Round 16: ABC Supply Wisconsin 250. West Allis, Wi, USA. 16th - 17th August, 2014.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally a dirt surfaced private horse racing track, the one-mile oval has been in existence since at least 1876. In 1891, the site was purchased by the Agricultural Society of the State of Wisconsin to create a permanent site for the Wisconsin State Fair, which it still is.

The first motorsports event was held on September 11, 1903. William Jones of Chicago won a five lap speed contest and set the first track record with a 72 second, 50 mph (80 km/h) lap.

In 1954 the State Fair Board decided to concentratte more on auto racing and the 1 mile (1.6 km) track was paved and a 1/4 mile dirt infield track was built for weekly programs during the 1950s and 1960s.

From 2004-2006, Milwaukee was host to both the IRL and CCWS races. The IRL IndyCar Series first raced there in 2004, with Dario Franchitti winning the inaugural event and the last Champ Car race held there was in 2006, with eventual series champion Sébastien Bourdais winning.

With a track having such a long history, there are bound to be some notable historical facts, e.g., in 1963 Jim Clark won the first victory for a rear-engined Indy Car in his Lotus-Ford. In 1965, Gordon Johncock scored his first career Indy Car win at the Milwaukee Mile. In 1993, reigning 1992 Formula One champion Nigel Mansell got his first oval win, on his way to winning the CART championship that year. In 2004, Ryan Hunter-Reay led all of 250 laps to victory.

Confusingly the track length has "varied". This arose due to the track being resurfaced in 1996, which widened the turns very slightly. The track was therefore remeasured and it was discovered the 'Mile' was in fact 1.032 miles (1.661 km). This was the length used by CART/CCWS. The track was measured again by the IRL in 2004, who gave the distance as 1.015 miles (1.633 km) and which is the distance currently used. Only, NASCAR sticks with the traditional length of exactly 1 mile (1.6 km).

Track Layout:


Length: 1.032 miles - 1.661 km, CART. 1.015 miles - 1.633 km, Indycar. 1.000 mi - 1.609 km, NASCAR.
Turns: 4

Lap record:
1.032 miles - 1.661 km track. May 30th, 1998. Patrick Carpentier, Forsythe Racing, Reynard 98i-Mercedes-Benz IC108E, 0:00:20.028 seconds, 185.500 mph - 298.888 kmh.

1.015 miles - 1.633 km track. 18th June, 2011. Dario Franchitti, Chip Ganassi Racing, Dallara IR-05 - Honda HI7R. 0:00:21.3826 seconds, 170.841 mph - 274.499 kmh.

1.000 mile - 1.609 km track. 25th June, 2005. Johnny Sauter, Phoenix Racing, Dodge Charger. 0:00:29.365 122.595 mph - 197.298 kmh.

Last year's winner:
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Andretti Autosport
Dallara DW12-Chevrolet

Laps: 250
Distance: 253.750 mi - 408.371 km
Race Time: 1:51:15
Average Speed: 136.848

TV Coverage:
NBCSN
Green flag for both races, 3:00pm ET.