“Please God come back”: Fans gripped by emotion as Road America president makes case for NASCAR return 

Earlier today, Mike Kertscher, president of the Road America track, which hasn't hosted a NASCAR race since 2023, shared his thoughts on having the sport come back to the Wisconsin venue in the future. Kertscher revealed that he's always lobbying to try and get the national series to race at his track, but in the end, the decision lies with the association. He also shared his belief that the stock car racing competition does well in the region, and coming back to the area would be a good business decision.

Journalist Adam Stern shared the words of the track president on his X (formerly Twitter) account:

"Road America: "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. I lobby all the time. But ultimately it’s their choice."

Fans of the Road America track took the reply section of the post to share their thoughts on the possibility of the sport returning to the road course.

"PLEASE GOD COME BACK"

"We’d ALL love to see @nascar return to RA!," a fan wrote.

"Make it happen @NASCAR," another said.

Supporters of the track also shared their keenness on having the Xfinity Series racing there again, given that the second tier of the sport was competing at the track from 2010 to 2023.

"Especially for Xfinity, Road America was always one of my favorite races of the year. I would love to see them go back," a fan replied.

"Road America should remain an Xfinity only event, and bring back Eldora for a Truck only event," a fan commented.

One fan also took the liberty to share their idea on how the Cup Series could make an appearance at Road America in the future.

"Here’s how I think they’d get Cup back pretty quick: create a shortcut and make it the #NASCAR layout, similar to how the Glen has the boot but NASCAR doesn’t use that section. This would keep cautions laps shorter and keep the fans/tv partners happier."

This year is the first season since 1992 that the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Truck Series don't have a race taking place in Wisconsin on their calendars.

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NASCAR driver Ross Chastain loves the Road America track

Ross Chastain (19) on pit road during the Great Clips 200 at Darlington Raceway, April 5th 2025- Source: Imagn

Last season, while NASCAR was on break during the Olympics, Cup Series driver Ross Chastain headed to Road America to make his IMSA sports car debut during the two-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge race in August. Speaking after the race, Chastain shared his admiration for the 4.048-mile course, while sharing that he has made his thoughts on the track clear to the stock car racing association, despite understanding why they don't race there.

“I love it,” Chastain said. “I tell them that, they don’t listen. I think it’s a great facility."

“I know there are a lot of reasons why we aren’t here. But I still want to be up here. Flying into Milwaukee, driving up, it’s a beautiful country,” he added. [via Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

During the Cup Series' last visits to the track in 2021 and 2022, the Trackhouse Racing driver crossed the line to score seventh and fourth-place finishes.