Michigan International Speedway

About Michigan International Speedway

Michigan International Speedway sits in the Irish Hills of southeastern Michigan, just outside Brooklyn, and it holds a distinction no other track in the state can claim. It is the fastest oval in NASCAR.

Built for Speed Since 1968

Ground broke in September 1967, and over 2.5 million cubic yards of dirt were moved to shape the two mile D-shaped oval. The track opened on October 13, 1968 with a USAC Champ Car race won by Ronnie Bucknum. It was designed by Charles Moneypenny, the same architect behind Daytona.

Roger Penske bought the speedway in 1972 and spent nearly three decades expanding it. International Speedway Corporation took over in 1999, and NASCAR has owned the track outright since 2019.

The layout is what makes it quick. Turns are banked at 18 degrees and run 73 feet wide, the frontstretch sits at 12 degrees and the backstretch at 5. That banking is modest for a superspeedway, but paired with the width and the long straights it creates a momentum track with three and four racing grooves. There are no restrictor plates here, so drivers carry everything the car has into the corners.

Open wheel cars ran here too. CART held the Michigan 500 from 1979 through 2001, and IndyCar returned from 2002 to 2007. Paul Tracy’s qualifying lap of 234.949 mph still stands as the reminder of what this place is capable of.

More Than a Race Track

The facility spans more than 1,400 acres with grandstand seating for roughly 56,000. It is also the largest registered campground in Michigan, with close to 9,000 campsites, which turns race weekend into a temporary city of its own. A 1.9 mile infield road course runs inside the oval, and the track hosts non racing events through the year including the Nite Lites holiday light display.

Racing at the Heart of Car Country

MIS runs its NASCAR weekend in early June. The Craftsman Truck Series takes Saturday with the DQS Solutions and Staffing 250, and the Cup Series closes it out Sunday with the FireKeepers Casino 400. Sitting an hour from Detroit, a win here carries extra weight for the manufacturers, and the crowds that fill the stands and campgrounds every summer know it.

More information on Michigan International Speedway; Click here https://www.mispeedway.com/

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