Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located approximately four miles (6.4 km) south of the village of Brooklyn, Michigan. Situated on more than in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan, the track is 70 miles (110 km) west of the center of Detroit, 40 miles (64 km) from Ann Arbor, and south and northwest of Lansing, Michigan and Toledo, Ohio, respectively. MIS is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is sometimes known as a sister track to Texas World Speedway, and was used as the basis of Auto Club Speedway. The track is owned by NASCAR. Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (by open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest by stock car standards).
History
Groundbreaking took place on September 28, 1967. Over of dirt were moved to form the D-shaped oval. The track opened in 1968 with a total capacity of 25,000 seats. The track was originally built and owned by Lawrence H. LoPatin, a Detroit-area land developer who built the speedway at an estimated cost of $4–6 million. LoPatin was President of American Raceways and had a controlling interest in Atlanta International Raceway, Trenton Speedway, Texas World Speedway and Riverside International Raceway until the company went bankrupt in 1971. Financing was arranged by Thomas W Itin. Its first race took place on Sunday, October 13, 1968, with the running of the USAC 250 mile Championship Car Race won by Ronnie Bucknum.
In 1972, Roger Penske purchased the speedway for an estimated $2 million. During Penske's ownership the track was upgraded several times from the original capacity to 125,000 seating capacity. From 1997 to 2000, the track was referred to as Michigan Speedway. This was to keep consistency with other tracks owned by Roger Penske's Motorsports International before its merger with ISC.
In 1999, the speedway was purchased by International Speedway Corporation (ISC) and in 2000 the track was renamed to its original name of Michigan International Speedway. In 2000 10,800 seats were added via a turn 3 grandstand bringing the speedway to its current capacity. In 2004-2005 the largest renovation project in the history of the facility was ready for race fans when it opened its doors for the race weekend. The AAA Motorsports Fan Plaza—a reconfiguration of over behind the main grandstand. A new, three-story viewing tower housing the Champions Club presented by AAA and 16 new corporate suites targeted VIP guests, while a press box and a race operations facility high above the oval welcomed the media and race officials. Michigan was repaved prior to the 2012 season. This marks the first time since 1995 that the oval was resurfaced, along with 1967, 1975, and 1986. Also new for 2012 was the addition of a new 20-space trackside luxury campsite to be known as APEX. Situated in turn 3, each site will offer a area. To accommodate these new campsites, the remaining silver grandstands in turns 3 and 4 were removed.
On January 28, 2019, it was revealed on ISC's 2018 annual report that the speedway's track seating was reduced from 71,000 to 56,000.
Notable accidents
Mother's Day Sunday-
May 11, 1969, the Michigan International Speedway hosted the Wolverine 4-Hour Trans-Am race, the opening round for the 1969 Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series. The event, held on the newly inaugurated Grand Prix road course, a configuration designed by the Formula 1 star Stirling Moss, which included the extended outfield road course plus part of the banking in clockwise direction, was overshadowed by the death of a spectator and several more injured. This was the first fatality of the new track's two-years history.
On the eighth lap of the race, the Shelby Team 1969 Ford Mustang Boss #2 driven by the Austrian born Australian driver Horst Kwech, spun into a spectator area in the field located on grass, that was sodden with rain, snow and hail that had soaked it earlier in the day. Kwech, as did the other front runners Parnelli Jones and George Follmer, started the race from the inside of the second row on dry tires, and rain began falling as soon the flag was waved. It is not clear whether he had already pitted for a tire change.