UPDATE: AKRON, Ohio (Monday, April 16, 2018) – With wet and cold weather forecast for the site of this week’s Goodyear tire test at Michigan International Speedway, the tiremaker has cancelled the Tuesday and Wednesday sessions and has rescheduled them for next week (April 24-25).
That, in turn, forced Goodyear to reschedule its planned test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on those days to a date yet to be determined.
Because of the NASCAR race schedule — with the Michigan race weekend coming up on June 8-10 and Indianapolis not until September 7-9 – the Michigan test needed to take priority in order to allow Goodyear time to decide on its tire recommendation for a race that will be held just six-and-a-half weeks after the rescheduled test.
“Given the postponement of the Bristol race and the extremely cool conditions forecast for Michigan this week, Goodyear and NASCAR felt it best to reschedule the tire test at MIS until next week,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “Hopefully, this will give us much more representative conditions of what to expect for race time in June. Since our Indy tire test was planned for this time, we’ll have to move that test to sometime in June or July.”
Teams (drivers) scheduled to test at Michigan are Furniture Row Racing (Martin Truex Jr.), Hendrick Motorsports (Alex Bowman), Penske Racing (Brad Keselowski), Richard Childress Racing (Austin Dillon) and Stewart Haas Racing (Aric Almirola).
The Indianapolis test teams include Chip Ganassi Racing (Jamie McMurray), Joe Gibbs Racing (Daniel Suarez), Roush Fenway Racing (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) and Wood Brothers Racing (Paul Menard).
These changes are in addition to Goodyear having to return to the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course on May 1, which had already been rescheduled from March 21 due to wet weather.
Teams scheduled for May 1 at Charlotte are Chip Ganassi Racing (Kyle Larson), Joe Gibbs Racing (TBD), Roush Fenway Racing (Trevor Bayne) and Wood Brothers Racing (Paul Menard).
— Goodyear Racing —
Original post 4-6-2018 Michigan International Speedway and Goodyear Tire will host five Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams on April 17-18 for two days of testing. And fans can watch for free.
The following teams are scheduled to test:
No. 2 Team Penske Ford Fusion
No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL 1
No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Fusion
No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota Camry
No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL 1
The track will open section 1 in the Center Grandstand from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days for fans to watch the test free of charge.
Fans are asked to enter Gate A off of Brooklyn Highway and park in the fan plaza directly behind the tower on the front stretch. The fans will enter the grandstand area through Gate 24A and sit in section 1 of the grandstands, the start-finish line area. Restroom facilities will be available. Fans are also allowed to bring in coolers that meet the MIS grandstand policies for race weekend.
“We are excited to invite our fans to the track in April for two days of testing thanks to Goodyear Tire,” track President Rick Brenner said. “It will be fun to hear the roar of the engines and see the cars in preparation for the race season. As NASCAR’s most entertaining track, we have countless entertainment activities planned for our fans during both race weekends.”
Testing times, track schedule and drivers are subject to change due to weather or other circumstances.
Tickets to the FireKeepers Casino 400 and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race on Aug. 12 start at $35 and are on sale now. Fans can find the perfect campsite for their families and friends in any of the nine campgrounds at the track starting at $160. Fans can purchase tickets and campsites at www.mispeedway.com or by calling 888-905-7223.
Children 12 and under are free on Fridays and Saturdays. On Sundays, children 12 and under tickets start at $15. Children 12 and under can attend three days of NASCAR action for just $15, ensuring families a weekend of fun at affordable prices.
Sunday ticket holders can stick around on Saturday after the NASCAR XFINITY Series LTi Printing 250 for a free post-race concert featuring the bands FireHouse and 38 Special located behind Turn 3. Don’t miss 40 years of Southern rock hits with this classic band 38 Special. In August, fans with a Sunday admission can stay after the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Corrigan Oil 200 for the free concert featuring The Cadillac Three.
The MIS Charity Dinner presented by Consumers Energy will take place on June 9 during the FireKeepers Casino 400 event weekend. Afirst of its kind event, the evening will feature a strolling dinner, dessert and drink stations, live and silent auctions, music, a photo booth and so much more. The event will also feature a special question and answer session from Dale Inman, Rusty Wallace and Leonard Wood. The MIS Charity Dinner will benefit both the Henry Ford Allegiance Health Foundation Patient Immediate Needs Fund and the MIS Cares Fund.
Fans can find more information or purchase tickets to the MIS Charity Dinner presented by Consumers Energy at www.mispeedway.com/charitydinneror by calling 888-905-7223.