Round 12: ABC Supply Wisconsin 250. West Allis, Wi, USA. 11-12 July

[bjohnsonsmith]

Round 12: ABC Supply Wisconsin 250. West Allis, Wi, USA. 11-12 July.

The Milwaukee Mile is the oldest operating motor speedway in the world. Originally a private, horse racing track, the one mile oval has existed since 1876. In 1891, the Agricultural Society of the State of Wisconsin bought the site to create a permanent venue for the Wisconsin State Fair, which still takes place there. The infield was also the location for a football stadium and from 1934 through 1951, was home to the Greenbay Packers.

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 concentrate on motor sport and the 1 mile (1.6 km) oval was paved and a 1/4 mile infield dirt track was built.

The first AAA sanctioned Milwaukee Mile, was a non championship race and took place on August 29, 1937. The race distance was shortened to 96 miles due to a scoring error and was won by Rex Mays. In 1939 the race became a AAA Championship round. Due to World War II, there was no racing from 1942-1945 but racing returned in 1946. From 1949 to 1987, two championship rounds a year were held, one in June, the other in August. Also from 1949, the June race stayed at 100 miles but the August race increased to 200 miles. In 1950 the June race was renamed 'The Rex Mays Classic', in honor of Rex Mays, former two-time AAA National champion and winner of the first AAA sanctioned race, in 1937. From 1961 to 1982 the August race was named 'The Tony Bettenhausen 200' in honor of Tony Bettenhausen, two times National Champion, 1951 and 1958.

Since 1983 there has only been one race, except for 2004-2006, when the track hosted both CCWS and IRL rounds. The first IRL, IndyCar Series race was in 2004, with Dario Franchitti winning the inaugural event and the last Champ Car race was in 2006 and won by eventual series champion Sébastien Bourdais.

During the CART era the race distance increased in 1999 to 225 miles and again to 250 miles in 2003. Post unification, the distance reverted to 225 miles, increasing again to 250 miles in 2013.

In 1996, the track was resurfaced and the turns were slightly widened, so the track was remeasured and it was discovered the 'Mile' was in fact 1.032 miles (1.661 km). This was the distance used by CART/CCWS. The track was measured again by the IRL in 2004, this gave the distance as 1.015 miles (1.633 km) and is the distance currently used. Only, NASCAR sticks with the traditional length of exactly 1 mile (1.6 km).

Some Trivia:
The driver with the most wins: Roger Ward, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963.
1963: Jim Clark got the first win for a rear engined car at AOWR event, in a Lotus-Ford.
1965: Gordon Johncock scored his first career Indy Car win, at the Milwaukee Mile.
1993: Reigning 1992 Formula 1 champion Nigel Mansell got his first oval win, on his way to winning the CART championship that year.
2004: Ryan Hunter-Reay led all of 250 laps to victory.
2015: This year's race will see Scott Dixon's 250th start.

Track Layout:



Length:
CART: 1.032 miles - 1.661 km
Indycar: 1.015 miles - 1.633 km
NASCAR: 1.000 mi - 1.609 km

Turns: 4

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

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

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

Last year's winner:
Will Power
Team Penske
Dallara DW12-Chevrolet

Laps: 250
Distance: 250.75 mi - 403.54 km
Race Time: 1:44:49
Average Speed: 145.243 - 233.74 km

TV Coverage:
NBCSN
Green flag, 5:00pm ET