Busy off-season means big changes at I-96 Speedway this season

Busy off-season means big changes at I-96 Speedway this season

Steve Kaminski Skaminsk@mlive.com MLive.com

LAKE ODESSA, MI – I-96 Speedway’s 2012 season gets under way Saturday at 7 p.m., although the action really never stopped once the checkered flag dropped on last year.
“We have moved about 8,000 pounds of dirt,” I-96 owner Mike Mouch said about all of the renovations that have occurred during the off-season at the raceway, which features three-eighths and half-mile dirt ovals.

• Remember the cement backstretch wall officials put up about three years ago? That has been torn down, so the only wall that remains can be found along the frontstretch.
“When you came out of (turn) two, (the wall) comes up on you real fast, and it ate cars up,” Mouch said. “With this economy, you put cars into the wall, the guys don’t have the money to fix them. Now you can drive off the track without tearing your car up.”

• Officials also have built a motocross track that has been spread out in the infield, and it will incorporate turns three and four. A pro-am has been scheduled for Aug. 11, and it will be open Tuesdays, Thursdays and every other Sunday for practice beginning in May.
“The motocross course is going to be huge,” Mouch said. “Motocross is going to attract a younger crowd for us, and it’s going to give them something to do. There aren’t a whole lot of things for kids to do in this area, so they will come in and take advantage of this.”

• The three-eighths mile oval has been revamped. Look for the World of Outlaws to tackle the three-eighths mile when it returns to Lake Odessa June 2, instead of the half-mile like it has raced in the past.

“We have built up the backstretch by about eight feet, and we have extended the backs in turn one and four and raised the frontstretch banking by a couple of feet and widened it out,” Mouch said. “I think the World of Outlaws show will be a lot better. The passing and racing will be a lot better. And with the configuration of the track, they should be wide open all the way around.”

I-96 will open the season with the 7th annual Icebreaker, featuring the track’s weekly UMP Super Late Models, Modifieds, Street Stocks and Sport Compacts. Drivers to watch this season include defending Late Model champion Tom Sprague Jr, while Jacob Poel returns to defend his Modified title.

Popular touring series from years past will be back. The track is hosting the Michigan Dirt Cup Late Model Tour on May 19 and June 30, while the Michigan Modified Dirt Cup Modifieds Tour is back July 28. The AMA Grand National is slated for July 14, and the UMP Summer Nationals Hell Tour is June 24. In addition, the USAC Sprints are scheduled to race on Aug. 10.

Here’s what’s going on at other West Michigan tracks this weekend.

BERLIN RACEWAY
Berlin’s Super Late Model class will make its 2012 debut 7 p.m. Saturday. The program will include Super Stocks, Modifieds, Sportsman and 4 Cylinder cars.

CRYSTAL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
The SOD Sprints will join Crystal’s Late Models, Pro Stocks, Pro Trucks, IMCA Modifieds and Factory Stocks at 7:30 p.m.
U.S. 131 MOTORSPORTS PARK
Drivers will have one more test-and-tune session on Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. before weekly points racing opens May 5.