The track at the Autobahn Country Club will get longer and more interesting.

The Joliet motor sports club will expand the track to just over four miles, making it one of the largest motor sports tracks in the country, owners said.

“We want to keep the place fresh,” co-owner Mark Basso told the Joliet City Council on Tuesday before a vote approving the addition.

The additional half-mile will make the Autobahn track one of the longest in the country, Basso said.

It will be built on terrain that provides new opportunities for track elevation and banking, which will add to the driving experience for track members, Basso said.

The added track will cross through an area that is in the Cedar Creek Watershed Protection Area, which requires a special use permit from the city.

A staff memo on the project noted that the actual track surface will not be in the Cedar Creek Watershed Protection Area, but the permit is required because the lot on which it will be built is in the protection area.

No one opposed the permit, which was approved by the council unanimously and without discussion.

Basso and fellow owner Tim O’Donnell, who is president and CEO of the club, were the only people speaking on the matter.

“We’re really thrilled to be part of the Joliet community for the past 22 years,” O’Donnell told the council.

The two owners founded the club, which they said now is approaching 600 members.

The Autobahn Country Club opened in 2004.

“Autobahn was the first auto sports club in the world, which is pretty amazing,” Basso said. “It started an industry.”

The additional track will be built in an area within the north circuit of the Autobahn track.

Basso said it will be “the first of many” improvements being planned.

The additional track is expected to be built by October.