Oilpressure

By Susan Phillips

Since it was raining yesterday and nothing was really happening, I decided to review my past posts about Road America. I realized I still love it here as much as ever—even with the rain. I’m not sure how many times it has rained in the nine years we have been coming here, but I’m sure it has. I still lose track of time here—I never know what day it is. I do manage to remember race day because of the buzzing undercurrent of competition.

I guess I understand a little more about racing after nine years. I understand more about being ready to hit the road to go to the track while George waits impatiently. I’m not saying it usually affects how fast I get ready—that’s a story for another day.

I think Road America has seen more of my recovery from cancer (can I post anything without then c-word sneaking in?) than any other track—for me it has restorative qualities. We came here a few days after I was diagnosed and I remember thinking how many times would I actually make it back here. I wonder how many ashes are spread here. I am not an expert ”ashes spreader”—after I heard that most people whose ashes are spread on the yard of bricks end up in a track cleaner. Ah, the things you think of when you are potentially looking death in the face. Anyway, I’m still here!

I marvel at the stairs leading up to the Media Center. A couple of years ago they were like climbing Mount Everest—nearly impossible. I do remember having to rest a couple of times while I tried to climb them. I know I got help going down the steps.

I think that was the trip where my doctors thought I had a liver infection and hung this drain from my body that was the size of a small toaster. Not only did I have to wear giant clothes that covered it, but I was dealing with a leaky bag. Ask George how I leaked liver fluid all over the perforated seats of his new car. Ugh! I think that was the year I spent a lot of time sleeping in the car.

I still stand firmly beside the fact that having a golf cart will make your time at Road America easier. You can take full advantage of all the track has to offer with easy access to everything. You can go virtually everywhere on a golf cart. Like the brats at the Perl’s overlooking turn seven and eight, and the ice cream at Parker John’s BBQ and Wings by the paddock? No problem—it would take virtually minutes to get there. You can pick and choose the best places to watch the race—we start inside turn one, then make our way to turn five, the Carousel, and then Canada Corner. Without a golf cart, we would either choose a couple of places to watch— who wants to spend the whole race walking from Point A to Point B? It’s so worth the $400 (they have gone up since I mentioned them a few years ago) to have full access to the grounds.

Speaking of food—I did mention it above. The food at the track is so varied—there’s something for everyone. I haven’t had anything bad to eat at the track. Brats are naturally the food you must try—when in Rome and all that. We have one more morning to have an Egger, this may be our lucky day.

The places to eat near(ish) the track are also good—I’m sure you’ve heard us mention Majerles Black River Grill—I had the Friday Fish Fry Special—I love their Walleye. Last night we ate at PJ Campbell at the Depot in Plymouth. It had a German flair to the food—you can get spaetzle as a side and different kinds a schnitzel. They have excellent prime rib. I had a filet and Bengali shrimp. They were excellent!

Of course we hit the gift shop. I requested Road America gear for my birthday and George got me a nice heavy sweatshirt, some leggings, and checkered flag socks which were all together a little over a hundred dollars. If you see something you like, it’s best not to think “I’ll get that tomorrow,” because the likelihood of it being there to purchase tomorrow can be slim. The kids wear is also reasonably priced and I got my son some of the most realistic fake dog poop for $6.00 (Yes, we are THAT family—really more of a nostalgic thing because my kids used to like to hear my mother yell at her dog for “pooping” in the house).

Aside from watching the multitude of motorsports races and practices for the weekend. From 8 until 5 each day, there was not a time there not race cars of some kind on the track. In fact, when walking in the roundabout near the gift shop, it is not unusual to share the walk with IndyCarNXT cars. The Radical cars are also fun to watch.

This year we stayed in Sheboygan, but there are many small towns where you can stay for a reasonable price. We’ve stayed in Elkhart Lake, Fond du Lac, Sheboygan, and Manitowoc. Each town has its own charm.

Road America has updated several viewing areas around the track and added some fencing here and there for safety.

There is something for everyone at Road America. If you plan your budget and vacation days widely, it can be an affordable trip. It takes about 9-10 hours from Nashville and our biggest expenditure is the hotel room (if we can’t use hotel points) and the golf cart. There are lots of options around for lodging and dining, so you can make it as budget-friendly as you like. So if I had to prioritize, it would be lodging, golf cart, brats, and cheese curds. Can’t leave Wisconsin without the cheese curds.

This entry was posted on June 9, 2024 at 11:05 am and is filed under IndyCar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.