Two years after Cup left, Road America won't have an Xfinity Series race in 2024 either
For the first time since 2009, Road America won’t host a NASCAR race next year, season ticketholders were told over the weekend.
The decision may be more of a short-term break than a breakup.
NASCAR was expected to announce the schedule for its three national series this week, although that now appears to be delayed as the sanctioning body works with tracks and television partner NBC Universal to piece together a difficult puzzle.
The Olympics from July 26 to Aug. 11 create a span of three weekends during which much of NBC’s efforts will be focused on Paris and the Summer Games, leaving fewer opportunities for NASCAR and IndyCar, which is also carried by NBC, its USA Network cable outlet and Peacock streaming service.
So it’s possible 2024 will be a one-year hiatus for NASCAR at Road America, the road course outside Elkhart Lake in Sheboygan County that picked up the Wisconsin stop in 2010, after NASCAR pulled out of the Milwaukee Mile.
More: Key dates Wisconsin racing fans should know for 2023
In all, Road America has hosted 17 NASCAR races with no driver winning more than one. Franklin native Sam Mayer picked up his first Xfinity Series win there in July.
In addition to the 14 races in the second-tier division now known as the Xfinity Series, the track hosted the premier Cup Series in 2021 and ’22 for events that were among the most successful in Road America history.
That two-year Cup run ended when NASCAR opted to race on a temporary street circuit in downtown Chicago. At the time of that decision, Mike Kertscher, Road America's president and general manager, said the track was leaving the door open for the Cup Series to return if NASCAR desired.
According to the track’s tentative 2024 schedule shared Saturday with season ticketholders, Road America will host IndyCar on the June 6-9 weekend next season, which is a week or two earlier than in recent years.
If recent precedent holds, IndyCar is likely to announce its schedule for next year within days of NASCAR’s announcement.
The tentative 2024 Road America schedule, much of which also was posted on the track website Sunday, also listed vintage weekends May 17-19, July 11-14 and Sept. 13-15; MotoAmerica motorcycles May 31-June 2; Sports Car Club of America June Sprints from June 21-23 and National Championship Runoffs culminating Oct. 4-6; Trans Am Speed Tour sports cars June 28-30; IMSA sports cars Aug. 1-4 (previously announced); and Fantec GT from Aug. 16-18.
It’s possible NASCAR could bypass Wisconsin entirely in 2024.
Bob Sargent, whose Track Enterprises promotion group brought the Craftsman Truck Series back to the Milwaukee Mile at State Fair Park last month, said his expectation was to do so again as well as other racing, which included IndyCar. It has since come to light that Track could be cut out of a deal between State Fair Park and IndyCar, which could cause Sargent to look for other venues for a truck race.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: NASCAR Xfinity Series won't race Elkhart Lake's Road America in 2024
