Michigan

Michigan International Speedway, home of the state's largest single-day, paid-admission sporting events since 1992, is a track rich in racing tradition.

Groundbreaking took place on Sept. 28, 1967. More than 2.5 million yards of dirt were moved to form the D-shaped oval. Charles Moneypenny, who had designed the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway, designed the Michigan oval.

The original layout included infield and exterior roads, which could be configured into a 3-mile or two 1.9-mile road courses. The road courses were designed by Formula One great Stirling Moss. The last interior road course race was held in 1984, and the last time the exterior road course was used was in 1973.

The prime mover in the venture was Lawrence H. LoPatin, a Detroit-area land developer who built the speedway at an estimated cost of $4 million to $6 million.

Cale Yarborough won the first NASCAR race at the speedway on June 15, 1969, in a thrilling duel with LeeRoy Yarbrough.

Since then, MIS has hosted a number of historic races and many legendary drivers. Richard Petty, Mark Donohue, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Parnelli Jones, Gordon Johncock, Emerson Fittipaldi, Al Unser, Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt, Buddy Baker, Bruce McLaren, Jeff Gordon, Neil Bonnett, Davey Allison, and Rick Mears have all celebrated victories in Winner's Circle at Michigan International Speedway.

In 1973, when the oil crisis and rising gas prices threatened all of racing, Roger Penske envisioned turning MIS into a premier motorsports facility. After purchasing the deed to Michigan International Speedway off the Lenawee County courthouse steps for an estimated $2 million, Penske went right to work to improve the speedway to his standards.

During Penske's ownership, the grandstands were expanded from 25,000 seats to more than 125,000, and he added several buildings to the property, including three garages, 26 pit terrace suites, the administration building, two ticket offices, a maintenance building, Motorsports International (now Americrown) and CompTire buildings and warehouses, a sign shop and entertainment shop.

Other improvements over the years include building timing and scoring stands, corporate suites, chalets, pavilions, concession stands, restrooms, first aid stations, an infield hospital, pedestrian bridges, roadways, offices, maintenance facilities and garages. Approximately 400 acres have been purchased for additional free parking.

In July 1999, PMI merged with International Speedway Corp. ISC was founded by another visionary, Bill France, who built Daytona International Speedway and founded NASCAR.

In August 2000, the speedway unveiled a new logo and announced it would add the "International" back to its name, which had been changed to Michigan Speedway in 1996 to align itself with the three other Penske-owned facilities (California, Nazareth and North Carolina). The new logo was designed by ISC Creative Supervisor Jerry Stanley.

Today, Michigan International Speedway is considered one of the country's premier racing facilities, and yet, it still focuses on constant improvements. In 2000, a new 10,800-plus seat grandstand was built in Turn 3, providing a magnificent view of the entire Speedway and surrounding Irish Hills.

During the last resurfacing, MIS became the first track to use a polymer-enhanced asphalt especially formulated for high-banked racing and harsh Michigan winters. Previous surfaces were milled off and used to pave access roads leading to parking areas.

In 2005, MIS took on the largest renovation in its storied history by adding 870 additional seats with a new Club Level seating area called the Champions Club.