Track History

1954-1980
The modern era began in May 1954 when the track was paved for the first time. However, during the 1950s and 60s, the quarter-mile dirt oval in the infield was the sight of numerous, weekly racing programs. Miles Melius of Slinger was the dominant driver, and Carl Kulow of Plymouth won frequently as well. Horseracing events also continued during The Wisconsin State Fair on the interior half-mile oval until 1959.

During the 1960s, Norm Nelson of Racine dominated the USAC late-model stock car ranks. He won Championships in 1960, 1965 and 1966 and started in 75 straight USAC late-model stock car races at The Mile, winning 11 times.

The 1960s were also marked by the emergence of rear-engine vehicles on the Champ Car circuit, debuting at Milwaukee in 1962. In 1963, the rear-engine Lotus-Fords of Jim Clark and Dan Gurney dominated the field in the August race, with Clark taking the checkered flag in a record speed of 109.303 mph.

The last victory for a traditional roadster at Milwaukee came at the 1964 Rex Mays Classic when A.J. Foyt outclassed the field. Although Foyt would also switch to a rear-engine car before that season was over, he did have one last unintended appearance at The Mile in a front-engine car. In 1965, Foyt was forced to tow his dirt track car, a front-engine Offy, to Milwaukee from Springfield when his rear-engine Lotus-Ford, along with his crew, did not arrive in Milwaukee in time for qualifying. He proceeded to prepare the car himself for racing on pavement and then put the car on the pole with a speed of 107.881 mph. Foyt led 16 of the 200 laps but eventually finished second to Gordon Johncock. By 1966, only three roadsters were in the Rex Mays Classic field. The last year a front-engine roadster raced at The Mile was in 1970 with Bob Harkey at the wheel. The entire track was repaved at the end of the 1967 season. By 1970, most of the 1.2-mile road course in the infield had been obliterated with the enlargement of the pit area. The quarter-mile oval also went out of existence around the same time.

During the 1960s and into the early '70s, the most dominant stock car driver was Don White of Keokuk, Iowa. He won 14 stock car races, more than any driver in Milwaukee Mile history. Dominating stock cars in the mid-1970s was Butch Hartman, who won two USAC Championships and an amazing seven out of eight races on The Mile, duplicating the record of Parnelli Jones in the 1964 and '65 seasons.

The pre-eminent Champ Car driver of this period was Al Unser Sr., who won four times at The Mile and finished three miles ahead of the field at the 1970 Bettenhausen 200. Rick Mears also made his first appearance in Milwaukee during the late '70s, although surprisingly it came in a USAC stock car. Mears came back to win a USAC race in Milwaukee a year later and won Champ Car races at the track in 1988 and 1989.

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