The WeatherTech International Challenge with Brian Redman presented by HAWK, one of America’s largest and most popular vintage racecar events, produced three days of excitement, exhibitions and excellence for the fans last weekend at Elkhart Lake’s Road America.
“This event is the perfect combination of a famous circuit, a gorgeous backdrop with the village of Elkhart Lake for the Friday and Saturday Nationwide Concours d’Elegance and beautiful mid-summer Wisconsin weather,” noted 1989 Trans-Am champion Dorsey Schroeder. “Plus, we had a huge amount of cars and a special feature race to pay tribute to the 50th Anniversary of Can-Am.”
More than 460 entrants crowded the paddock, which was awash with crowds of car lovers milling about, as owners and drivers told stories and swapped insights with other enthusiasts. One of the event’s highlights is the Nationwide Insurance Concours d’Elegance that filled the streets of the village on Friday and Saturday evenings as the racecars are driven down into town and displayed for all to see.
The weekend’s main event on the track, the Group 1 Can-Am 50th Anniversary feature race, was won by North Carolinian Dave Handy’s Shadow DN4-Chevrolet, while Group 7b, the Masters Grand Prix Formula One class, was taken by Englishman Gregory Thornton’s Lotus 77-Ford and Group 7a, the Formula 5000 class, was won by Rick Parsons in his Lola T332-Chevrolet.
The winners of Sunday’s other feature races were:
Group 1 – Historic Can-Am – Dave Handy, Semora, N.C., – 1974 Shadow DN4-Chevrolet
Group 2 – Vintage Production Sports Cars, Sedans – Paul Quackenbush, Grants Pass, Ore., – 1963 Lotus Super 7
Group 3 – Vintage Sports Racers – A.C. D’Augustine, Breckinridge, Colo. – 1965 Huffaker Genie Mk10B-Chevrolet
Group 4 – Classic Monoposto – Formula Cars trough 1972 – Steve Grundahl, Blue Mountain, Wis., – 1970 Titan Mk 6
Group 5a – Monoposto F70 Formula Cars – Kyle Buxton, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., – 1977 March 77B
Group 5b – Historic Sports Racing – Fritz Seidel, Milwaukee, Wis. – 1973 Porsche 911 IROC RSR
Group 6 – Historic Big Bore Production Sports Cars/Sedans – Jody O’Donnell, Carrolton, Texas, – 1969 Corvette
Group 7a – Formula 5000 – Rick Parsons, Huntley Ill., – 1976 Lola T332-Chevrolet
Group 7b – Masters Grand Prix Formula One – Gregory Thornton, Essex, UK, – 1976 Lotus 77-Ford
Group 8 – Historic/Post-Historic Production Sports Cars/Sedans – Frank Beck, Scottsdale, Ariz., 1972 Porsche 911
Group 9 – Indy/Modern Formula 1/GTP/LMP – Randy Johnson, Dallas, Texas – 1975 Lola T296
Group 10 – Modern GT, Trans-Am, IMSA GT, NASCAR – John Atwell, Azle, Texas, – Chevy Camaro
Group 11 – Pre War Sports Cars – Rex Barrett, Roselle, Ill., – 1933 Ford
Group 12 – Corvair/Yenko Stinger Feature – Mike Levine, Cumming, Ga., – 1965 Corvair