Hawksworth praises Road America, wonders why IndyCar isn’t there

The last time Champ Car raced at Road America they had Stealth Bombers flying over, now they're lucky to get some vintage planes. George Bruggenthies simply is not going to pay the high sanctioning fee IndyCar is asking.

It's a story that's as frequent to write as rain in the spring, traffic construction in the summer and snow in winter in Wisconsin – the wishes of someone involved with IndyCar, racing at Road America in another championship, to hope that one day IndyCar will return to the picturesque 4.048-mile permanent road course in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

Bryan Herta Autosport rookie Jack Hawksworth is making his track debut this weekend, again filling in for Alex Tagliani at RSR Racing in the team’s No. 08 Oreca FLM09 in the Prototype Challenge class. Tagliani is racing the NASCAR Canadian Tire event at Trois-Rivieres this weekend for his Tagliani Autosport team.

I caught up briefly with Hawksworth just before Saturday’s practice for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race here – the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase – merely to gauge his initial impressions of the track. He was fastest in PC practice on Friday.

“I absolutely love this place," Hawksworth told MotorSportsTalk. “Best track I’ve been to in North America. I can’t believe IndyCar isn’t here. It’s a bit like the Nurburgring."

While Road America is long – the 4-plus miles makes it one of North America’s longest tracks – it only has 14 corners to the 174 you’ll find at the original “Green Hell." Still, given the trees lining the track and the reverence most people have for the joint, a still apt comparison.

Let’s face it. Hawksworth echoes the wishes of many, but until IndyCar and Road America could ever find common ground on a sanctioning fee and suitable date for turning on the TV cameras to cover this 4-plus mile track and share the costs, it ain’t gonna happen.

My colleague from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Dave Kallmann has reported extensively on the long-running saga of “will they, won’t they" return for the first time since the 2007 Champ Car race there. And as of this weekend, IndyCar is no closer to a date at Road America for 2015 than they were earlier this year, or last year, or on down the line.

IndyCar won’t share on the track’s NASCAR Nationwide Series weekend in June, and the TUDOR Championship has made it clear it will only partner with IndyCar when it’s the only way to get onto a race weekend. TUDOR wants to be its own lead show and on an IndyCar weekend, they simply aren’t.

So if Hawksworth and any other IndyCar driver wants to run at Road America, they need to figure out a way to race here in another championship that doesn’t conflict with a regular IndyCar weekend. A shame, but it is what it is.

In the meantime, Wisconsin race fans better do their part to support the sole remaining Wisconsin race, and a rare oval left on the IndyCar calendar – tickets are still available for next week’s ABC Supply Co. Wisconsin 250 at Milwaukee IndyFest Presented by the Metro Milwaukee Honda Dealers.