Milwaukee Mile

The Milwaukee Mile is a 1.015 mi (1.633 km) oval race track at the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Opened in 1903 as a dirt track, it is the oldest operating motor speedway in the world. Inside the main track, the infield holds a 1.8 mi (2.9 km) road circuit. Its grandstand and bleachers seat about 37,000 spectators.

The Milwaukee Mile has hosted at least one auto race every year since its founding except during U.S. involvement in World War II. The track has held events sanctioned by major bodies, such as the AAA, USAC, NASCAR, CART/CCWS, and the IndyCar Series. There have also been many races in regional series such as ARTGO.

Famous racers who have won at the track include: Barney Oldfield, Ralph DePalma, Rex Mays, Ted Horn, Johnny Mantz, Norm Nelson, Rodger Ward, Marshall Teague, Frank Mundy, Don White, Parnelli Jones, Paul Goldsmith, A. J. Foyt, Gordon Johncock, Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Jim Clark, Alan Kulwicki, Rick Mears, Tom Sneva, Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti, Kurt Busch, and Tony Kanaan.

On December 16, 2009, Wisconsin State Fair Park officials confirmed that the Milwaukee Mile would host no NASCAR or IndyCar races in 2010. NASCAR confirmed that their June Nationwide Series date would remain in Wisconsin for 2010, as they announced they would hold a race at Road America for the first time since the Grand National Series raced there in 1956. NASCAR also announced on January 20, 2010, that the Milwaukee date for the truck series would be moved to August. The track hosted two ASA Late Model Series races in 2010.

IndyCar returned to the track in 2011, but the Mile was left off of the preliminary 2012 schedule after a poorly attended 2011 event that resulted in part from an inexperienced promoter.^{[citation needed]} In February 2012, it was announced that IndyCar would return to the Mile on the weekend of June 15–16. The event was promoted by Andretti Sports Marketing, owned by former Indy driver Michael Andretti, and was billed as the Milwaukee IndyFest. The event included open-wheel racing featuring the IndyCar Series and the Firestone Indy Lights, as well as a driver question period and autograph sessions, music and other attractions. The series again left after the 2015 season when Andretti Sports Marketing went out of business. The track hosted no major professional races until ARCA returned in 2021. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series returned in 2023 but both the Truck Series and ARCA left in 2025. IndyCar returned to the track in 2024.

The track was a one mile (1.6 km) private horse-racing track by 1876. In 1891, the site was purchased by the Agricultural Society of the State of Wisconsin to create a permanent site for the Wisconsin State Fair.

The first motorsports event was held on September 11, 1903. William Jones of Chicago won a five lap speed contest, and set the first track record with a 72-second, 50 mph (80 km/h) lap. There were 24-hour endurance races in 1907 and 1908. Louis Disbrow won the first 100-mile (160 km) event in 1915, averaging 62.5 mph (100.6 km/h).

Barney Oldfield's success at the Mile helped make him a legend. He set the track record in 1905 and raised his speed in 1910 to 70.159 mph (112.910 km/h) in his "Blitzen Benz". In 1911, Ralph DePalma won the first Milwaukee Mile Championship car race, four years before his Indianapolis 500 win. Oldfield drove a gold car built by Harry Miller that completely enclosed the driver (called the "Golden Submarine"), and in June 1917, he beat DePalma in a series of 10 to 25 mi (16 to 40 km) match races.