MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY NOTES
Saturday, August 5 – NASCAR XFINITY Series, 3:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
Sunday, August 6 – NASCAR Cup Series, 2:30 p.m. ET (USA)
There is no track on the NASCAR circuit that Ford has been more successful at than Michigan International Speedway, which is where the NASCAR Cup and NASCAR Xfinity Series will be racing this weekend. Ford has won eight straight Cup races at the facility and 43 overall, which is the most for the manufacturer at any track.
FORD ALL-TIME MICHIGAN WINS LEADER
No manufacturer has had more success at Michigan International Speedway than Ford, which comes into this weekend looking to extend an eight-race winning streak. Since the track opened in 1969 there have been 105 NASCAR Cup Series races and Ford Motor Company has won more than half of them (52%). Overall, the company has 55 MIS victories with 43 being Ford and 12 Mercury. David Pearson is the track’s all-time leader in wins with nine (all Mercury) while Bill Elliott has the most Ford wins with seven.
FORD LOOKS TO EXTEND MIS WIN STREAK TO NINE
Ford comes into Sunday’s scheduled race having won the last eight series races at the two-mile facility with five of the last seven coming courtesy of Kevin Harvick. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver became the first driver in NASCAR history to win races on back-to-back days at the same track when he did it during the weekend doubleheader in 2020. Ryan Blaney continued the streak in 2021 when he held off William Byron and Kyle Larson while Harvick snapped a 65-race winless drought with last year’s win. Here’s a look at Ford’s current winning streak:
YEAR – DRIVER
2018 – Clint Bowyer (1) and Kevin Harvick (2)
2019 – Joey Logano (1) and Kevin Harvick (2)
2020 – Kevin Harvick (1 and 2)
2021 – Ryan Blaney
2022 – Kevin Harvick
HERITAGE TROPHY SUCCESS
Since Michigan International Speedway began handing out the Heritage Trophy to the winning manufacturer in August 2013, Ford has taken it back to World Headquarters in nearby Dearborn more times than any other manufacturer. Ford has won 10 races since the trophy came into existence while Chevrolet has won six and Toyota one.
Kevin Harvick: “I know how much Edsel and everybody at Ford enjoys winning at Michigan, and I know the emphasis that comes from the car and I know that Doug and his group put a lot of emphasis on that and that comes straight from the top because when you go to Michigan you want to be able to take that manufacturer trophy home and put it in your facility until next year. Fortunately, for us, Michigan has just been a racetrack that we’ve had a lot of success at and with the emphasis that Ford has put on that and you add that to what Stewart-Haas Racing does with the race cars, it’s been a track that hasn’t been topped by many other tracks and it comes at an important racetrack for Ford and its brand.”
Brad Keselowski: “Racing in Michigan is special because of the fact of how close it is to all the OEMs and all the people that work on the lines or work in the corporate offices and make things happen in the OEM world. That makes it really, really special and any success you have in front of them means the world.”
Ryan Blaney: “When we won in Michigan in 2021 Edsel Ford was there, so that was super cool to have him there in Victory Lane with me and to keep the Heritage Trophy at Ford’s headquarters. That’s something we take a lot of pride in and that was a cool moment. I talked to Edsel a little bit before that day, and he told, ‘I’ll see you in victory lane.’ I think the first thing I said to him was, ‘Well, I guess you were right. You told me so.’ It was super cool. Obviously, Michigan is so important for Ford to win there right in Ford’s backyard, and then to have Edsel there was just like the cherry on top.”
Aric Almirola: “I’m excited because I thought we had a good tire test there. Michigan has been a great racetrack for Ford over the years, so I’m looking forward to going to Michigan. I think we should have an opportunity there. Kevin won last year, so it’s not gonna be easy, but I think Ford has always figured out how to find a way to get to victory lane, so I would love for that to be our opportunity.”
TEAM PENSKE REGISTERS 50TH WIN WITH FORD
Joey Logano started and won from the pole for the second time in his career at Michigan International Speedway when he captured the June race in 2016. Logano finished ahead of Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson with Penske teammate Brad Keselowski ending up fourth. The new aerodynamic package, promising to produce lower downforce, didn’t disappoint as there were 14 lead changes with Logano leading six times for 138 total laps. The win gave Team Penske its 50th Cup win with Ford and produced the 100th victory for Roush Yates Engines in the NASCAR Cup Series.
MERCURY AND FORD SWEEP MIS OPENING SEASON
Ford Motor Co. swept the inaugural season of NASCAR Cup Series races at Michigan International Speedway in 1969 when Cale Yarborough (Mercury) and David Pearson (Ford) took turns going to victory lane. Yarborough won an intense battle in the track opener on June 15 after passing Lee Roy Yarbrough with three laps to go to take the Wood Brothers to victory lane. That capped a finish which saw Yarborough, Pearson and Yarbrough swap the lead 20 times over the final 146 laps. The second date took place on Aug. 17 and this time it was Pearson and Holman-Moody taking the checkered flag. Pearson sat on the pole and led 79 of the 165 laps completed. The race, which was originally scheduled to be a 600-mile event, was halted at that point and declared official due to rain. Pearson went on to win a record nine times at MIS, which puts him as the speedway’s all-time NCS winner.
FOUR STRAIGHT FOR AWESOME BILL
Bill Elliott is the only driver to win four straight NASCAR Cup Series races at Michigan International Speedway, sweeping both events in 1985 and ’86, and he capped that impressive streak in dominating fashion. Elliott led 125-of-200 laps on Aug. 17, 1986 to beat Tim Richmond to the finish line and win the Champion Spark Plug 400. Elliott went on to win seven career races at MIS and currently ranks third on the all-time list, trailing only David Pearson (9) and Cale Yarborough (8).
JARRETT WINS FIRST CUP RACE
Dale Jarrett registered his first NASCAR Cup Series victory in memorable fashion at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 18, 1991. Jarrett, who was in his second season driving for the Wood Brothers, found himself in a furious battle with Davey Allison, who stalked him over the final dozen laps in his No. 28 Texaco Havoline Thunderbird. Allison made a move to the outside coming off turn four and got alongside Jarrett as the two took the white flag together. They took turns exchanging the lead, but never left each other’s side. As they came off turn four both Fords made contact, but it was Jarrett who ended up edging Allison by eight inches at the finish line.
BIFFLE WINS FORD’S 1,000TH
Greg Biffle posted Ford’s 1,000th NASCAR victory when he took the checkered flag on June 16, 2013 in the Quicken Loans 400. The milestone win, which included combined victories in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck, NASCAR XFINITY and NASCAR Cup Series, was Biffle’s second straight at MIS and fourth overall.
HERITAGE TROPHY FIRST
When Joey Logano won the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 18, 2013 it represented his first win with Ford and new car owner Roger Penske. But it also marked the first time the speedway awarded the Michigan Heritage trophy, which goes to the winning manufacturer of every NASCAR Cup Series race at MIS. Logano, who won the pole and led a race-high 51 laps, passed Mark Martin for the lead with four laps to go after Martin’s car ran out of gas.
MEMORABLE WEEKEND FOR MARTIN
NASCAR made its second trip of the 1993 season to Michigan in August and resulted in Mark Martin completing a sweep for Ford. Martin kicked off the weekend by leading 92-of-100 laps in his Jack Roush Ford Thunderbird to give Ford its first series win at MIS. He followed that up by leading 81 laps the following day to capture the Cup Series race as well.
DOUBLE DUTY DOMINANCE
Mark Martin and Carl Edwards are the only Ford drivers to win multiple series races at Michigan. Edwards was first victorious in 2008, and his 2011 performance gave Ford its most recent victory. Edwards completed the pass on fellow Ford racer Ricky Stenhouse Jr. during a long green-flag run with eight laps remaining. While Edwards held on for the win, Stenhouse Jr. leapt to the top of the leaderboard – ultimately helping Ford to its third series manufacturers’ championship. Both Martin (1993) and Edwards (2008) have another commonality – winning both series races on the same weekend.
FORD’S NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS AT MICHIGAN
1969 – David Pearson (2)
1984 – Bill Elliott (1)
1985 – Bill Elliott (Sweep)
1986 – Bill Elliott (Sweep)
1987 – Bill Elliott (2)
1988 – Davey Allison (2)
1989 – Bill Elliott (1)
1990 – Mark Martin (2)
1991 – Davey Allison and Dale Jarrett
1992 – Davey Allison (1)
1993 – Mark Martin (2)
1994 – Rusty Wallace and Geoffrey Bodine
1996 – Rusty Wallace and Dale Jarrett
1997 – Ernie Irvan and Mark Martin
1998 – Mark Martin (1)
1999 – Dale Jarrett (1)
2000 – Rusty Wallace (2)
2002 – Matt Kenseth and Dale Jarrett
2003 – Kurt Busch (1)
2004 – Greg Biffle (2)
2005 – Greg Biffle (1)
2006 – Matt Kenseth (2)
2007 – Carl Edwards (1)
2008 – Carl Edwards (2)
2012 – Greg Biffle (2)
2013 – Greg Biffle and Joey Logano
2016 – Joey Logano (1)
2018 – Clint Bowyer (1) and Kevin Harvick (2)
2019 – Joey Logano (1) and Kevin Harvick (2)
2020 – Kevin Harvick (Sweep)
2021 – Ryan Blaney
2022 – Kevin Harvick
FORD’S NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS AT MICHIGAN
1993 – Mark Martin
1995 – Mark Martin
1998 – Jeff Burton
2001 – Ryan Newman
2008 – Carl Edwards
2011 – Carl Edwards
