A cooler atmosphere in Michigan

At a time when wallets are tight and expendable income is shrinking, why in the world would anyone alienate their guests and potential guests?

Michigan International Speedway boss Roger Curtis doesn’t know either and has vowed to never undercut loyal guests of the race track.

“Contrary to what some race promoters think, NASCAR isn’t Macy’s,” he said. “We don’t try to get rid of inventory at the expense of our most loyal guests. And for all the new race fans out there, simply dumping tickets at cut-rate prices is not practiced at every racetrack, and shouldn’t be. So don’t be fooled.”

In fact, Curtis is so passionate about it he is willing to offer any race fan with a NASCAR Sprint Cup ticket from other racetracks automatic renewal privileges and pricing for 2012 races at the track. That’s right, MIS practices what it preaches and in a big way.

The speedway introduced tiered pricing two years ago, ensuring race fans who renew will always get the lowest prices guaranteed.

The average ticket price at Michigan International Speedway hasn’t been this low since Dale Earnhardt won the Daytona 500 in 1998. Back then, as it is today, the average price of a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race ticket at MIS is $56.

Of course, race fans at MIS who purchased when tickets went on sale paid $20 for a general admission ticket and $35 for a reserved seat.

Race fans who waited until race day, saw general admission tickets increase to $30 and reserved seats $39 – still low by circuit standards, but not lower than what loyal renewing customers paid.

So any race fan who wants to receive information about 2012 tickets to MIS need only to send a race ticket from any 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup race with mailing address and contact details to MIS, and you will receive an invitation to buy tickets for 2012. You can even fax us a copy to 517-592-8445 or send us an e-mail to [email protected]. You’ll automatically receive a renewal invitation in October for 2012 at MIS.

And that’s not all! The speedway also increased its cooler and bag sizes, allowing fans to bring even more of their favorite food and beverages through the gates. Guests can bring a 10x10x12-inch soft-sided cooler and an 18x18x4-inch bag or lightweight backpack with all their race-day treats. Two!

“Our research tells us a lot. And nowhere in any of our surveys has a race fan ever told us that they don’t want to bring coolers to the track,” Curtis said. “In fact, we are doing everything we can to make sure NASCAR is differentiated from other sports in that you can still bring in food and beverages. That’s how it was when Bill France started NASCAR in 1947 – and that’s how it is today.

“We have too much respect for our guests and for this sport to tell a fan who has chosen to spend his hard-earned dollars on a race ticket at MIS to leave his food and drink at home. Period.”

MIS PR