The WeatherTech International Challenge with Brian Redman at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, is one of the most coveted weekends on the car culture calendar. This long-established event ranks among the top destinations for car aficionados, rivaled by few others.

Nestled in the picturesque Kettle Moraine of southeastern Wisconsin, the scenic four-mile road circuit winds through fourteen corners with numerous elevation changes. As the 1971-1972 2.5 Liter Champion, John Morton, describes it: ‘Each lap is like going on a road trip.’

All photography by Peter Bukowski.

Surrounding the event are downtown Elkhart Lake Concours for both race cars and road cars. Race cars are driven from the track to the streets of Elkhart, and on Friday night, throngs of fans line the streets to witness the spectacle. However, undoubtedly, the main attraction that brings the faithful back every year is the unbelievable display of iron on the track, roaring at full speed.

Our Favorite Ford-Powered Racers

This 1975 Ford Cologne Capri RS3100 was a treat to see. As a Euro-spec racer, this Capri featured a Ford GAA 3.4L Engine with mechanical fuel injection and a dry sump oil tank. Driven by Robert Blain, this well-sorted example of a German Touring Car series from the mid-70s was a stunner.

A vintage race of this magnitude wouldn’t be complete without a Pantera sighting. Anthony Lisa’s Ford-powered Pantera was a radical, eye-catching Italian design by DeTomaso in 1973 — with muscle car power from the good old USA. Most were equipped with either a 5.9 Liter 360 cubic inch or a 4.9-liter 302 cubic inch V8.

Formula Ford has been a widely popular series since its inception more than 50 years ago. Timothy Blakeley’s 1976 Crossle 30/32 Formula Ford was a great example. Worldwide, the Formula Ford series and their reliable 1600cc engines provided an ‘inexpensive’ way to go open-wheel racing — though most of us know there is nothing inexpensive in racing. Many stars throughout the modern era of motorsport have spent wheel-time, learning race-craft in these cars.

The Cosworth DFV was the winningest engine in the history of Formula One. This 1976 Lotus 77, owned and raced by Chris Locke, like many of the F1 cars of the day, had DFV power. Driven by Mario Andretti in the 1976 season, he won the final race at Mount Fuji while James Hunt clinched the title by a single point over Niki Lauda. The annual appearance of Masters Historic F1 put on quite the show — and nearly every car on the historic race weekend grid featured the heralded DFV engine.

NASCAR was well represented over the weekend, as many of the former race cars are readily available at the end of each season to be snapped up by enthusiasts. They are generally set up for road courses as there are very few oval historic races, with the exception of exhibitions at current NASCAR and IndyCar races. This 2013 Ford Fusion, raced by Scott Dolfi, represented just the second year the series used fuel injection.

A Crowd-Pleaser

Overall, the WeatherTech International Challenge weekend was a crowd-pleaser — as it has been for over 40 years. Beyond the crop of Ford power here, there were plenty of Mustangs, GTs, and over 300 other exotic machines.”