Michigan International Speedway

Michigan International Speedway is a two-mile, moderate-banked, tri-oval superspeedway.

This NASCAR sanctioned race track is located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than 1,200 acres near Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. It is used for NASCAR and high-level open wheel motor racing events.

One Of NASCAR's Fastest Tracks

Michigan is now one of the fastest tracks in NASCAR due to its wide, sweeping corners and long straightaways; typical qualifying speeds are in excess of 190 mph and corner entry speeds easily exceed 200.

The track opened in 1968 and is owned by International Speedway Corporation (ISC). Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (to open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest to stock car standards).

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.

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Trivia

June 15, 1969: Cale Yarborough survives a brush with LeeRoy Yarbrough on the final lap to win in the inaugural Motor State 500 at Michigan International Speedway.

June 24, 1973: David Pearson noses out Buddy Baker in the Motor State 400 at Michigan, the first race staged at the 2-mile oval since Roger Penske became the owner and promoter. The race is the only NASCAR event in Michigan in 1973. Penske elects to replace the summer NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National event with an Indy Car race.

June 21, 1981: Bobby Allison rockets from seventh to first on the final green-flag lap to win at Michigan International Speedway. Ten cars were involved in the final dash when Kyle Petty blew an engine, oiling down the second turn. The lead cars spun out, but Allison snaked his way through the carnage.

June 16, 1985: Bill Elliott wins his seventh speedway race in nine starts, taking the checkered flag in Michigan's Miller 400. Darrell Waltrip finishes a distant second and trails Elliott by 86 points in the championship race.

June 15, 1986: Bill Elliott outruns Harry Gant to win the Miller American 400 at Michigan. Gant makes a miraculous comeback from serious injuries, including a bruised heart, suffered in a crash a week earlier at Pocono. The race is billed as Richard Petty's 1000th career start, although it is only his 999th career NASCAR Winston Cup race.

August 16, 1987: Bill Elliott passes Dale Earnhardt with three laps remaining and wins the Champion Spark Plug 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Tim Richmond, driving his final NASCAR Winston Cup event, finishes 29th.

August 20, 1989: Rusty Wallace grabs his fifth win of the season at Michigan and has his sights set on Dale Earnhardt's precarious points lead. Wallace finishes comfortably in front of runner-up Morgan Shepherd as Earnhardt struggles and finishes 17th.

June 23, 1991: Davey Allison beats Hut Stricklin to win the Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Michigan. Stricklin is driving a Buick owned by Bobby Allison, the father of the race winner.

June 15, 1997: In a crowd pleasing late-race spurt, Ernie Irvan drives to victory in the Miller 400 at Michigan International Speedway, claiming a win at the track that nearly took his like in August 1994. Irvan leads the final 21 laps and beats runner-up Bill Elliott by 2.9 seconds.

June 13, 1999: Dale Jarrett leads 150 of the 200 laps in the Kmart 400 at Michigan Speedway. Jarrett's 20th career win goes uninterrupted by a single caution flag. It is the first caution-free NASCAR Winston Cup event since 1997.

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