When was the Michigan International Speedway built?
966394#3
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.
Michigan International Speedway
966394#1
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. 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.
Michigan International Speedway
43474240#2
The track, Michigan International Speedway, is a four-turn superspeedway that is long. Opened in 1960, the track's turns are banked at eighteen degrees, while the 3,600-foot-long front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at twelve degrees. The back stretch, has a five degree banking and is 2,242 feet long. Michigan International Speedway has a grandstand seating capacity of 84,000 people. Joey Logano was the defending race winner from the 2013 race.
2014 Pure Michigan 400
38153544#2
Michigan International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is long. 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. 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.
1969 Motor State 500
40207070#1
Michigan International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is long. Opened in 1960, the track's turns are banked at eighteen degrees, while the 3,600-foot-long front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at twelve degrees. The back stretch, has a five degree banking and is 2,242 feet long. Michigan International Speedway has a grandstand seating capacity of 84,000 people. Greg Biffle was the defending race winner after winning the race in 2012.
2013 Pure Michigan 400
24880182#2
Michigan International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is long. 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. 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.
1971 Yankee 400
38211153#2
Michigan International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is long. 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. 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.
1982 Champion Spark Plug 400
966394#2
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 1996 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.
Michigan International Speedway
1245148#3
By this time ISC was profitable, but most of their races were still in the South and in mostly rural areas, with many of the country's major cities like Los Angeles, Detroit, Miami and Chicago lacking a nearby track. ISC began looking for ways to change this in the late 1990s. Homestead-Miami Speedway was built in 1995 by Ralph Sanchez and Wayne Huizenga and in 1997 ISC and Penske Motorsports (owned by motorsports magnate Roger Penske) partnered with the track's owners. In 1999, the company continued its push into the country's urban centers when it merged with Penske, who at the time owned four speedways: Nazareth Speedway, North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina, Michigan International Speedway and the newly constructed Auto Club Speedway (which opened as California Speedway). Chairman Bill France, Jr. cited the company's "attractive markets" as one of the major reasons for going ahead with the deal. The new company retained the ISC name, with Penske's son Gregory Penske joining the board of directors. Not all of the new tracks from the Penske merger fit into the company's plans however, as Nazareth was soon closed down and Rockingham was sold. The merger also gave ISC a 90% stake in Homestead-Miami Speedway and the company soon bought out the final 10% to acquire complete control over the track.
International Speedway
42044139#1
The first car race in Michigan took place on October 10, 1901 between Henry Ford and Alex Winton. The race track was owned by the Detroit Driving Club of Grosse Pointe, Michigan. It had been built in 1894 as a race track for horses. Fifty years later, in the small summer resort town of Petoskey, Michigan, 300 miles north of Detroit, the Petoskey Motor Speedway was born. The northern speedway came during the time of America's new post World War II craze with jalopy stock car racing. It was the same era that Parnelli Jones rose to fame. The track was a one-quarter mile, banked, dirt speedway located on a farm field, just south of Petoskey. For four years, 1954 through 1958, thousands of summer tourists and residents of northern Michigan attended the weekly races from June through September.
Petoskey Motor Speedway