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114-523: Originally opened as Texas International Speedway , TWS was an almost exact copy of Michigan International Speedway and was part of Larry LoPatin's American Raceways Inc. and operated a part of Riverside International Raceway , Trenton Speedway , and Atlanta International Raceway and in 1971 ARI went bankrupt. Texas World Speedway was the site of the 1974 Willie Nelson's Fourth of July Picnic with Willie Nelson and his guests Jimmy Buffett , Townes Van Zandt , and Kinky Friedman performing as well. It

228-547: A Parnelli VPJ2 , during qualifying for the 1973 Texas 200 . The unofficial fastest lap for stock cars around the 2-mile Oval is 0:38.904, set by Page Jones in a Ford Thunderbird , during qualifying for the 1993 Western Auto Texas World Shootout II . The fastest official race lap records at Texas World Speedway are listed as: Michigan International Speedway Future: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Henry Ford Health System 200 (1999–2000, 2002–2020, 2025) Michigan International Speedway (formerly named as

342-631: A bit premature." Penske's purchase was approved by judge David Patton on June 1, with Penske paying $ 2.7 million for the facility. Upon the purchase's approval, Penske stated in a press conference that he aimed to renovate the garage area and numerous spectator amenities along with repaving the oval's surface. He also cautioned that the track's schedule may be cut down depending on how races in June and July of that year did. General manager Frank Cipelle left his position soon after Penske's purchase, being replaced by John LeFere. Official attendance estimates of

456-481: A capacity of 56,000 as of 2021. Along with the main track, the track complex also features three road course layouts of varying lengths designed by British racing driver Stirling Moss , which utilizes parts of the oval, parts located within track's infield, and parts located outside of the track's confines. In the 1960s, Windsor Raceway owner Lawrence LoPatin ordered the construction of Michigan International Speedway to expand his recreational holdings. The facility

570-714: A dispute with NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. over how stock car racing should expand its popularity. In January 1970, ARI merged with the STP Corporation ; by this point, ARI had amassed over $ 15 million in debt. Weather and subsequent attendance declines that year further compounded ARI's financial issues. Throughout the first half of 1970, LoPatin faced criticism for his handling of the Atlanta International Raceway, with AIR track officials leading campaigns to sack LoPatin after several executives either left or were fired by LoPatin. LoPatin

684-699: A half-mile dirt racing track Nazareth Speedway in Nazareth. The twins worked on a 1948 Hudson and raced it in the Limited Sportsman Class, funded by money that they earned in their uncle's garage in 1959. They took turns racing the old Hudson on oval dirt tracks near Nazareth. After finishing high school, Mario planned to become a welder, but he falsified a driver license so he could pass for 21 and enter an amateur race. Mario and Aldo did not tell their parents that they were racing. The twins each had two wins after their first four races. Aldo

798-446: A man's job up front," and he and Cogan were later involved in a shoving match. In 1983, he joined the new Newman/Haas Racing team, set up by Carl Haas and actor Paul Newman using cars built by British company Lola . Andretti took the team's first win at Elkhart Lake in 1983 . He won the pole for nine of sixteen events in 1984 , and claimed his fourth Champ Car title at the age of 44. He edged out Tom Sneva by 13 points. It

912-409: A man's job up front." Andretti's Patrick Racing teammate that year was the eventual race winner, Gordon Johncock , who started next to Andretti in the middle of row two. In later years, Johncock pointed out that Andretti had jumped the start, and could have avoided the spinning car of Cogan had he been lined up properly in the second row next to Gordy. In the 1985 Indianapolis 500 , he was passed for

1026-724: A merger with the Atlanta International Raceway (AIR). Within the first couple months of 1969, he announced the construction of the Texas International Speedway and the purchase of controlling interest of the Riverside International Raceway . Later in the year, LoPatin stated his intents of building another facility in Burlington County, New Jersey . LoPatin's business endeavors were seen as

1140-486: A new campground area. In 2019, the ownership of MIS switched hands to NASCAR when ISC and NASCAR merged in a $ 2 billion buyout. That same year, a new care center was built in the track's infield. In October 2021, NASCAR's director of marketing for the American Midwest, Joe Fowler, replaced a resigning Rick Brenner to become the track's general manager. As of 2024, MIS runs one annual NASCAR Cup Series race

1254-412: A new logo in the process. At the end of 2000, Haskett retired after 14 years of service, being replaced by W. Brett Shelton as general manager. In 2004, the track's walls were replaced with SAFER barriers in response as part of an effort to make the track safer in the wake of the death of Dale Earnhardt . That same year, Shelton announced the construction and renovation of numerous amenities, including

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1368-490: A pitch to be his No. 1 driver but Andretti declined. "F1 didn't pay much back then and my contracts and commitments were so lucrative over here I couldn't give that up for the security of my family. The timing wasn't right yet, so I had to turn him down; but I always figured I'd get another opportunity." In 1975 Andretti drove a full Formula One season for the first time, for the American Parnelli team. The team

1482-476: A place in Tuscany . Life was a bit weird at the time but the one thing that my father always did, he always provided for us. As kids we were never cold, we were never hungry, we went to school, he always provided quite well. The twins' mother Rina said that when they were two years old, they would take pot lids out of the cupboards and run around the kitchen, going "Vroom, vroom," like they were driving cars before

1596-529: A point — you got nine points for a win back then — and he had to agree.' In 1978, the Lotus 79 designed by Chapman exploited ground effect even further. Andretti dominated the season and took the title with six wins. He clinched the championship at the Italian Grand Prix . There was no championship celebration though because his teammate Ronnie Peterson crashed heavily at the start of the race; he

1710-431: A portion of turn 4. Over the course of February 27 and 28, 2020 the press box above the grandstands was demolished. As of June 2024, the outline of the track remains, but most, if not all, of the original asphalt has been torn out as housing developments have been constructed in what were turns 1 and 2. The all-time unofficial track record set during a race weekend on the 2-mile Oval is 0:33.620, set by Mario Andretti in

1824-575: A positive and this was certainly one of them, here was an opportunity created for us, the kids, and my dad always cited that. He would say in a sense I am looking at your future, where I think would be the best solution for you kids to have opportunities and he was correct, he was right because if we had remained in Italy I don't know whether I could have pursued what my first passion was and the only passion I really had career wise. While getting acquainted with Pennsylvania, Mario and Aldo were surprised to find

1938-412: A race just four weeks after his crash. The 1993 Indianapolis 500 was Andretti's last notable run, and he had just come off a victory at Phoenix . On pole day, Andretti was the first car to complete a qualifying run, and sat on the provisional pole position. Andretti's speed held up all afternoon, but with less than an hour to go, Arie Luyendyk topped his speed, and took the pole. On race day, Andretti

2052-513: A response to the rising popularity of auto racing in the United States in the 1960s, with LoPatin being a key figure in said expansion. The first NASCAR Cup Series race at MIS was ran on June 15, with Cale Yarborough winning the event. In November, the track's first general manager, Frank Cipelle, was appointed. By the end of the 1969 racing season, although the racing at MIS was praised, weather problems during all four major races in

2166-700: A result, MIS submitted a bankruptcy petition , entering receivership . The ousted LoPatin was asked by Richter to create a financing plan to save the track from liquidation in March; however, all plans fell through, and the track was ordered to be sold at a sheriff's auction in December. Initially, an offer was made by the Manufacturers National Bank of Detroit for $ 1.458 million was made in December, with oil businessman Pat Patrick and car dealership owner James S. Gilmore Jr. taking over

2280-408: A single non-championship drag race in 1967 in a Ford Mustang . In both 1967 and 1968, Andretti lost the season USAC championship to A. J. Foyt and Bobby Unser , respectively, in the waning laps of the last race of the season at Riverside, California—each by the smallest points margin in history. Andretti won nine races in 1969, the 1969 Indianapolis 500 , and the season championship. He also won

2394-450: A two-story, solar-powered media center. In 2011, further renovations were announced to the facility's tram system and the track's scoreboard. The following year, the track was repaved for the fourth time in its history. In the 2010s, MIS underwent a mass capacity decrease. In 2010, track officials announced the removal of 12,000 seats in the track's third turn in an effort to modernize the track. In 2012, MIS track officials also announced

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2508-657: A venue twice per year. In the midst of the CART–IRL split in the mid-1990s, CART organized a second event in 1996 that was made to rival the Indianapolis 500 : the U.S. 500 , which ran on the same day as the Indianapolis 500. However, after one iteration of the event, the race was scrapped. As of June 2019, the fastest official race lap records at Michigan International Speedway are listed as: Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940)

2622-649: A year: the Firekeepers Casino 400 , held in August. For most of its existence, it ran two annual Cup Series events a year: one in June, and one in August. Both events held their inaugural events in 1969. With the exception of 1973 when the August race was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts, the tradition continued until 2021, when NASCAR removed the June race from their annual schedule. Along with its Cup Series races, lower-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Truck Series races have also been held. Until

2736-732: Is a three-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring . Born in the Kingdom of Italy , Andretti's family emigrated to the United States when he was 15 during the Istrian–Dalmatian exodus . Andretti won the Formula One World Championship in 1978 , four IndyCar titles, including three under USAC sanctioning, and one in CART . He is the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500 ( 1969 ), Daytona 500 ( 1967 ) and

2850-644: Is an American former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from 1968 to 1982 . Andretti won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1978 with Lotus , and won 12 Grands Prix across 14 seasons. In American open-wheel racing , Andretti won four IndyCar National Championship titles and the Indianapolis 500 in 1969 ; in stock car racing , he won the Daytona 500 in 1967 . In endurance racing , Andretti

2964-545: The Lansing State Journal . Michigan International Speedway is served by U.S. Route 12 and M-50 , and covers over 1,400 acres according to The Daily Telegram . As of 2021, MIS has a capacity of 56,000 according to Autoweek . At its peak, the track boasted a seating capacity of 137,243 in 2006 according to Autoweek . MIS contains three luxury seating options: the Acceleration Club in

3078-550: The 1967 Daytona 500 for Holman Moody . Andretti was invited to race in six International Race of Champions (IROC) series in his career. His best years were his first three years. He finished second in the final points standings in IROC III (1975–1976) and IROC V (1977–1978). He won the IROC VI (1978–1979) points championship with finishes of third, first, and second. He won three races in twenty events. Andretti's goal

3192-493: The Italian Grand Prix , where Andretti saw Ascari and Juan Manuel Fangio race against each other. "I remember being just mesmerized, overwhelmed by the sound, by the speed" Andretti recalled years later. "We didn't even have a grandstand seat, we were up on that bank before the Parabolica on the left. You know, we had a good view of things". Andretti's father had maintained contact with his brother-in-law who had lived in

3306-553: The Michigan Speedway from 1997 to 2000) is a 2.000-mile (3.219 km) D-shaped oval superspeedway in Brooklyn, Michigan . It has hosted various major auto racing series throughout its existence, including NASCAR , CART , and IndyCar races. The facility is currently owned by NASCAR , and is led by track president Joe Fowler. Michigan International Speedway is served by U.S. Route 12 and M-50 . The facility has

3420-632: The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb , which was part of the USAC National Championship. He was named ABC 's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year. Between 1966 and 1969 he won 29 of 85 USAC championship races. In 1973, USAC split its National Championship into dirt and pavement championships. Andretti had one win on the pavement and finished fifth in the season points, and finished second in

3534-598: The World Sportscar Championship , and NASCAR . He has also won races in midget car racing and sprint car racing . Andretti is the only person to be named United States Driver of the Year in three decades (1967, 1978, and 1984). He was also one of only three drivers to have won major races on road courses , paved ovals , and dirt tracks in one season, a feat that he accomplished four times. With his final IndyCar win in April 1993, Andretti became

Texas World Speedway - Misplaced Pages Continue

3648-465: The (then) unofficial closed-course speed record for IndyCars of 234.5 mph (377.4 km/h), the fastest speed ever recorded at Texas World Speedway, while testing for the 1993 Indianapolis 500 . This marked his first time back in an IndyCar since the 1992 Indianapolis 500 when he lost a wheel and crashed head-on into the wall, smashing both his legs. Andretti's fast run came at the conclusion of two days of testing where he consistently posted laps in

3762-583: The 1960s it included races worldwide. At Andretti's first Indianapolis 500, in 1965, he met Colin Chapman , owner of the Lotus Formula One team, who was running eventual race winner Jim Clark 's car. Andretti told Chapman of his ambition to compete in Formula One and was told "When you're ready, call me." By 1968 Andretti felt he was ready. Chapman gave him a car, and the young American took

3876-552: The 1960s. The new series had rapidly become the top open-wheel racing series in North America. Andretti joined CART full-time in 1982, driving for Patrick Racing . He started from row two in the Indianapolis 500 that year but was involved in a wreck on the approach to the start when rookie Kevin Cogan suddenly spun out. Three minutes after the wreck Andretti was heard saying "This is what happens when you have children doing

3990-418: The 230 mph range. Andretti's Buick -powered Lola was prepared by Pagan Racing of Corpus Christi, Texas. During a January 2009 test, Greg Biffle managed to reach a top speed of 218 mph (351 km/h) in a test for Roush Fenway Racing as part of evading NASCAR's testing ban. This became the fastest speed ever achieved on this track by a stock car (amateur or professional). The average speed for

4104-574: The Andretti family, like many other Istrian Italians at the time, left during the Istrian–Dalmatian exodus . They initially ended up in a refugee camp in Lucca , Italy. In 2013, Andretti told author Paul Stenning : My father left everything behind, we left our home and took what we could carry and went further into Italy. They had to swallow all of these families that were dispersed and they formed all different camps over Italy and we were shipped to

4218-581: The Formula One World Championship, and, along with Juan Pablo Montoya , the only driver to have won a race in the NASCAR Cup Series , Formula One, and an Indianapolis 500. As of 2023, Andretti's victory at the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix is the most recent Formula One win by an American driver. Andretti had 109 career wins on major circuits. Andretti is one of only three drivers to have won races in Formula One , IndyCar ,

4332-600: The Frenchman had been unable to race, as was the case at the previous race in Canada . However, in the event, Tambay was able to take part in the race. Andretti was also considered as a replacement, again for Tambay who had been injured in Canada , at the 1986 Detroit Grand Prix , this time for the Carl Haas-owned Haas Lola team. Andretti declined, but recommended his son Michael Andretti. When Michael

4446-464: The Indianapolis 500 en route to his only victory in the race. The race is notable as it is the only Indy 500 in history where the winning driver ran the whole race on only 1 set of tires. Between his 1969 victory in the race and 1981, Andretti dropped out of the races due to part failures or crashes. His luck seemed to turn around in 1981. Andretti finished second in the 1981 Indianapolis 500 by eight seconds behind Bobby Unser . The following day Unser

4560-476: The Joe James-Pat O'Connor Memorial at Salem Speedway ), but finished behind Roger McCluskey in the season championship. In 1967 he won two of the three events that he entered. From 1956 to 1979, the top open-wheel racing series in North America was the USAC National Championship. It was often referred to as IndyCar racing, referring to the famous Indianapolis 500 race which was the centerpiece of

4674-637: The Michigan International Speedway (MIS) occurred on September 27, 1967, with British racing driver Stirling Moss commencing construction. Initial plans for the facility included a 2-mile (3.2 km) oval designed by Charles Moneypenny and an "extension" road course layout designed by Moss, with Moss stating that the road course was split into three layouts meant to accommodate different skill levels of racers; one at 1.25 miles (2.01 km), one at 2.25 miles (3.62 km), and one at 3.5 miles (5.6 km). An opening date for MIS

Texas World Speedway - Misplaced Pages Continue

4788-569: The Southern Pointe master-planned community. Southern Pointe is going to be 550 acres with 73 acres of green space and water retention systems. They expect 1400 single-family home lots. The old TWS frontage road billboard was covered with a Southern Pointe banner at the beginning of December 2018. Video footage of the speedway site taken by drone in February 2019 shows much of the asphalt banking in turns 1 and 2 has been removed, as well as

4902-476: The Speedway's popular Performance Driving School, professional team tests, motorcycle schools, "street drags" and non-racing events. During this time the track hosted its first 24-hour racing event by entry-level racing series ChumpCar World Series and later by the semi-professional racing series World Racing League. On September 18, 2017 a Jalopnik article confirmed the closure of Texas World Speedway, which

5016-571: The U.S. for many years. It took the family three years to obtain a U.S. visa. Alvise Andretti initially told the family they would move to the U.S. for five years and then return to Italy. In 1955, the Andretti family emigrated to the U.S., settling in Nazareth in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania with just $ 125 to their name. In 2013, Andretti said: When I looked at my life in many ways out of so many negatives here comes

5130-478: The auction was delayed twice, on January 10, 1971, the Associated Press reported that MIS' financial problems were resolved, with ARI selling its 48% interest of Riverside International Raceway worth $ 425,000 to avoid the auction. However, a year later, although Richter admitted that they were able to make a profit in the 1971 racing season, it was not enough to pay off the facility's debentures . As

5244-593: The car to optimize it for each track, an approach imported from his extensive oval racing experience in the United States. In 1977, at Long Beach , he became the only American to win the United States Grand Prix West , and the last American as of 2022 to win any US Grand Prix. The Lotus 78 "wing car" proved to be the most competitive car of 1977, but despite winning four races, more than any other driver, reliability problems and collisions with other drivers meant Andretti finished only third in

5358-520: The championship. At the end of 1977, Andretti was approached by Ferrari as a potential replacement for Niki Lauda . I had a handshake agreement with Colin and he'd already agreed to pay me what Ronnie Peterson was making, which was the highest salary in F1. So I asked Mr. Ferrari what was he willing to pay me. He said, 'You know, Mario, I can't put a price on your talent so you tell me.' That SOB threw it right back in my lap! Well, [Andretti's wife] Dee Ann

5472-802: The championship. The races were run on a mixture of paved and dirt ovals, and in later years also included some road courses. Andretti made his IndyCar debut on April 19, 1964, at the New Jersey State fairgrounds in Trenton, New Jersey . He started sixteenth and finished eleventh. Andretti was introduced by his USAC sprint car owner, Rufus Gray, to veteran mechanic Clint Brawner. Brawner was not impressed since sprint car drivers Stan Bowman and Donnie Davis had recently died, and Brawner's current driver, Chuck Hulse , had been critically injured. Chris Economaki recommended Andretti to Brawner, so Brawner watched Andretti race at Terre Haute, Indiana . Brawner

5586-714: The construction of a "Grand Prix type auto-racing track, from 2.5 to 2.9 miles in length." After studying several markets, he decided to build a racetrack that would serve the Detroit , Cleveland , and Chicago areas. Four months later in July, LoPatin announced initial plans to build the Michigan Motor Raceway, a 400-acre (160 ha), 100,000-seat track on the intersection between Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 23 in Ann Arbor, Michigan . Although groundbreaking

5700-418: The construction of a "multi-level sky lounge" built behind the frontstretch grandstands. In 2006, Shelton retired from his position, giving the position up to Roger Curtis, California Speedway 's vice president of marketing and sales. Renovations to the first turn grandstands were announced in 2008. The following year, track officials announced the demolition of the track's old media center, replacing it with

5814-431: The construction of a luxury campsite complex, in the process tearing down grandstands in the track's third and fourth turns. By 2014, after another set of grandstands in the track's third turn were torn down, capacity was recorded to be as low as 71,000. In 2016, Curtis resigned from his position, being replaced by minor league baseball executive Rick Brenner. In 2018, seating capacity went down further to 56,000 to build

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5928-472: The crash. The following year, track officials planned to add a dog-leg chicane on the track's backstretch to slow down speeds for IndyCar races; however, the idea was scrapped after testing. In 1988, MIS expanded grandstand seating capacity to "over 40,000." In 1992, Clifford Allison became the second fatality to occur at the facility when he crashed during a practice session for a NASCAR Busch Series race. Numerous leadership changes occurred until

6042-747: The dirt championship. He competed in USAC's dirt track division in 1974, and won the dirt track championship while competing in both series. Andretti also competed in the North American Formula 5000 series in 1973 and 1974, and finished second in the championship in both seasons. Formula One is the highest form of open-wheel racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's international governing body. Although originating in Europe, by

6156-403: The early 1980s, MIS added seating capacity a total of three times, adding in 1981, 1982, and 1985. In 1986, MIS underwent another resurfacing that was completed in time for the 1986 Miller American 400 . That same year, MIS oversaw its first driver fatality when NASCAR driver Rick Baldwin crashed during a qualifying session on June 16, dying 11 years later in a coma due to complications from

6270-601: The early 2000s, open-wheel racing was commonplace at the facility. Major open-wheel races at MIS were primarily sanctioned by three organizations: the United States Auto Club (USAC), Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), and the Indy Racing League (IRL). USAC held its first event at the speedway in October 1968; the speedway's inaugural event. After failing to renew the following year, USAC

6384-438: The facility and repaved and modestly refurbished it. It hosted races for ARCA , but after 1993 the company withdrew. The facility did serve as a venue for amateur and club racing , along with private testing. NASCAR teams have used the oval for testing (as it mimics Michigan and Fontana ), as a way of skirting the tight restrictions prohibiting testing on active tracks on the schedule. On February 23, 1993, Jeff Andretti set

6498-406: The facility if the purchase went through. By March 1973, Patrick along with two other businessmen agreed to buy out the facility for $ 2.5 million, with the sale effective on June 14. However, on May 26, motorsports businessman Roger Penske announced that he had taken over the option to purchase the facility from Patrick, with Penske stating that the announcement of Patrick buying the facility "was

6612-441: The facility to seat more than 100,000. Renovations and incidents under Penske's early leadership remained slow. Initially, Penske sought to construct a roval -style road course contained within the infield of MIS to replace the original road course layout, but the plans were postponed due to a contractor's strike. In 1977, a resurfacing of MIS' track surface was announced in August and completed approximately two months later. In

6726-516: The facility was expanded extensively. In 1999, the facility was sold off to the France family -owned International Speedway Corporation (ISC). MIS underwent major downsizing in the 2010s in efforts to modernize the facility, with capacity decreasing to more than half of its peak. Track ownership again changed hands in 2019, when NASCAR merged with ISC. The track in its current form is measured at 2.000 miles (3.219 km), with 18 degrees of banking in

6840-475: The first driver to have won IndyCar races in four different decades and the first to win automobile races of any kind in five. In American popular culture, Andretti's name has become synonymous with speed, similar to Barney Oldfield in the early 20th century, as well as Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton in Europe. Andretti is set to serve on the board of directors of Cadillac in Formula One from its debut 2026 season onwards. Mario Gabriele Andretti

6954-547: The first ever race at the facility amidst a crowd of 55,108. Although the race was seen as a success, the facility experienced major traffic problems, with traffic jams on the two-lane U.S. Route 12 being reported as long as 7 miles (11 km). Three days after its inaugural race, NASCAR signed a 10-year contract to run two NASCAR Grand National Series races annually. In the following months, LoPatin striked numerous business deals to grow what would eventually become American Raceways, Inc. (ARI). In December, LoPatin announced

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7068-501: The former, it was their fourth time in an endurance race together as co-drivers. Mario finished seventh in points for the 1991 season, the year that Michael won the championship. Mario's last victory in IndyCar racing came in 1993 at Phoenix International Raceway , the year that Michael left Newman/Haas to race in Formula One. The win made Mario the oldest recorded winner in an IndyCar event (53 years, 34 days old). Andretti qualified on

7182-595: The front of the Formula One grid, culminating in lapping the field in his victory at the season ending race at the Mount Fuji circuit in Japan. Since mid-1975 Lotus had been developing the use of ground effect , shaping the underside of the car to generate downforce with little penalizing drag . For his part, Andretti worked at setting up his cars for the races, exploiting subtle differences in tire size ('stagger') and suspension set up ('cross weighting') on each side of

7296-451: The full lap was 195 mph (314 km/h). From 2012 to its closure in 2017 Texas World Speedway experienced a resurgence in use spurred by the growing popularity of road racing and the Speedway's 15-turn, 2.9-mile road course which was very popular with drivers worldwide, who recognized the fast, wide and rhythmic road course as a "racer's track". During this period the track was completely booked with racing events, HPDE programs including

7410-424: The grandstand seating capacity to over 125,000. In 1996, MIS renamed itself to Michigan Speedway in order to be named similar to other tracks Penske owned. On July 26, 1998, three fans were killed and a further six were injured during a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) event when a crash involving Adrián Fernández sent a tire into the grandstands. In response to the incident, the protective catchfence around

7524-402: The green flag. Cogan bounced off A. J. Foyt, slamming Foyt's steering rod. That contact turned Cogan's car left at a 90-degree angle to the field, where he was promptly T-boned by Mario. Andretti was livid and engaged in a shoving match with Cogan before walking off. In an interview, three minutes after the wreck, an irked Andretti was heard saying "This is what happens when you have children doing

7638-468: The lead by Danny Sullivan in Turn One on lap 20. Immediately after completing the pass, Sullivan spun in front of Andretti. A caution flag for the spin minimized the time Sullivan would lose to Andretti by pitting to replace his tires. Sullivan took the lead for good 20 laps later when he passed Andretti without incident. Andretti dominated the 1987 Indianapolis 500 , leading 170 of the first 177 laps of

7752-534: The lead up to the 2003 Indianapolis 500 , Andretti took to the track for the first time in ten years in a major open-wheel car at the age of 63. He participated in a test session for son Michael's AGR IndyCar team. One of the team's regular drivers, Tony Kanaan , suffered a radial fracture of his arm a week earlier in an April 15 crash at Twin Ring Motegi . If Kanaan was not cleared to drive in enough time, tentative plans were being prepared for Andretti to qualify

7866-549: The mid-1980s. In 1978, LeFere resigned from his position as general manager, being replaced by Citibank executive Jim Melvin. Melvin left soon after to become the president of Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), being replaced by United Airlines executive Rick Nadeau in November 1979. Nadeau left track leadership three years later to become a sports marketer for a printing company, with Darwin Doll replacing Nadeau. Doll held

7980-480: The middle of the season to do so. When the Parnelli team pulled out of Formula One after two races of the 1976 season , Andretti returned to Chapman's Lotus team, for whom he had already driven at the season-opening Brazilian Grand Prix . Lotus was then at a low point, having failed to produce a competitive car to replace 1970's Lotus 72 . Andretti's ability at developing a racing car contributed to Lotus' return to

8094-642: The next two races reached 88,500, being seen as a success in local Michigan media. As a result, Penske approved the running of a doubleheader IndyCar race, revitalizing the track. By the next year, Penske proclaimed in the Detroit Free Press that MIS had the "greatest potential of any track in the U.S.", with Penske stating in an interview with the Free Press ' Joe Falls that he aimed to expand seating capacity if attendance remained high. Penske later stated that year that he hoped to eventually expand

8208-579: The part. Marco De Cesari and Danilo Piccinini, the owners of the garage, noticed the Andretti brothers' passion for racing and brought them to the Abetone pass to watch a stretch of the Mille Miglia race in 1954 which caused him to become captivated by Italian two-time Formula One world champion Alberto Ascari , who won the race. Later in the same year, Piccinini brought the brothers to the Monza for

8322-476: The period, Andretti did not like the ground effect cars of the time: "the cars were getting absurd, really crude, with no suspension movement whatever. It was toggle switch driving with no need for any kind of delicacy...it made leaving Formula One a lot easier than it would have been." The next year, Andretti raced once for the Williams team, after their driver Carlos Reutemann suddenly quit, before replacing

8436-461: The pole at the Michigan 500 later that year with a speed of 234.275 miles per hour (377.029 km/h). The speed was a new closed course world record. Andretti's final season, in 1994, was dubbed "The Arrivederci Tour". He raced in the last of his 407 Indy car races that September. Andretti won once at the Indianapolis 500 in 29 attempts. Andretti has had so many incidents and near victories at

8550-511: The pole position on his debut at the 1968 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen in his Lotus 49 . Andretti drove sporadically in Formula One over the next four years for Lotus, March , and Ferrari , while continuing to focus on his racing career in America. At the 1971 South African Grand Prix , on his debut for Ferrari, he won his first Grand Prix. "That was a big moment, one of those I'll always cherish," recalled Andretti. "Kyalami

8664-513: The position until 1986, when he was replaced by Gene Haskett when Doll left to serve as the general manager of Sears Point International Raceway . In the 1990s, MIS underwent mass expansion to accommodate a growth of popularity in NASCAR. In 1990, Haskett announced further renovations to the facility, including the addition of 5,779 seats, additional bathrooms, and a new backstretch concrete wall. Two years later, 11,700 seats were added to increase

8778-430: The proposed New Jersey project, in October, Manufacturers National Bank initiated foreclosure proceedings to pay off over $ 1 million in overdue mortgage payments, with local Michigan law stating that the speedway had to be sold at a sheriff's auction in order to pay off the overdue payments. Despite the law, MIS general manager Frank Cipelle stated that the chances of the auction ever happening were "very little". After

8892-474: The race. With the IRL taking over, the race distance was decreased to 400 mi (640 km). IRL raced annually at the track until 2007, when the IRL failed to renew a deal to keep racing at the facility; the IRL remains the last open-wheel series to have raced at the facility. The latter fall date ran until 1986, when the date was dropped from CART's schedule in efforts to eliminate instances of CART racing at

9006-481: The race. His lead was so large, that he was advised to slow his pace to preserve his equipment. In a cruel twist of fate, when Andretti started running slower, his reduced engine rpm's created a harmonic imbalance in his turbocharged Ilmor/Chevrolet V8 that led to a broken valve spring with 20 laps to go. The 1992 Indianapolis 500 was run in extremely cold weather which resulted in a large number of wrecks by cars on cold tires. Andretti accelerated off of turn three for

9120-584: The racing ladder on the East Coast of the United States was to race in sprint cars in the United Racing Club (URC). Andretti was able to get a ride for individual races in the URC sprint car racing series, but was unable to secure a full-time ride. He once drove from Canada to Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania hoping to find a ride in an event, but he went empty-handed. He bypassed the series when he

9234-458: The restart at the end of the 83rd lap. Under acceleration, Mario's car got loose in the middle of turn four and rotated 270 degrees to smash nose first into the wall. Andretti was taken to the hospital with six of his toes broken and would shortly be joined by his son Jeff Andretti who smashed both legs after a wheel came loose on his race car on the 109th lap of the race. Mario would only miss one race due to his injuries, and returned to run 6th in

9348-422: The season affected attendance and in turn, the facility's profits. American Raceways' troubles were soon publicized after their director of operations, Les Richter , left the company. MIS lacked a United States Auto Club (USAC) event after 1968 due to MIS disagreeing with USAC for the amount of purse money needed for a USAC race, depriving fans of promised major IndyCar racing. In addition, LoPatin entered into

9462-519: The season points. He won three 1974 USAC stock car races on road courses, and won four road course races in 1975. Andretti competed in fourteen NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup (now NASCAR Cup Series ) events in his career. He competed in Holman Moody cars for his final ten events. Holman Moody was one of NASCAR's most successful teams at that time, as the team won NASCAR championships in 1968 and 1969 with driver David Pearson . Andretti won

9576-487: The seating capacity to "about 70,000" along with a new 96 ft (29 m) tall scoreboard. By 1993, with the addition of 6,700 seats, track attendance for races began to rival the Michigan state record for attendance at a sporting event. Amidst criticism of the track surface for being too bumpy, the track surface was repaved in the winter of 1995. Additional seats were added in 1994, 1996, 1997, and 1999, increasing

9690-543: The seriously injured Didier Pironi at Ferrari for the last two races of the year. Suspension failure dropped him out of the last race of the season, but at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza he took the pole position and finished third in the race. There was almost a return to F1 for Andretti at the 1984 Detroit Grand Prix when the Renault team put him on standby to replace regular driver Patrick Tambay if

9804-467: The then-current Brabham Formula 1 design) earned him the race's Rookie of the Year award, and contributed towards Andretti winning the series championship. He was the youngest national champion in series history at age 25. He repeated as series champion in 1966, winning eight of fifteen events. He led every lap of the 1966 Langhorne 100 . He also won the pole at the 1966 Indianapolis 500 . Andretti finished second in IndyCar in 1967 and 1968. He also won

9918-426: The track in the next 90 days pending the formation of a financing plan for a budget of $ 4 million. By September, local media reported that the now 700-acre (280 ha), $ 4.5 million facility was set to open sometime in 1968. To finance the facility, track officials filed a registration statement in October to publicly offer common stocks and debentures that totaled approximately $ 3 million. Groundbreaking on

10032-443: The track that critics have dubbed the family's performance after Mario's 1969 Indianapolis 500 victory the " Andretti Curse ". Andretti finished all 500 miles (800 km) just five times, including his 1969 Indianapolis 500 victory. Andretti was the first driver to exceed 200 miles per hour (320 km/h) while practicing for the 1977 Indianapolis 500 . In 1969, after 4 years of bad luck and 4 non-finishes, Andretti dominated

10146-506: The track was increased by four feet. In May 1999, Penske, who by this point owned numerous tracks under the Penske Motorsports Inc. name, including Michigan Speedway, agreed to merge the company with the France family -owned International Speedway Corporation , officially merging approximately two months later. The following year, the speedway reverted back to its original Michigan International Speedway name, revealing

10260-671: The track's fourth turn, the Champions Club located underneath the track's press box, and the Victory Lane Club near the track's pit road. In March 1966, treasurer of the newly-built horse racing track Windsor Raceway , Lawrence LoPatin , expressed hopes of expanding the raceway into a "resort complex". After a visit to the Florida-based Sebring International Raceway , he decided that the first phase of expansion would include

10374-544: The turns, 12 degrees of banking on the frontstretch, and five degrees of banking on the backstretch. Numerous road track layouts exist within the track's infield and outside the track's confines. As part of the original construction plan, a road course designed by British racing driver Stirling Moss was made. The road course is split into three different layouts made to cater to different abilities of racers. Different layouts of 1.250 miles (2.012 km), 2.250 miles (3.621 km), and 3.500 miles (5.633 km) were reported by

10488-427: The twins had even yet seen a car. In 1945, at age five, he and Aldo were racing their hand-crafted wooden cars through the steep streets of their hometown. The brothers were later hired by a garage to park cars. In his autobiography, What's It Like Out There , published in 1970, Andretti described the experience, writing, "The first time I fired up a car, felt the engine shudder and the wheel come to life in my hands, I

10602-547: The young Italian Elio de Angelis , and briefly with test driver Nigel Mansell , but the team was again unsuccessful. For the 1981 season, Andretti decided to move to the Alfa Romeo team run by Carlo Chiti . Although the car was reasonably competitive (Andretti finished fourth on his debut with the team in Long Beach ), a general lack of reliability resulted in yet another unsuccessful campaign. Like other drivers of

10716-431: Was a factor most of the afternoon, leading the most laps (72). While leading on lap 134, Andretti was penalized for entering the pits while they were closed. A stop-and-go penalty dropped him only down to second place. In the final 50 laps, he began developing handling problems because of his tires, and slid down the standings to finish 5th. Andretti's last race at Indy was the 1994 Indianapolis 500 . On April 23, 2003, in

10830-596: Was a fun circuit to drive with lots of elevation changes and Ferrari gave me equal equipment to my teammates. It was a good weekend." Three weeks later, at the non-championship Questor Grand Prix in the U.S., he brought the Italian team a second victory. The day before the Questor GP, he had finished 9th in the Indy car race at Phoenix International Raceway. At the end of the season, Ferrari called Andretti and made him

10944-401: Was able to return to the facility in 1970. Starting in 1973, USAC sanctioned a second event at the track that took place in the fall. USAC continued to race at MIS until 1978, when CART took over both dates. The track's summer date was extended to a 500 mi (800 km) race in 1981. The race was sanctioned by CART until 2002, when the IRL officially took over the sanctioning rights for

11058-547: Was also known for a fire that destroyed several cars including one owned by Robert Earl Keen . The cover of Keen' album, Picnic , shows a picture of his car on fire at the picnic. During the 1980s the track fell into a state of disrepair, and both NASCAR and the Indy cars chose to drop it from their respective schedules. It continued to operate in a limited role for amateur racing. In 1991 Ishin Speed Sport, Inc. purchased

11172-550: Was being used as a dumping ground for vehicles flooded out by Hurricane Harvey . The entire 600-acre facility was being leased to Copart as a catastrophe storage facility for vehicles damaged by Hurricane Harvey . The vehicles were to be stored while the numerous contracted insurance providers processed the vehicles for disposition via auction, where the mass majority would be sold with a certificate of destruction title, i.e. parts only from dismantling companies. As of July 19, 2018, developers broke ground to begin construction of

11286-527: Was born on February 28, 1940 alongside his twin brother Aldo in Montona , Istria, Kingdom of Italy (present-day Motovun , Croatia). He is the son of Alvise Andretti, a farm administrator, and his wife, Rina. Istria was then part of the Kingdom of Italy , but it became part of Yugoslavia at the end of World War II as product of the Treaty of Paris in 1947 and later the Treaty of Osimo in 1975. In 1948,

11400-444: Was completed in 1968, running its first races in October of the same year. Soon after, the track fell into financial trouble after a series of business decisions by LoPatin to expand his auto racing company, American Raceways, sunk the company into major amounts of debt. In 1973, American Raceways sold ownership of the speedway to motorsports businessman Roger Penske , who saved the facility from financial ruin. Under Penske's leadership,

11514-531: Was convinced that he had found the new driver for his team. The two stayed together for six years. Andretti finished eleventh in the USAC National Championship that season. Andretti won his first championship car race at the Hoosier Grand Prix on a road course at Indianapolis Raceway Park in 1965. His third-place finish at the 1965 Indianapolis 500 in the Brawner Hawk (a mechanical copy of

11628-417: Was fired from his position as chairman of ARI on July 30, 1970, on the condition that the company continue its commitments to running the remaining events at ARI-owned tracks the following month. Les Richter, who had left the company a few months earlier, was appointed as the new chairman of ARI. Although MIS track officials stated optimistic hopes of revitalizing ARI by ending its mass expansion and cancelling

11742-687: Was hooked. It was a feeling I can't describe. I still get it every time I get into a race car." Andretti's first racing experience was in a new youth racing league called Formula Junior in Ancona , Italy, when he was thirteen years old. Years later, in an interview during an RRDC Evening with Mario Andretti , Andretti implied that he and his brother made up the story of racing in the Formula Junior league when they moved to Pennsylvania to improve their chances of competing in dirt track racing because, having purchased racing suits in Italy, they looked

11856-526: Was hospitalised and died that night from complications resulting from his injuries. Andretti found little success after 1978 in Formula One ;– he failed to win another grand prix. He had a difficult year in 1979, as the new Lotus 80 was not competitive, and the team had to rely on the Lotus 79 which had been overtaken by the second generation of ground effect cars. In 1980, he was paired with

11970-470: Was new to Formula One, although it had been successful in both Formula 5000 and IndyCar racing in America with Andretti driving. The team had run Andretti in the two North American end-of-season races in 1974 with promising results. Andretti qualified fourth and led the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix for nine laps before his suspension failed. He scored five championship points in the season. Andretti continued to compete in IndyCar, missing two Formula One races in

12084-545: Was offered a full-time ride in a United States Automobile Club sprint car for 1964. Andretti won the 1964 Joe James-Pat O'Connor Memorial USAC sprint car race at Salem Speedway in Salem, Indiana . Andretti continued to race in USAC sprint cars after moving into champ cars. In 1965 he won once at Ascot Park , and finished tenth in the season points. In 1966 he won five times ( Cumberland, Maryland , Oswego, New York , Rossburg, Ohio , Phoenix, Arizona , and his second win at

12198-433: Was penalized one lap for passing cars under a caution flag, and Andretti was declared the winner. Unser and his car owner Roger Penske appealed the race stewards' decision. USAC overturned the one lap penalty four months later, and penalized Unser with a $ 40,000 fine. At the start of the 1982 Indianapolis 500 , second-year driver Kevin Cogan , teammate to polesitter Rick Mears , suddenly spun right when accelerating for

12312-553: Was scheduled to start on October 1, the plan was killed that same month due to mounting opposition from local residents. Another site approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the original location was then considered. In April 1967, the site was revealed to be in Lenawee County in Cambridge Township , with LoPatin later stating in a press conference the following month that he hoped to start construction on

12426-422: Was seriously hurt near the end of the season, and their parents were unhappy to find out that the twins were racing. Mario had 21 modified stock car wins in 46 races in 1960 and 1961. Andretti became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1964. He competed in United States Auto Club (USAC) stock car events in 1965, and finished twelfth in the season points. He won a USAC Stock Car race in 1967, and finished seventh in

12540-517: Was set for October 6, 1968, with a 250-mile (400 km) IndyCar -style race inaugurating the facility; the date was later pushed back a week. For MIS' first race, two grandstands seating 12,500 were constructed, putting seating capacity at 25,000. In September, Gordon Johncock and Wally Dallenbach Sr. ran the first testing laps at the facility, with Johncock setting a fastest lap of 182.92 miles per hour (294.38 km/h). MIS opened as scheduled on October 13, 1968, with Ronnie Bucknum winning

12654-420: Was sitting next to me and I asked her what should I do and she said 'double it.' And Mr. Ferrari agreed. The next day I got a telex from him saying 'Let's just leave things alone' because he'd just had a visit from Colin (who'd) followed me to Maranello and raised hell with Mr. Ferrari. Can you imagine? So I told Colin he'd always been good to me but you don't want an unhappy driver. Then I told him I wanted $ 10,000

12768-482: Was the first series title for the second year team. In August 1986, Andretti won the Pocono 500 , in his 14th attempt to win at the track near his Pennsylvania home. It gave Andretti 500-mile Indy car wins at Indianapolis , Michigan , and Pocono . Mario's son Michael joined Newman/Haas in 1989. Together, they made history as the first father/son team to compete in both IMSA GT and Champ Car racing. With regard to

12882-730: Was to race in single-seater open-wheel cars. Andretti said "Aldo and I were winning in the modifieds. But my objective was to get into open-wheelers." Andretti raced midget cars from 1961 to 1963. He started racing 3/4 (sized) midget cars in the American Three Quarter Midget Racing Association in the winter to be seen by full-sized midget car owners. He raced in over one hundred events in 1963. Andretti won three feature races at two different tracks on Labor Day in 1963. He won an afternoon feature at Flemington, New Jersey , and swept twin features at Hatfield, Pennsylvania . The next rung on

12996-678: Was unable to obtain the FIA Superlicense required to allow him to race in Formula One, the drive went to Eddie Cheever . Andretti had continued to race, and occasionally win, in the USAC National Championship during his time in the Formula One world championship. In 1979 a new organization, Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), had set up the IndyCar World Series as a rival to the USAC National Championships that Andretti had won three times in

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