Michigan International Speedway

Michigan International Speedway at a glance

Location

Brooklyn, Michigan

Type

oval

Length

2 mi (3.219 km)

Turns

4

Direction

counter-clockwise

Banking

18° in the turns, 12° on the frontstretch, 5° on the backstretch

Surface

asphalt

Opened

1968

Owner

NASCAR

Capacity

56,000

Address

12626 US Highway 12

Phone

+1-517-592-1104

Website

mispeedway.com

Track map and layout

Michigan International Speedway is a wide, sweeping 2-mile D-shaped oval, one of NASCAR's fastest tracks thanks to its generous banking and long straightaways. The D-shape gives turns 1-2 and 3-4 different geometry from a true oval, and the wide racing surface, among the broadest on the circuit, allows cars to run three and sometimes four lanes wide, producing high closing speeds and late passes into the corners. Michigan's pole-winning laps in NASCAR's Next Gen era have consistently been the fastest of any track on the schedule, regularly exceeding 190 mph. The infield also carries a set of Stirling Moss-designed road course configurations, used for club and driving-school events rather than NASCAR competition.

Named corners and sections

• Turn 1. Wide, high-banked entry off the frontstretch where cars carry significant speed into the corner.
• Turn 3. Similarly wide and fast, frequently used for outside-lane passes given the track's multi-groove racing surface.

Configurations

Events and race weekends

Michigan hosts one NASCAR Cup Series weekend a year, typically in June, headlined by the FireKeepers Casino 400, with Xfinity Series support racing on the same weekend. The track has hosted two Cup races a year in past eras but currently runs a single-race Cup schedule. Outside NASCAR, MIS hosts vintage and club racing events on its road course configurations and occasional car shows given its large infield footprint.

Getting there and parking

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is the nearest major airport, roughly 70-75 minutes east of the speedway via US-12, making it more of a drive than a quick hop for fly-in visitors. The track sits in rural Cambridge Township near Brooklyn, Michigan, off US-12, with Ann Arbor and Jackson closer by car than Detroit.

• Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) · about 70 min drive

Parking

General parking is available on-site for race weekends; the track advises arriving early given the rural two-lane road access and heavy race-day traffic converging on US-12.

Given the drive from Detroit, many fans base themselves in Ann Arbor or Jackson, both considerably closer to the track than the airport.

Hotels and camping near Michigan International Speedway

The speedway sits in a rural area with limited lodging immediately nearby, so most visitors stay in Ann Arbor, Jackson or Tecumseh, all within roughly 30-45 minutes, or opt for the extensive on-site camping the track is known for. Rates and availability tighten considerably around the June Cup Series race weekend.

Where to look

Ann Arbor, Jackson and Tecumseh for hotels within a 30-45 minute drive; limited lodging directly in Brooklyn itself.

Track days, driving experiences and lap records

The public cannot bring personal cars onto the NASCAR oval, but ride-along experiences in real stock cars are offered through third-party operators including NASCAR Racing Experience and Xtreme Xperience on select dates, reaching speeds up to around 160 mph with a professional driver. There is no regular open-track HPDE program on the main oval, though the infield road course configurations occasionally host club and school events.

Who runs days here

• NASCAR Racing Experienceboth
• Xtreme Xperiencecar

Typical cost: Ride-along experiences from roughly $79-$220 depending on operator and package

Lap records

Spectator guide

Michigan's wide, sweeping layout gives grandstand seats an unusually clear view of multi-lane racing, since cars run several lanes wide through the corners rather than following a single groove. The track's size also means longer walks between grandstands and parking than at smaller venues.

Seating

Frontstretch grandstands overlook the start/finish line and pit road; turn grandstands at both ends of the oval offer wide views of the high-banked, multi-groove racing.

Best places to watch

Frontstretch seating for pit stops and the widest overall sightline; turn 1 or turn 3 for close views of side-by-side passing given the track's broad racing surface.

Bag policy

Bags (backpacks, diaper bags, clutches, fanny packs) permitted up to 18 x 18 x 14 inches, maximum two per person, plus one soft-sided cooler up to 14 x 14 x 14 inches that may contain ice.

Weather

• Jun: Warm summer conditions, highs typically in the mid-70s to low 80s°F with a chance of afternoon storms

History of Michigan International Speedway

Origins

Michigan International Speedway broke ground in September 1967 under founder Lawrence LoPatin's American Raceways company and opened in October 1968 as a 2-mile D-shaped superspeedway, one of the fastest and widest tracks built for the era. Financial troubles at LoPatin's parent company led to the track changing hands within a few years of opening.

The Penske era

Roger Penske bought the speedway in 1973 for roughly $2.7 million and transformed it into one of the sport's premier facilities, investing heavily in the track surface, grandstands and infrastructure over more than three decades of ownership. Under Penske, Michigan became known as one of the fastest ovals on the NASCAR calendar, with wide, sweeping turns that support genuine multi-groove racing rather than the single-file pack racing seen at restrictor-plate tracks.

Expansion and contraction

The track expanded dramatically through the 1990s and early 2000s, at one point holding a listed capacity above 137,000 in 2006, before a broader industry pullback in the 2010s led to the removal of excess seating and a shift toward more modern, amenity-focused grandstands and infield facilities in keeping with declining NASCAR attendance nationwide.

Present day

International Speedway Corporation, and later NASCAR itself after its 2019 corporate consolidation, has continued to operate Michigan as a single-Cup-race-weekend venue each June, with the FireKeepers Casino 400 as the headline event. The track's broad, high-banked layout keeps it among the fastest ovals NASCAR visits, and its large infield continues to host road-course club racing and driving-school activity on Stirling Moss-designed layouts separate from the main oval.

Frequently asked questions

Other tracks nearby

• Detroit Grand Prix · 64 mi · street circuit
• GingerMan Raceway · 100 mi · road course
• RedBud MX · 108 mi · motocross
• Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course · 126 mi · road course
• Nelson Ledges Road Course · 175 mi · road course
• Indianapolis Motor Speedway · 188 mi · road course & oval