A few weeks ago, we were at Road America for one of the most iconic events in club racing: the SCCA June Sprints.
There are tracks—and then there’s Road America. Nestled in the rolling hills of Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, Road America is one of the most iconic and demanding circuits in North America. At 4.048 miles, it’s one of the longest permanent road courses in the country, with 14 turns that blend technical precision with full-send bravery. Corners like the Kink, the Carousel, and Canada Corner don’t just test your car—they test your commitment. Turn 5 is the “slowest” min-speed corner at a target min-speed of 55-60 mph, depending on the car! That is the “slowest” with the rest of the corners having target min-speed of 65, 80, 90 and 110 mph. ????
And then there’s the June Sprints—a race weekend steeped in history. Since 1956, the June Sprints have stood as a cornerstone of American amateur road racing. It’s a proving ground for national champions and future pros, where every lap carries the weight of decades of racing tradition.
But what truly sets this weekend apart is Elkhart Lake itself. This little town breathes motorsport. Historic restaurants like Siebkens and The Osthoff are filled with old racing photos and stories, and the street signs and commemorative plaques around town proudly mark the original road course from the 1950s, when racing took place on public roads. It’s a place where history isn’t just remembered—it’s woven into the landscape.
Just down the road is RealTime Racing HQ, a name familiar to any longtime fan of World Challenge or Honda racing, SO COOL! And everywhere you look during June Sprints weekend, the town is buzzing with performance cars—from vintage Porsches to modern GT4 machines. It’s a car lover’s paradise, and for racers like us, it’s nothing short of heaven.
Big Brains, Big Gains – Engineering First
Before a single lap was turned, Tyler Campbell was already deep in the work: suspension geometry, brake data, tire modeling—he put in the kind of effort that sets great teams apart. We showed up with one of the most dialed-in testing plans we’ve ever run, and it paid off.
We don’t show up to look cool (or at least we think we try to look cool but look like a bunch of racing and track nerds! ????) and bench race. We’re here to science the crap out of our race cars and racing!
Wednesday & Thursday – Building the Foundation
We rolled in Tuesday night with storms on the radar. Wednesday morning was still wet, but once the track dried, we got to work. We missed the first test session due to the wet track and expected dry conditions through the rest of the race week, but kicked off our structured setup plan with back-to-back sessions focused on testing our hypotheses.
I ran our Spec E46, not because we expected to win overall, but because it gave us a solid, familiar platform to test against elite-level competition (and the Touring 3 Nissan 370Z needed another heart transplant, we’ll get into that more in a future post).
Every change delivered something new—every lap taught us something valuable.
Thursday, we mounted fresh tires and saw a measurable step forward. All signs pointed toward progress, and it gave us confidence heading into the official sessions.
Friday – Contact, Recovery, and Grit
Morning practice started off well… until it didn’t.
Dave Orem got dive-bombed in Turn 1. The hit spun him, left him stalled, and another car—unable to avoid him—collected the Z4M hard.
Thankfully, Dave was okay. And thanks to an incredible community, we pulled off a minor miracle: sourcing every part needed to get him back on track.
Shoutout to Trevor and Wyatt at Motion Control Suspension for building a replacement MCS shock on short notice and getting it to us overnight.
Friday Qualifying – Almost There
Meanwhile, I was out for qualifying in the E46. Brand new tires. Low Super Tour points meant I was gridded at the back of the T3 field. But we knew we had pace.
Twice, I was on flying laps that would’ve moved me to P2 or P3—both times caught in traffic at the carousel and kink. Absolutely destroyed those laps.
We finished the day P4. Not ideal, but we knew more was coming.
Saturday – Reset & Rebound
With Dave’s car repaired, he jumped back in for qualifying.
“I didn’t think about the car at all. I was able to focus on finding space and putting down lap times.”
Exactly what you want to hear after an incident. He wasn’t fully back to pace yet but showed strong progress.
For me, Saturday qualifying locked in P4. Solid lap. Solid position. Not a perfect lap, but enough to put us in contention for Sunday.
Sunday – Race Day
Dave’s Race
Sunday morning, Dave started deep in mixed-class traffic. Lost a few spots at the start, but once the field spread out, he got to work.
Lap by lap, he found rhythm, overtook competitors, and with just a few laps to go—reset his personal best lap time.
He finished P5 in Touring 3, proud of the recovery but wishing he had the two missed sessions to build more momentum.
Gama’s Race
Hot, humid, and with storms on the radar. The goal? Finish to qualify for the Runoffs—and go for a podium if the opportunity was there.
Great start, dicing for P2 and P3 early. Lap 2 brought a jam up into Turn 3 behind a slowing T2 car. Another T3 car got through; I had to wait. That 3–4 second gap to P3 took several laps to close.
Then it happened.
P3 (another Spec E46) dropped a tire into the dirt under braking. Big wiggle. Lost momentum. I got in the draft, faked right, popped left, held side draft as we bent left—and completed the pass into Turn 5 with a wheel in or nibbling at the grass.
From there? Hit marks. Build gap. Don’t look back.
By the final laps, the lead over P4 was 30+ seconds. P2 and P1 had gotten through the local yellow before me, and that ultimately determined the gap. I brought it home in P3.
???? Watch the Race
Want to see the full race and that battle for the podium?
???? Click here to watch the in-car + SCCA broadcast replay.
What Racing Teaches Us
One of the things I love most about racing is how often we’re proven wrong—and how that’s a good thing. What we “know” is always based on the best data and insight we’ve gathered up to that point. The goal isn’t to be right all the time—it’s to stay curious, stay humble, and keep growing.
And that’s what we did at Road America.
Let’s Build Your Path in Motorsports
If the way we race—the way we prepare, develop, and pursue excellence—resonates with you, let’s talk.
We’re not just about cars. We’re about people, progress, and purpose.
And we’d love to help you chase your motorsport goals.
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