By Staff
BROOKLYN - Only 10 days remain until the start of the 2006 race season at Michigan International Speedway.
Tickets are still available for the 3M Performance 400 presented by Post-it® Picture Paper on Sunday, June 18, along with all events at MIS during Father's Day weekend, including the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Con-way Freight 200 on Saturday, June 17 and the ARCA RE/MAX Series Hantz Group 200 on Friday, June 16.
Fans can purchase tickets by logging on to www.MISpeedway.com , or by calling the MIS ticket hotline at 1-800-354-1010. The MIS ticket hotline is open from 9:00 A.M. - 9:00 P.M. seven days a week.
As we count down the days, here are 10 facts, one for each day, as the beginning of the MIS race season quickly approaches.
10 - In six starts at MIS, Carl Edwards has never finished out of the top 10. Last year, he finished fifth and fourth, respectively, in the June and August NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races, and also had a third-place finish in the NASCAR Busch Series. Edwards finished 10th at MIS in the first NEXTEL Cup start of his career in August 2004 and also has two top-10's in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to his credit.
9 - Erin Crocker will drive the No. 98 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in the June 17 Con-way Freight 200. The race will be her first at MIS in the Craftsman Truck Series. Crocker will also race in the ARCA RE/MAX Series Hantz Group 200 on Friday, where she placed seventh last season to become the second-highest female finisher in MIS history.
8 - Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #8 Budweiser Chevrolet, will run a special Father's Day paint scheme for the 3M Performance 400. The paint scheme is based upon the No. 8 cars driven by his grandfather, Ralph Earnhardt, and father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., during their NASCAR careers. On August 20, 2000, Earnhardt Jr., Earnhardt Sr. and Kerry Earnhardt all raced in the NASCAR Cup Series race at MIS. It was the only time in history that all three raced together in NASCAR competition. They finished 31st, 6th and 43rd, respectively.
7 - Seven-time ARCA RE/MAX Series champion Frank Kimmel comes to MIS for Friday's Hantz Group 200. In June 2005, Kimmel won the Hantz Group 200 in a 1.733-second decision over Chad Blount to notch his second MIS victory.
* See No. 6-1 in Friday's Daily Star