In the last couple of years, NASCAR has been turning back the clock. Although there’s been a surge of new tracks and venues on the schedule, 2025 saw the return of historic racetracks. It all started with the Clash at the Bowman Gray Stadium, along with a return to Rockingham Speedway with the Xfinity and the Truck Series. The mega return of The Rock to NASCAR racing had everyone talking, with many demanding a Cup date for the 0.94-mile track.
Kasey Kahne, who made his NASCAR comeback after 2018, was among the big names who wished a return to the Cup Series at the Rock. “I mean, the Cup race could probably be really good here. It used to be, I used to enjoy watching it or being a part of it, the one year.” Although nothing is certain just yet, word on the street is that we might see Cup Series cars back racing at Rockingham in two years.
While the discussion for Rockingham’s return to the premier series rages on, another racetrack is rumored to be next on NASCAR’s agenda. No, it’s not a traditional oval or an intermediate; rather, it is a road course layout. For those who haven’t yet guessed it, the track discussed here is Road America. But what exactly sparked the discussions about the 4.048-mile track’s NASCAR return? After all, the Cup Series has raced here only thrice (1955, 2021 and 2022).
Well, the noise for its NASCAR return stemmed from the statement shared by Road America Track President and General Manager Mike Kertscher. “I mean, they know who we are. They certainly understand what we’re capable of. There’s nothing to report. There’s nothing to hide either. If it works for them, it works for them. And we’re here. We’re also not waiting around. We’re moving forward. We’d love to see NASCAR come back. It looks good here. It’s a nice product. Our success certainly isn’t defined by having it here, but we’d love to see it come back.”
Oct 9, 2022; Concord, North Carolina, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson (5) races Cole Custer (41) during the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
It’s not that the track has been abandoned, like North Wilkesboro Speedway or Bowman Gray. Road America has been very active in the racing scene. It currently hosts IndyCar, IMSA, GT World Challenge, and other racing series, so the race track is still in peak condition. There is no extra headache of a repave job or a major overhaul of the racing facility, like it was with Rockingham. And not to forget, there’s no track in the midwestern region except for the Chicago Street Race. And this was enough reason for fans on Reddit to share their take on Road America’s potential return to NASCAR.
NASCAR fans rallied behind Road America’s return to the calendar
As it happens, the race track is a bit of a fan favorite, with some saying on Reddit, “Road America deserves a Cup race and I will die on that hill. Great track with huge support. Doesn’t make sense to me that NASCAR complains about crowd size and then completely ditches the track that brought out 100k in both Cup races.” With open seating areas for the fans, well well-maintained racetrack and availability of race in the Wisconsin region, fans feel this might be the right time for Road America to make it’s NASCAR return.
Others sympathized with fans living in Wisconsin, “NASCAR leaving Road America felt like such a slap in the face to Wisconsin race fans, in part because they took Xfinity away too. I would love to see racing come back to RA in the future.” After the Cup and Xfinity Series left the track in 2023, it was entirely removed from the National Series racing schedule for the first time since 2010. Not to forget, the Truck Series won’t return to the Milwaukee Mile this year, taking away another national series event from the region.
Despite having some of the best road course racing facilities in the world, the actual on-track product wasn’t the best. The last time the Cup Series raced at Road America, it was with the Gen 6 car, which wasn’t the best machine for this style of racing. But now that the Gen 7 platform is capable of running on all styles of tracks, fans are now hoping a similar effort on the broadcasting side of things. “Road America is possibly the best road course in the entire country for fans but the Cup races there were absolutely abysmal. Some serious changes would need to be made for me to consider watching one of those on tv again.”
One fan had it all figured out on how a move back to RA makes sense. NASCAR’s deal with the city of Chicago is until 2025, marking three years of racing in the streets. But, given the mixed reviews and the weather playing a spoilsport, it looks like NASCAR might be open to looking towards other options. With no clear picture of Chicagoland’s return, the Street Race ending its deal this year, and NASCAR opting to ditch the Milwaukee Mile, the next best option for them is Road America. “I say if they can’t get another street course in 2026 give us a return to Road America for a year.”
It is indeed rare for NASCAR fans to rally behind a road course layout, so keep an eye out for more updates regarding this rumor.
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