Hey Nascar fans hope everyone had a great week. I had some computer problems that delayed me but I managed to solve it in 2 days and now its back to business as usual. So this week we are at Michigan International Speedway.
Michigan International Speedway is a speedway steeped in a rich racing history and tradition. Nestled among 1400 acres in the irish hills of southeastern Michigan. Groundbreaking was in 1967 and the first race was in October 1968 and they havent looked back since.
The original investors included a gentleman named Lawrence Lopatin and he was instrumental in the development of the track during the early years. Often seen as a visionary he was often said to be ahead of his time. In 1971 the track went bankrupt and sought protection under some kind of receivership. It changed hands in 1973 when another man with a vision, Roger Penske bought the deed and envisioned bigger and better things for the speedway and he set about renovating the track completing one project and starting another until he had completed many different projects.
Things like expanding the seating was one of his projects. Penske increased the seating capacity from 25,000 to 125,000 seats. He added numerous buildings to the property including three garage areas, several executive suites and ticket offices as well. Penske invested money into the track for over 25 years and was a major contributor of Michigan International Speedway.
In 1999 the Penske speedway was bought out by International Speedway Corporation and it became part of the family of speedways that includes Daytona, Talladega, Darlington, Richmond, and Martinsville Speedways and owned by another famous Nascar name Bill France.
In August of 2000 the speedway added the International back into theirr name after having been named just Michigan Speedway to fit into the Penske Racing family of speedways. The speedway continues to execute improvements and is considered one of the premiere racetracks in the country today.
Michigan is a 2.0 mile oval and has 18 degree banking in the tremendously wide turns at 73 feet wide and having three or four grooves in which the cars run during the races. Michigan continues to provide a stellar experience for all who attend their races.
Well thats about it for now. I got to work in the morning. Well see you guys on Sunday. Have a great weekend Nascar fans.
