Another Historic Track Dead: The Milwaukee Mile, With Video

[cjforumadmin]

http://www.bangshift.com/blog/Another-Historic-Track-Dead-The-Milwaukee-Mile.html

[38P]

Re: Another Historic Track Dead: The Milwaukee Mile, With Video

Who knew there was anything in Milwaukee other than bars on every corner and breweries? ;D

Seriously, I wonder if they're still going to have "Millers at Milwaukee?"

The Millers at Milwaukee Vintage Indy Car Event has grown into a spectacular convergence of collectors of classic open wheel machinery of racing?s Golden Age. Miller-built race cars and race engines dominated the Indianapolis 500 and board tracks across America in the 1920?s and 1930?s. Miller?s craftsmanship and ingenuity produced an amazing lineage of 39 Indianapolis 500-winning race cars.

The Miller Meet celebrates the classics of Indy Car racing, including impeccably restored pre-WWI Indy Cars that are true works of art, including Marmons and Mercers, Duesenbergs and Millers of the 1920?s and 1930?s.

[mike343sharpstick]

Re: Another Historic Track Dead: The Milwaukee Mile, With Video

Sad news for the area, but no suprise.
The track has been managed badly for a very long time. Years back the track was used for all sorts of racing, not just the paved oval part. From what I have heard SCCA held races there using the infield and other types of oval cars had events there as well.
I know for a fact that the local Supermoto series had been trying to use the facility for years and was shot down repeatedly.
Seems they just wanted to host one or two big-time races and do nothing the rest of the year. When that dried up nothing was remaining, lazy idiots. >

There is also a fair amount of local competition for the local race fans cash so the old Milwaukee mile is destined for trouble on that front too.
Just off the top of my head, for oval fans there is the 'Slinger speedway' just a few miles north of Milwaukee which claims to be the fastest quarter mile banked oval in the country? I've never been there but I hear it's popular.
Less than an hour south is the Drag-strip in union grove and about an hour north is Road America. And who knows how many dirt ovals around here as well. Point is, there's no shortage of race tracks in Southeastern Wisconsin!

If your going to mismanage a race track at least do it where you have a monopoly.

[King Matt]

Re: Another Historic Track Dead: The Milwaukee Mile, With Video

After a couple of years hiatus, the SCCA was back at the Mile this year and I ran it in my Formula Vee. I generally don't like rovals, but it was a really fun track and event. Being only 30 minutes from home was nice, and my familiy had a great time because they could sit up in the bleachers and watch the whole track. The infield section is sketchy mainly because it was covered with more dirt than some dirt tracks, and there are jersey barriers in some places that you just have to ignore. The transition from the infield back onto the oval is also rough for cars with less than 2 inches of ground clearance. You had to be in just the right spot to get a good run onto the oval without bottoming the car out. I tried to enter too wide one time and the left rear of the frame bottomed out and the back end almost swapped ends on me, which would have spun me right up into the wall. After I got the line figured out and a decent set of tires for the second day, I was able to take turns 1 and 2 flat out (counterclockwise on the road course), which was really cool. Even with only 60hp, the Vee was carrying over 100mph past start/finish, which feels plenty fast when your butt's 2 inches off the ground. SCCA has the Mile scheduled for 2010, so there will be racing there to continue the tradition of America's oldest race track!

On a related note, it was just announced today that the Mile's NASCAR Nationwide series date is moving up to the road course at Road America!

[mike343sharpstick]

Re: Another Historic Track Dead: The Milwaukee Mile, With Video

Thanks for the heads up....
http://roadamerica.com/FanInformatio...ils.asp#NASCAR
I'm no Nascar fan but I'll probably go to that.

[trukluvr]

Re: Another Historic Track Dead: The Milwaukee Mile, With Video

The demise of the Mile is a shame. Hopefully someone with a fat wallet can get all sides concerned back on the same page, make some improvements, and get more events booked there again. Granted, Road America, da Grove, Slinger, and even WIR(about 2 hours north of the Mile in Kaukana) are decent places, but the Mile has a history that none of them can match.

[38P]

Re: Another Historic Track Dead: The Milwaukee Mile, With Video

Even with only 60hp, the Vee was carrying over 100mph past start/finish, which feels plenty fast when your butt's 2 inches off the ground. SCCA has the Mile scheduled for 2010, so there will be racing there to continue the tradition of America's oldest race track!

Now that sounds like FUN! I've long thought that one of the keys to broadening support for motorsports facilities is through increasing the diversity of events booked. That's often a hard sell to oval trackers.

On a related note, it was just announced today that the Mile's NASCAR Nationwide series date is moving up to the road course at Road America!

Spidey and the other road course haters will choke on that news.

NASCARs on road courses are usually entertaining. Combine NASCAR with perhaps America's most beautiful circuit and you've probably got a winner.