natural amphitheater than surrounds this challenging sequence of turns.

Another good spot is the inside of Turn 9, an off-camber third-gear right-hander that puts a car's mechanical grip to the test. There's another outstanding hillside spectator area up the Hill from Turn 9, where you can watch the cars negotiate a fast and trick left-hander before they slow dramatically for Mid-Ohio's version of the Carousel, a banked second-gear 180-degree right-hand turn.

Or you could select a spot on the hillside overlooking the Keyhole, where your view will include the exit of the fast Turn 1 as well as the straights leading to and from the Keyhole itself, a right-hand hairpin.

You won't go hungry at either track. Mid-Ohio's concessions offer great value, and the Egg McTrueman breakfast sandwiches are highly recommended. And the track food at Road America is legendary: Johnsonville bratwursts, made just four miles away in the namesake Wisconsin town; corn on the cob, fire roasted in the husk; and a variety of other stands placed strategically around the track offer everything from tacos to soft-serve ice cream.

Just as road racing demands more from a racing driver, it can pose unique challenges for a racing fan. But done right, it's a rewarding experience for both.