Road America more than just a racetrack for longtime employee who saw his first race there at age 9 in 1955

ELKHART LAKE – The first time Bryan Walthers, 77, came to Road America was for the first race in 1955.

He was 9 years old and came with a friend and his father, who told Walthers not to expect any crashes because the drivers didn't want to destroy their cars.

“And just then, I looked out the window of the car. We're still driving in, and there was a car spinning down the track. And I said, ‘Like that?’ and he said, ‘Yeah, like that,’” Walthers recalled with a laugh.

The racecourse has changed over the years, with more safety measures and accessibility, but has continued to impact Walthers' life. He has been a seasonal Road America employee for nearly 30 years.

He’s held many hats and created many memories over the years, like meeting founder Clif Tufte, spending time at the track with his wife and mentoring young staff.

Countless summers spent at the track

Walthers, a native of Sheboygan, always thought being a racecar driver would be fun.

Though he’s driven on a dirt track and the Road America track before — once when he was little and once during a pre-season training — he never pursued it.

His career primarily consisted of marketing and radio sales, but Walthers said he’s always loved Road America’s atmosphere.

“I like the ‘America’s National Park of Speed,' I love the surroundings here,” he said.

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Walthers spent a lot of time at the racetrack when he was younger.

He recalled that once a friend of his, who was a little more outgoing, had a conversation with Clif Tufte in the paddock about who’d win the race that day.

“It was Corvettes against Porsches at that time, like it still is today ... and they just discussed it like he was a best friend,” Walthers said.

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Road America has been a big part of Walthers' personal life, too.

During high school and college, Walthers and his wife Judy, 76, would come to the track together, even when she moved to Racine. When they got married on June 15, 1968, they were at Road America the next day for the June Sprints. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at the Tufte Center, too.

"That's kind of neat. I realized then we'd probably be married 55 years like we are now," Walthers said.

Mary Lou Haen, marketing and partnerships director for Road America, has heard stories similar to Walthers' — families coming back for reunions, couples getting engaged or married.

“It’s a special place in a lot of people’s hearts,” Haen said.

From Road America's 'gate master' to 'go-to' guy

Bryan and Judy Walthers work at Road America, spending winters in Florida and driving up in their motorhome in the summers. They park at Gate 3 during the racing season.

Walthers worked in several areas, like in the camping, sponsor development and community outreach programs, since Haen hired him in 1997. She said Walthers is the “go-to” guy when engaging with the public or adapting in the day-to-day operations.

“He’s a personable guy and works well with the public,” Haen said. “Road America is a business that you have to think on your feet, and Bryan's a great person who’s able to do that.”

Notably, Walthers is the self-proclaimed “gate master," as printed on one of his badges. He supervised management of all entrance gates up until a few years ago, and managed Gate 6, formerly the Main Gate, too.

“I've told the gal that's in charge of the badges that next year, I think it's going to say ‘gate master emeritus,’” Walthers said with a chuckle.

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Walthers has seen a variety of visitors come through the gates, some all the way from England.

“One day we were sitting out there on a Thursday afternoon, and a Milwaukee taxicab pulled up,” he said. “Two guys got out and got their suitcases out of the back of the cab, and I thought maybe they were racers. They walked to the gate and handed me their tickets.”

They were likely in their 60s, Walthers guessed, and had come to the U.S. for Road America. It was something they’d always wanted to see, Walthers said.

“They'd seen telecasts of IndyCar and things like that in Britain apparently, and they said, ‘Someday we're going to go there,’” he said.

One of Walthers' favorite parts of working at Road America is mentoring youth, many who had their first job at the track.

“There was one family that I had all six of their kids working here over the years,” he said.

Walthers has fewer formal responsibilities now than he did in the past. Last week, he was asked to drive a car to Madison for a car show.

“I'm kind of the person now who is, ‘Hey, Bryan, can you go do this?’”

Approaching 30 years of service at Road America, Walthers has been asked when he’s going to retire.

He said: “‘When I can't.’ (People ask him), 'When are you going to stop driving to Florida every winter?’ ‘When I can't.’ That's my attitude.”

Contact Alex Garner at 224-374-2332 or agarner@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @alexx_garner. 

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Road America race track in Wisconsin a special place beyond racing