Spectators watch a race car on the road around Elkhart Lake , Wisconsin , circa the 1950s . European-style road races helped cement the village ’ s reputation as a spot for serious racers .
Wisconsin Historical Society , WHI-142942 following that meeting on July 21 , 1950 . Every hotel room filled up , too . Ollie Siebkens Moeller coordinated the advertising efforts . Hotel rates for race weekend in 1950 were $ 10 per day ( about $ 130 in today ’ s dollars ) per person , with double occupancy and without a private bath . Rooms with their own or a connecting bathroom would run $ 11 per person per day . Three meals a day were included . Tourist rates started at $ 2 per day , and a two-day minimum was required .
The event was a smash , drawing anywhere between 1,500 and 5,000 spectators . ( No official records were kept .) Crowds lined the streets , sat on hay bales , climbed on roofs and otherwise packed the roads to see the cars race by .
There were four races over that first weekend : two novice races , one for cars under 1500 cc , one for cars over 1500 cc , a ladies race and the Main Event , for experienced drivers . Kimberly , cut very much of the gentleman racing car driver mold , competed in the Main Event , a 67-mile , 20-lap affair .
“ Jim Kimberly brought a 1948 Ferrari 166MM ,” said Christian Øverland , the Ruth and Hartley Barker Director and CEO of the Wisconsin Historical Society . “ And he wins his race ! And racing at Elkhart Race becomes a reality that attracts racers and their cars from Wisconsin , Chicago and then the whole nation .”
“ It was basically the savior for this village because it ’ s been about cars ever since ,” Spencer Chapple , the Elkhart Lake Historic Race Circuit Preservation Society secretary , treasurer and informal historian , told the Sheboygan Press in an August 25 , 2016 story .
While the attendance numbers might not seem like a lot , what that 1950 race did was shine a spotlight on Elkhart Lake .
“ The Milwaukee paper is writing about auto elites coming to Wisconsin , to race at this great course called Elkhart Lake ,” said Øverland . “ Because the race is European style , it ’ s attractive to these people buying European sports cars . Those drivers are becoming very good at this point , and becoming professionals .”
Those professional drivers took notice of what was happening in Elkhart Lake . By 1951 , the road race ’ s second year , the course was doubled to 6.7 miles , making a full loop around Elkhart Lake . The SCCA designated all of the races as “ National Points ” races , which virtually guaranteed drivers from around the country would converge on the village , upping the cache of the races from regional attractions to national events . Elkhart Lake ’ s race committee would promote it as an international event , due to the number of European cars that would be included .
The race was set for Sunday , August 26 , 1951 . More than 20,000 people were expected . The History of the Elkhart Lake
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