NASCAR returning to Memphis

NASCAR returning to Memphis: NASCAR will resurrect its relationship with Memphis International Raceway in 2017 as the NASCAR K&N Series has confirmed a date to run at the famed ¾-mile tri-oval short track on June 3, 2017. The monumental announcement brings a NASCAR sanctioned event back to MIR after an eight-year absence from the Mid-South region. NASCAR and MIR have a storied history that dates back to September 1998 when the facility hosted its first-ever NASCAR event. A sold-out crowd and a national television audience, witnessed the NASCAR Truck Series Memphis 200 on that day. NASCAR returned every year since the inaugural event with two races-the Truck Series in the summer, and the Xfinity Series in the fall. Brad Keselowski won the October 24, 2009 event at the oval by holding off Kyle Busch to the finish line on the 11th and final annual racing event at MIR. Former owners, Dover Motorsports, Inc. announced the closure of the Memphis track, a week after that race. IRG Sports + Entertainment (IRGSE), a TPG Specialty Lending company, purchased the track formerly named Memphis Motorsports Park in 2010 and has been running a full-time schedule at its championship drag strip throughout the reopening of the facility. The tri-oval has hosted various sanctioned events on a limited basis since it reopened and is home to the Rusty Wallace Racing Experience. With the return of NASCAR to MIR, the facility will undergo some minor renovations and safety updates to prepare for the NASCAR K&N Series debut in 2017.(Memphis International Raceway)(12-20-2016)