Earl Flynn
08-06-2010, 08:09 AM
That's the good news..... The bad news is that you gotta keep it under 70MPH, can't pass anyone else on the track and keep pace with the pace car..
http://www.freep.com/article/20100806/SPORTS16/8060309
There's a video in the link as well
Posted: Aug. 6, 2010 | Updated: 3:01 a.m. today
That's racin' (video)
Fans take turns around MIS: 'That was absolutely awesome'
BY MIKE BRUDENELL
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
Read more: Fans take turns around MIS: 'That was absolutely awesome' | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?Dato=20100806&Kategori=SPORTS16&Lopenr=8060309&Ref=AR&template=fullarticle#ixzz0vpp1nmFs
BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Mary Lou Zaums threw her hands in the air as she crossed the start/finish line at Michigan International Speedway on Wednesday.
Standing on the infield grass, several of her grandkids clapped and shouted wildly.
You'd have thought Zaums had won a NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
In fact, Mary Lou wasn't even at the wheel of the black Pontiac Solstice roadster that had just completed a half-dozen laps on the storied 2-mile oval in the Irish Hills. In the driver's seat was her husband, Pete Zaums, who'd negotiated the racetrack in fine style.
"That was priceless," said Mary Lou, 65. "That was Cedar Point squared."
The Zaums were among about 20 drivers who spent lunchtime Wednesday at MIS lapping the track. They had signed up for three laps at $25, with proceeds going to local charities, but got way more from an obliging speedway staff.
Even with light rain falling at one point, the couple from Lambertville kept their car off the wall, sneaking in several laps at well over 70 m.p.h., the advertised allowable top speed.
"I always wanted to be a race car driver," said Pete, 66. "My uncle owned race cars, so there were plenty of engines and parts around when I was growing up."
Pete may have missed his calling, but says he enjoys driving his Solstice, which doesn't have the sheer grunt of a Cup car but is fast and agile. It had enough punch on the high banks of MIS.
"My wife tells me I drive too fast in it," said Pete. "I was holding back today."
Not according to Mary Lou. "He wasn't obeying the rules," she said. "He was trying to pass cars on every lap."
In Ford Capris, Mustangs, BMWs, Chevy pickups, Nissans, Camaros and Firebirds, drivers took to MIS for a special day, akin to a fan playing a tennis set at Flushing Meadows or throwing batting practice at Comerica Park.
Engaged couple Richard Bofysil and Becky Dixon, both of Jackson, took the opportunity of a lifetime to run laps at MIS along with the Zaums and others. Race fans like them can drive their street cars at MIS on allotted days throughout August and into September.
Bofysil was one of the first on track Wednesday in his big blue Dodge Ram 1500, with Dixon at the controls of her powerful black Ford Mustang GT.
"I've got a need for speed," said Bofysil, an avid Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan.
Dixon said she meant business before hitting the track. "I want to gas it," she laughed.
Bofysil or Dixon didn't try any bump drafting, but they had a blast anyway.
"That was absolutely awesome," said Bofysil, 39, a bakery production supervisor. "It was something I always wanted to do."
Asked how she rated the drive at MIS, Dixon, a client liaison representative for a collection agency, replied:
"That comes a pretty close second to the birth of my three children."
Cup cars run MIS at over 190 m.p.h., and Dixon said she couldn't imagine circling the track at that speed.
"At 70-80, I was pushing it," said Dixon, 48. "I couldn't believe the banking -- it was great up there. But 190 -- I can't even imagine it."
Next Sunday, Earnhardt and his fellow Cup drivers will run at over 200 m.p.h. on the back straight at Michigan when they compete in the Carfax 400.
"I'll be rooting for Junior -- he still has a chance to make the Chase," said Bofysil. "Wish I could run a lap like those Cup drivers here. But 80 -- that's fine, too."
Contact MIKE BRUDENELL: 313-222-2115 or mbrudenell@freepress.com. Read more in his auto racing blog at freep.com/racingblog.
Read more: Fans take turns around MIS: 'That was absolutely awesome' | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?Dato=20100806&Kategori=SPORTS16&Lopenr=8060309&Ref=AR&template=fullarticle#ixzz0vpoybnsG
RELATED INFORMATION
Drive MIS
What: Track lap program at MIS.
When: New August and September dates (earlier dates sold out): Aug. 26-27; Aug. 30-31; Sept. 1-2; Sept. 7; Sept. 13-17; Sept. 20-24; and Sept. 27-30. Noon until 1 p.m. each day.
Cost: $25 for three laps (additional laps available if time permits).
Reservations: Call 800-354-1010 or purchase tickets at MIS administration building at the track from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For more information, visit www.mispeedway.com/tracklaps.
http://www.freep.com/article/20100806/SPORTS16/8060309
There's a video in the link as well
Posted: Aug. 6, 2010 | Updated: 3:01 a.m. today
That's racin' (video)
Fans take turns around MIS: 'That was absolutely awesome'
BY MIKE BRUDENELL
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
Read more: Fans take turns around MIS: 'That was absolutely awesome' | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?Dato=20100806&Kategori=SPORTS16&Lopenr=8060309&Ref=AR&template=fullarticle#ixzz0vpp1nmFs
BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Mary Lou Zaums threw her hands in the air as she crossed the start/finish line at Michigan International Speedway on Wednesday.
Standing on the infield grass, several of her grandkids clapped and shouted wildly.
You'd have thought Zaums had won a NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
In fact, Mary Lou wasn't even at the wheel of the black Pontiac Solstice roadster that had just completed a half-dozen laps on the storied 2-mile oval in the Irish Hills. In the driver's seat was her husband, Pete Zaums, who'd negotiated the racetrack in fine style.
"That was priceless," said Mary Lou, 65. "That was Cedar Point squared."
The Zaums were among about 20 drivers who spent lunchtime Wednesday at MIS lapping the track. They had signed up for three laps at $25, with proceeds going to local charities, but got way more from an obliging speedway staff.
Even with light rain falling at one point, the couple from Lambertville kept their car off the wall, sneaking in several laps at well over 70 m.p.h., the advertised allowable top speed.
"I always wanted to be a race car driver," said Pete, 66. "My uncle owned race cars, so there were plenty of engines and parts around when I was growing up."
Pete may have missed his calling, but says he enjoys driving his Solstice, which doesn't have the sheer grunt of a Cup car but is fast and agile. It had enough punch on the high banks of MIS.
"My wife tells me I drive too fast in it," said Pete. "I was holding back today."
Not according to Mary Lou. "He wasn't obeying the rules," she said. "He was trying to pass cars on every lap."
In Ford Capris, Mustangs, BMWs, Chevy pickups, Nissans, Camaros and Firebirds, drivers took to MIS for a special day, akin to a fan playing a tennis set at Flushing Meadows or throwing batting practice at Comerica Park.
Engaged couple Richard Bofysil and Becky Dixon, both of Jackson, took the opportunity of a lifetime to run laps at MIS along with the Zaums and others. Race fans like them can drive their street cars at MIS on allotted days throughout August and into September.
Bofysil was one of the first on track Wednesday in his big blue Dodge Ram 1500, with Dixon at the controls of her powerful black Ford Mustang GT.
"I've got a need for speed," said Bofysil, an avid Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan.
Dixon said she meant business before hitting the track. "I want to gas it," she laughed.
Bofysil or Dixon didn't try any bump drafting, but they had a blast anyway.
"That was absolutely awesome," said Bofysil, 39, a bakery production supervisor. "It was something I always wanted to do."
Asked how she rated the drive at MIS, Dixon, a client liaison representative for a collection agency, replied:
"That comes a pretty close second to the birth of my three children."
Cup cars run MIS at over 190 m.p.h., and Dixon said she couldn't imagine circling the track at that speed.
"At 70-80, I was pushing it," said Dixon, 48. "I couldn't believe the banking -- it was great up there. But 190 -- I can't even imagine it."
Next Sunday, Earnhardt and his fellow Cup drivers will run at over 200 m.p.h. on the back straight at Michigan when they compete in the Carfax 400.
"I'll be rooting for Junior -- he still has a chance to make the Chase," said Bofysil. "Wish I could run a lap like those Cup drivers here. But 80 -- that's fine, too."
Contact MIKE BRUDENELL: 313-222-2115 or mbrudenell@freepress.com. Read more in his auto racing blog at freep.com/racingblog.
Read more: Fans take turns around MIS: 'That was absolutely awesome' | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?Dato=20100806&Kategori=SPORTS16&Lopenr=8060309&Ref=AR&template=fullarticle#ixzz0vpoybnsG
RELATED INFORMATION
Drive MIS
What: Track lap program at MIS.
When: New August and September dates (earlier dates sold out): Aug. 26-27; Aug. 30-31; Sept. 1-2; Sept. 7; Sept. 13-17; Sept. 20-24; and Sept. 27-30. Noon until 1 p.m. each day.
Cost: $25 for three laps (additional laps available if time permits).
Reservations: Call 800-354-1010 or purchase tickets at MIS administration building at the track from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For more information, visit www.mispeedway.com/tracklaps.