One of America’s great superspeedways, Michigan was the fastest circuit in the world until California Speedway opened in 1997. Designed by Charlie Moneypenny (who had also created Daytona), Michigan boasts 18 degree banking, and the 125,971 capacity crowd can see the entire circuit from the grandstands. The 500-mile Champ Car race was an annual highlight before it was switched to the IndyCar Series in 2002 although senior open wheel cars have not visited since 2007. Michigan is one of those tracks that welcomes the NASCAR Sprint Cup competitors on two occasions each year. Over the years, Michigan earned a reputation for broken cars and crashes. The worst accident in Champ Car history happened at Michigan in 1998, when a wheel from a crashed car bounced into the crowd and killed three spectators. Stirling Moss was the Director of Road Racing when Michigan International Speedway originally opened, but the 3.31-mile Grand Prix course closed after two years when management decided to concentrate on staging oval races.
