Rick Brenner was unfazed even as rain pelted his office windows.
‘It’s always a great day for racing,’ the president of Michigan International Speedway said as cold and wet spring weather parked over the Irish Hills area and most of the state.
MIS isn’t due to hold a race for two months, but weather has had an impact on the facility that marks 50 years of operation this year.
A planned NASCAR test this week of Goodyear tires was postponed Monday and rescheduled for next Tuesday and Wednesday, the track announced.
Five Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams are scheduled to participate in the test. Fans can watch free of charge from the Center Grandstand from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
The FireKeepers Casino 400, the first of two MENCS races at MIS, will be June 10. That 400-mile Sunday race caps a weekend during which the track ramps up observances of its 50 seasons.
The NASCAR Cup series returns Aug. 12.
‘We’re super excited,’ Brenner said. ‘We have countless activities planned for our fans.’
A concert featuring FireHouse and .38 Special will follow the NASCAR Xfinity Series race June 9. That same day, an MIS charity dinner will include a question-and-answer session with NASCAR Hall of Fame members Dale Inman, Rusty Wallace and Leonard Wood.
Also booked to play MIS is a Beatles tribute band.
MIS opened in 1968, and the track’s first NASCAR Cup race was won by Cale Yarborough in 1969.
During the June weekend, an ARCA race will be Friday and the Xfinity Series race Saturday.
In August, a NASCAR truck race will be Saturday. The track admits children 12-under free of charge on Fridays and Saturdays.
The MIS June race will be the 15th points-paying event of the season. Points leader Kyle Busch won a rain-delayed race at Bristol on Monday.
‘The racing has been exciting so far this season,’ Brenner said. ‘We’re looking forward to seeing the best drivers in the world on NASCAR’s fastest track when they come to Michigan.’
Kyle Larson won both races at MIS in 2017.
For more information, log on to MISpeedway.com or call 1-888-905-7223.
INDYCAR
Work began Monday on Belle Isle for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix that will be June 1-3. The build-out began a week later than in 2017, a move that organizers said was aimed at reducing the amount of time crews spend on the island in the Detroit River.
There will be new viewing locations for the race. Grandstand 3, formerly located at the end of Turn 3 on the right side of the track, will be moved to the left side. The intent is to give fans a more advantageous view of one of the better passing zones on the course.
