Penske Motorsports 1999 Schedule Features New Races
27 October 1998
Penske Motorsports 1999 Schedule Features New Races, NASCAR Craftsman Trucks At Michigan and NASCAR Winston Cup and Busch Together at California Speedway
DETROIT, Oct. 27 -- A NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at
Michigan Speedway in July, a combination NASCAR Winston Cup and Busch weekend
at California Speedway in May, and USAC Silver Crown's return to Nazareth
Speedway highlight the 1999 Penske Motorsports, Inc. (PMI)
schedule, according to PMI President Greg Penske.
"We're very excited about our enhanced schedule and the new opportunities
it creates," said Penske. "We look forward to hosting over one million guests
next year at our speedways. Our 1999 schedule brings the very best in
motorsports to a national audience. Bringing world class motorsports
entertainment to our facilities, which are located near some of the country's
largest markets, further demonstrates the growth of our company."
Michigan Speedway will host its first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race
as part of the U.S. 500 Presented by Toyota weekend July 23-25. The NASCAR
trucks and the open-wheel champ cars of the CART FedEx Championship Series
also will be together in late October at California Speedway for the Marlboro
500 Presented by Toyota weekend. California Speedway and Michigan Speedway
are the only two-mile superspeedways where NASCAR trucks compete.
California Speedway will host a NASCAR tripleheader weekend -- the Winston
Cup, Busch and Winston West series -- on April 29-May 2 for the California 500
Presented by NAPA. It will be the first time that Winston Cup and the Busch
Series have visited the track on the same weekend.
Also new to the PMI schedule in 1999 is the running of the USAC Silver
Crown Series (to be named the Coors Light Silver Bullet Series in 1999) along
with the NASCAR trucks at Nazareth Speedway on July 16-18. The Silver Crown
Series, USAC's elite series, will compete at Nazareth for the first time since
1983. Gary Bettenhausen won a 100-mile race in March of 1983 on the dirt
track of the old Nazareth National Speedway, and Jimmy Horton a 50-mile race
in July. PMI purchased the track in 1986 and began an extensive renovation
project, which included paving the one-mile oval.
"We think we have put together an exciting and diverse combination of
races, giving race fans a variety of the top motorsports series in the
country," Penske said. "We're offering some unique combination events in 1999
which race fans won't find anyplace else."
The 1999 PMI race schedule begins February 20-21 with the NASCAR Winston
Cup and Busch Series races at North Carolina Speedway and concludes Nov. 14
with the inaugural NASCAR Winston Cup race at the Miami-Dade Homestead
Motorsports Complex. PMI owns and operates California Speedway, Michigan
Speedway, Nazareth Speedway, North Carolina Speedway and holds a 45-percent
interest in the Miami-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex. The South Florida
motorsports facility kicks off the 1999 FedEx Championship Series on March 21.
The NASCAR trucks will run in conjunction with the champ cars on March 20.
In all, there are 31 races slated for the 1999 PMI schedule covering 11
weekends, highlighted by six NASCAR Winston Cup, six NASCAR Busch Series, four
CART FedEx Championship Series and four NASCAR Truck Series races.
Penske Matorsports, Inc. (PMI) is a leading promoter and marketer of
professional motorsports in the United States. PMI owns and operates the
following facilities through its wholly owned subsidiaries: Michigan Speedway
in Brooklyn, Michigan; Nazareth Speedway in Nazareth, Pennsylvania; California
Speedway in San Bernardino County, California; and North Carolina Speedway
near Rockingham, North Carolina. PMI also holds a 45% interest in Homestead-
Miami Speedway, LLC, near Miami, Florida. In addition, PMI produces and
markets motorsports-related merchandise and accessories such as apparel,
souvenirs and collectibles through its subsidiary, Motorsports International
Corp.; and a subsidiary of PMI distributes and sells Goodyear brand racing
tires in the Midwest and Southeast regions of the United States.
Penske Motorsports' major shareholder is a majority-owned subsidiary of
Penske Corporation, a closely-held, diversified transportation services
company which conducts its business through a number of wholly or
partially-owned companies, including Penske Truck Leasing Company, Detroit
Diesel Corporation, Diesel Technology Company, Penske Automotive Group, Inc.,
Penske Auto Centers, Inc., and Penske Capital Partners. The Penske group of
businesses has annual revenues exceeding $6 billion and employs more than
28,000 around the world.
Penske Motorsports Tentative 1999 Schedule
DATE EVENT SPEEDWAY
February 20 NASCAR Busch Series North Carolina
February 2l NASCAR Winston Cup North Carolina
March 20 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Miami-Homestead+
March 21 PPG Dayton Indy Lights Miami-Homestead+
March 21 CART FedEx Series Miami-Homestead+
May 1 NASCAR Winston West California
May 1 NASCAR Busch Series California
May 1 KOOL/Toyota Atlantic Nazareth
May 2 NASCAR Winston Cup California
May 2 PPG-Dayton Indy Lights Nazareth
May 2 CART FedEx Series Nazareth
May 23 NASCAR Busch Series Nazareth
May 23 NASCAR Modified Tour Nazareth
June 12 IROC Michigan
June 12 ARCA Michigan
June 13 NASCAR Winston Cup Michigan
July 17 USAC Silver Bullet Nazareth
July 18 NASCAR Busch-North Nazareth
July 18 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Nazareth
July 24 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Michigan
July 25 PPG-Dayton Indy Lights Michigan
July 25 CART FedEx Series Michigan
August 21 NASCAR Busch Series Michigan
August 22 NASCAR Winston Cup Michigan
October 23 NASCAR Busch Series North Carolina
October 24 NASCAR Winston Cup North Carolina
October 30 NASCAR Craftsman Truck California
October 31 PPG-Dayton Indy Lights California
October 31 CART FedEx Series California
November 13 NASCAR Busch Series Miami-Homestead+
November 14 NASCAR Winston Cup Miami-Homestead+
** Race times and television/cable coverage will be added to the schedule
at a later date. Other races could be added to the schedule.
+ PMI owns a 45-percent interest in Miami-Homestead Motorsports Complex