--This article originally appeared on June 18, 2009
For all of you Birkenstock-wearing, tree-hugging hippies out there, forget about what you know about Michigan International Speedway. Forget about what nasty stuff comes out of those cars flying around the track. Forget about the stereotypical NASCAR fan. Focus on the $17 million green renovation MIS just underwent and all of the sustainable features and practices that come with it.
"That's one of the great things about that is it brings attention to green initiatives," says Roger Curtis, president of
Michigan International Speedway. "It does go against the conventional wisdom."
MIS is adding 8,000 square feet of solar panels (provided by Auburn Hills-based Uni-Solar) on its 31 suites and media center. Those panels are expected to produce 70,000 kilowatts per hour of alternative energy that will be utilized by MIS, making it one of the largest producers of alternative energy in U.S. sports. MIS also has a recycling program and plans to add wind power next year.
This might seem like lipstick on a pig to the stereotypical lefty environmentalist, but Curtis says that there is less of a difference between those people and NASCAR fans than commonly meets the eye. He points out that a large cross section of NASCAR fans are conservationists in the Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir tradition who care deeply about the environment and doing the right thing.
"They might now wear a name tag that says I am an environmentalist but they are hunters, campers and rafters," Curtis says.
For example, he says that MIS started a recycling program last year but only in the the grandstand area. It left the campground area out of the equation at first, but people started demanding recycling options, too, almost immediately. Recycling is now offered throughout MIS.
"You have to start somewhere," Curtis says.
Source: Roger Curtis, president of Michigan International SpeedwayWriter: Jon Zemke
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