Autobahn Country Club is an

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organis ...

road course Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

located in

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will and Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 census, the city was the third-largest in Illinois, with a population of 150,362. Hist ...

, operated as a country club, while also hosting many outside events. Autobahn was the first purpose-built motorsports country club in the United States, and has inspired several others. The club has a sanctioning body called Autobahn Member Racing, which hosts series for

Spec Miata Spec Miata is a class of racing car used in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), National Auto Sport Association (NASA), and Midwestern Council of Sports Car Clubs (MCSCC) road racing events. The Spec Miata (SM) class is intended to provide the ...

s, GT cars,

karts Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on ful ...

Radical Sportscars Radical Motorsport is a British manufacturer and constructor of racing cars. The company was founded in January 1997 by amateur drivers and engineers Mick Hyde and Phil Abbott, who built open cockpit sportscars which could be registered for roa ...

, a discipline called Chase Racing similar to

bracket racing Bracket racing is a form of drag racing that allows for a handicap between predicted elapsed time of the two cars over a standard distance, typically within the three standard distances (1/8 mile, 1,000 foot, or 1/4 mile) of drag racing. Goal ...

, open wheel cars, as well as competitions for rallycross and

autocross Autocross (also called "Solo", "Auto-x" or "Autoslalom") is a timed competition in which drivers navigate one at a time through a defined course on either a sealed or an unsealed surface. It is a form of motorsports that emphasizes safe competition ...

. The club requires a $45,000 membership fee to have unlimited access to the tracks six days a week in season, and the club house, which contains a

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...

and banquet hall. Members can purchase land to build garages and personal condos. Notable members include legendary racers Bobby Rahal,

Graham Rahal Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winne ...

David Heinemeier Hansson David Heinemeier Hansson is a Danish programmer, and the creator of the popular Ruby on Rails web development framework and the Instiki wiki. He is also a partner at the web-based software development firm Basecamp. Hansson co-wrote ''Agile ...

Cooper MacNeil Cooper MacNeil (born September 7, 1992 in Hinsdale, Illinois) is an American born racecar driver. He currently competes in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship driving the No. 79 Weathertech Racing Porsche 911 RSR GTLM with co-drivers Matt C ...

Jay Howard Jay Howard (born 16 February 1981) is a British professional race car driver who competes in the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 and resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. Howard was the 2005 US Formula Ford Zetec champion (now known as the Coop ...

Peter Dempsey Peter Samuel Dempsey (born 31 March 1986) is an Irish racing driver from Ashbourne, County Meath. Dempsey began his pro career in Formula BMW UK in 2004, finishing 22nd. In 2005 he finished second in the Formula Ford Walter Hayes Trophy race ...

, and

Tom Bagley Tom Bagley (born December 3, 1939, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), is a former driver in the USAC, CART Championship Car, IMSA, Formula Atlantic, and Trans-Am Series. He raced Indycars in the 1978-1980 and 1983 seasons, with 42 combined career start ...

. Many members use the club to drive their exotic and classic cars. The facility is available for rent by private groups. It hosts events for various organizations including the

SCCA The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional r ...

, NASA, Gridlife,

Midwestern Council The Midwestern Council of Sports Car Clubs was formed in 1958 and is a confederation of seven separate Wisconsin and Illinois amateur racing organizations. The group holds regional races at local race tracks including Road America, Blackhawk Farms ...

, PCA,

One Lap of America The Brock Yates' One Lap of America is an annual motorsports event in the United States that has been held since 1984. It is the successor to the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, an underground auto race of the 1970s. Th ...

, and various marque and

track day A track day is an organised event in which non-members are allowed to drive or ride around established motor racing circuits, or alternatively (though far less common) on closed or disused airfields. Most race tracks around the world now provide t ...

clubs. Many manufacturers also rent the facility for marketing events.

The tracks and facilities

The Autobahn full track is 3.56 miles in distance. The facility includes a configurable main track with a north track, a south track, a full track of , skid pad, and a

kart Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on fu ...

track. The full track can be split into two smaller tracks. Autobahn Country Club also offers a skidpad for the teen driving academy and drifting. The kart track is also open to the public on weekdays. The club has a free test fleet of performance and exotic cars for members to drive on track at reduced speeds. The club has a racing school with instructors including

Super Vee Formula Super Vee was an open-wheel racing series that took place in Europe and the United States from 1970 to 1990. The formula was created as an extension of Formula Vee, a racing class that was introduced in 1959. Formula Super Vee in Europe wa ...

champion and 1978

Indycar INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...

Rookie of the Year

and 1990

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...

champion Tony Kester. There is also a public defensive driving school, that uses specially prepared BMW cars to teach safe driving skills.

Businesses in paddock

Along with private garages and condos, various performance shops and race headquarters are located on the Autobahn campus. Some of these include Eurosport Racing, Team Stradale, Havoc Motorsport, Turn 3 Motorsport, and many other businesses available for onsite service.

References

External links

Official WebsiteSuperbike SchoolTrackpedia's circuit information and track guide on Autobahn CC1tail Resource Database: Autobahn Country Club
{{Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA tracks Sports venues in Joliet, Illinois Motorsport venues in Illinois Road courses in the United States