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Michigan set for 2 regular-season dates in 2011
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By The Associated Press
August 14, 2010
Brooklyn, MI — With NASCAR still sorting out the final details of its 2011 schedule, Michigan International Speedway president Roger Curtis says the track will continue to host two regular-season races next year.
“We’re all set for 2011,” he said. “There was talk about doing a Chase race. It was very cool sounding to be in the Chase. It was neat thinking we’d be a good fit. But the more I thought about it for our fans and the number of campers we have, with school starting back up, I don’t know how many would come back.”
Curtis added, “There was never any discussion about taking us down to one race.”
Atlanta Motor Speedway and Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., both are going from hosting two annual NASCAR races to only one next season. Both tracks, like most other speedways, have had lower attendance.
Curtis said Michigan has bucked that trend this year.
“In June, our paid attendance was up from last year,” Curtis said. “This weekend, I think it’s going to be flat with last August. The important thing is our attendance is not going to be down this year.”
Curtis credited the attendance results with efforts by the track to reach out to fans, recognize spectators through its fan appreciation program and cut ticket prices this year.
SWAPPING SEATS: On Friday, Kyle Busch said the cars he’s getting from Joe Gibbs Racing aren’t consistent enough.
On Saturday, he was switching seats with teammate Denny Hamlin.
Busch and Hamlin drove each other’s cars in the first practice session on Saturday as the team tried to coax more speed out of its cars. They didn’t exactly zoom to the top of the speed charts, but their crew chiefs still thought it was worthwhile.
“Sometimes we have our driver meetings and on paper we look at our setups and we listen to what our drivers say and sometimes it doesn’t correspond,” said Dave Rogers, Busch’s crew chief. “Mike (Ford, Hamlin’s crew chief) and I are sitting there trying to figure out if it’s car differences or driver differences, what’s the deal?”
Busch said Friday that the cars his team is building don’t all drive the same.
“There’s no reason they should be as far off as they are,” Busch said. “I’ve talked to Kasey Kahne and he says the same thing, they have one or two cars that they really know run well everywhere they go with them and then the rest of the fleet is just the rest of the fleet. Denny … has two cars that they feel like will run really well and the 20 (Joey Logano) only has one car. We’re trying to find those other cars that we know will have the speed in them when we get to the race track.”
Ford acknowledged that no two race cars are the same, but noted that’s not the only issue that can affect performance.
“There is more variance in driver(s) throughout the garage area than there is in the cars,” Ford said.
BABY GORDON: The arrival of Leo Benjamin Gordon on Monday brought joy and relief to his dad.
“I mean, that was definitely weighing on me,” Jeff Gordon said. “Last week at Watkins Glen I tell you, every time the caution came out I was wondering how things were going with them and how disappointed I would be to miss that. That’s why I said, I’m so thankful that everything went well on Monday. We were pretty much scheduled to have it on Monday, but you just never know. There were some tests that were being done over the weekend that I wasn’t there for that could have induced labor and that was the thing that was scaring me. It’s such an amazing experience, there is just nothing like it in the world, and I wouldn’t have wanted to miss that.”
Gordon and wife Ingrid also have a daughter.
“Oh it’s so amazing,” Gordon said. “It was a great, great, great week. I can’t say enough. I’m thankful that everything went as planned and everybody is healthy and doing well. Just every day, you just smile bigger and bigger because it’s an amazing experience.”
SPARK PLUGS: Curtis touted what might be the most ambitious racetrack recycling program in NASCAR, and noted that he believes green-focused initiatives resonate with fans. Curtis said that while most NASCAR fans might not think of themselves as environmentalists but they are outdoors enthusiasts who care about conservation of natural resources. “When you think about it, the difference between the two is not that great,” Curtis said. … Juan Pablo Montoya, on NASCAR’s schedule changes: “I heard they are taking one of the Atlanta races and I think that (stinks). And right now the crowds are not great but the racing is probably one of the best.” … Jimmie Johnson was fastest in the final practice.
• NASCAR News Archive Index:
2010, 2009
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