It had been two months since my last race, so the Taxman Group Racing Team was ready for a trip to our favorite race track, Road America at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin and our favorite event, the VINTAGE WEEKEND with Brian Redman.
My crew consisted this time of four couples: Richard and Diane Schwartz, who drove up with Lupe and me, while Mark and Renae Shapman drove in from Omaha and Dana and Bo Bohanski drove down from Stevens Point Wisconsin. We left St. Louis early Thursday morning and arrived at Road America about 2:00 pm. I got the XKE through Tech inspection, while the crew prepared our paddock.
The WeatherTech® Vintage Weekend with Brian Redman at Road America is one of the largest vintage racing events in the United States with over 400 race cars and more than 75,000 fans in attendance. It’s the premier vintage gathering featuring everything from the sights and sounds of the past 100 years of racing to a special Concours d’Elegance on Friday and Saturday along the streets of Elkhart Lake with over 40,000 fans watching the parade. The 2026 event was a can’t miss spectacle for any racing enthusiast and featured the cars of the All American Racers, including a reunion of Dan Gurney Racing Eagles, honoring one of the most iconic names in American racing history and brought together a collection of legendary cars that captivated fans for decades. A tribute to the 60th anniversary Trans-American Championship, a special two weekend invitational championship featured the cars from 1966 – 2020, the most complete Trans Am lineup ever assembled.
Thursday night was a grand welcoming cocktail and dinner party for all the drivers. They had 3 pace cars giving rides around the track and Lupe, Renae, and Diane all jumped in for a ride and loved it. We had good food, cigars, cocktails, and a great time and then headed to our VRBO home not far away in a 131-year-old Victorian Mansion in Sheboygan.
The weather was hot and muggy on Friday, with smokey skies from the Canadian wild fires. I attended the mandatory drivers meeting, where you receive a helmet sticker and get instructions and then we were ready to get our first practice session on the track. My race group had 56 cars, including many Corvettes, Shelby’s, Porsches, Dodge Challengers, Ford Fairlanes, Galaxies, Mustangs and Falcons, BMWs, Panteras, Barracudas, AMX, Echidnas, AC Cobra Datsun 240Zs, and 4 Jaguars. LARRY LIGAS in his Predator E-Type (navy blue), DAVID HINTON in his series 1 E-Type ots (red), FARREL PRESTON in his Predator E-Type (light blue), and me in my series 1 E-Type Coupe (British racing Green). Very exciting to be racing with other Jaguars for a change. Quite a large race group in 13 difference classes, all out on the track at the same time. My first Practice run was at 8:20 am and it was cut short to just 3 laps, two under yellow. A BMW decided to pass on the inside of turn one and he went into the wall hard. His weekend was done after 1 lap. Too much horse power with too little talent. The 2nd practice at 1:25 pm and it started to rain just minutes before my group’s practice. I was one of only 3 cars that went out. It was good as the rain stopped and I got in some nice laps without the usually racing stress. The Race Car Parade into town on Friday Night was a blast. They skies cleared and 160 Race Cars paraded into the town of Elkhart Lake, with an estimated 40,000+ people lining the roads and the streets. It’s a sea of people when the cars are finally parked in the streets and they drop the ropes. What fun! They had the cars divided up into 10 classes and judged them. David Hinton won 1st place in our class with his beautiful red XKE. At 8 pm, the race cars were escorted back to the track.
On Saturday, we had two qualifying runs with the first at 10:20 am. I drove fairly well, considering that these were my first fast laps, and had a 2:59 fastest lap, which placed me 40th. We grabbed lunch at the Lion’s Club Concession Stand, as they are always roasting up fresh Wisconsin corn. My 2nd qualifying race was a 4:00 pm and my time was down to 2:57, which placed me 35th. We ran our Hoosier TDRs the entire weekend and I think I’m done with the Goodyear BlueStreaks. The Hoosiers definitely feel better and are faster. Jim Atkinson stopped by with his son and grandson and stayed a while in our paddock. They never miss this weekend.
On Sunday, the weather was sunny and warm. It was a good day for racing. We really lucked out as our feature race was at 10 am. This game us plenty of time to go to our favorite breakfast stop, The Log Cabin in Howard’s Grove. I was gridded 36th for the feature race. I had one of my best races ever! I stayed with all the big bores and never was lapped. I had reduced my fastest lap time down to 2:50, and I know I can improve on that. Here is how the Jags finished:
LARRY LIGAS finished 17th overall and 5th in Class 6A in his Predator E-Type (navy blue)
FARREL PRESTON finished 25th overall and 6th in Class 6A in his Predator E-Type (light blue)
DAVID HINTON finished 23rd overall and 2nd in Class 6B in his series 1 E-Type ots (red)
PHILIP TAXMAN finished 30th overall and 3rd in Class 6B in his series 1 E-Type Coupe (British racing Green)
What a day! What a weekend. Great Fun!
