The road to Victory Lane at Michigan is no longer guarded by Kevin Harvick.

Six of Harvick's career wins came at Michigan International Speedway, with five of those between 2018-22. But Harvick retired after last season and that's good news for a bunch of racers who badly need a win with just three races remaining in the regular season.

A win at Michigan wouldn't just bring relief for a driver currently outside the playoff cutoff, but would put the winner on a rather distinguished roll call of winners at the speedy track.

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∎ Michigan International Speedway is part of NASCAR’s track-ownership portfolio. The sanctioning body’s former track-ownership arm, International Speedway Corp., took over track operation in 1999 from Roger Penske, who practically plucked the speedway off the “clearance rack” for a reported $2 million in 1972. Four years earlier, local developer Lawrence H. LoPatin built the place for between $4-6 million.

∎ The 2-mile, D-shaped oval is banked at 18 degrees in the turns and 12 degrees at the start-finish line. It was designed and engineered by Charles H. Moneypenny, the former City of Daytona Beach municipal engineer who also helped Bill France Sr. design and build Daytona International Speedway.

∎ When you think Michigan and automobiles, you think Detroit.  In earlier years, when the manufacturer wars were more heated in auto racing, every Michigan race — in stock cars or Indy-cars — was considered a major event, given the proximity of the Big Three automakers. The track is located 70 miles west of Detroit, in the little hamlet of Cambridge Township.

∎ All of the above sits within the Southeast Michigan area known as the Irish Hills, so named for the influx of Irish immigrants in the mid-1800s.

∎ The track’s closest restaurant is within walking distance on Highway 12. At Harold’s Place, you can get all the best American comfort foods, from the biscuit-and-gravy breakfast to a perch sandwich for lunch to a dinner of fried chicken or pot roast.

∎ The first big-league racing event at Michigan was a 250-mile Indy-car race in 1968. Ronnie Bucknum claimed his one and only career victory, finishing a lap ahead of the runner-up — some guy named Mario Andretti.

∎ It's not just racing at Michigan. Since 2013, the track has also been host to the annual country music jamboree, Faster Horses. Among this summer's headliners was Jelly Roll and, in a nod to the Baby Boomers, Sawyer Brown.

∎ Of the first 46 NASCAR Cup Series races held at Michigan, from 1969-92, all but one was won by a future NASCAR Hall of Famer. The exception came in 1970 when Chargin’ Charlie Glotzbach hardly had to charge to victory. The final nine laps were run under caution after Cale Yarborough blew an engine in his No. 21 Ford. Nine laps down at the end, Cale still finished 10th.

∎ David Pearson’s nine Michigan wins is the most of any NASCAR racer. Bill Elliott’s 61 career starts there is also a record.

∎ Hard to think of Michigan without thinking of Ernie Irvan and the emotional swings he brought to the track. In 1994, at the height of his career, he crashed during a morning practice and was practically given up for dead with a massive head injury. He not only lived through the night, which was originally doubtful, but returned to racing the next year. Two years later, at Michigan, he earned the 15th and final win of his career.

∎ It wasn’t over for Ernie Irvan at Michigan. Two years after his final win, and five years to the day of his original life-threatening crash, he wrecked again at Michigan during Busch Series practice. The injuries were bad yet not as severe as those in 1994. However, two weeks later, he announced his retirement.

∎ Michigan is also largely responsible for turning Chip Ganassi into a full-time team owner. His 1984 crash there, at age 26, derailed his promising IndyCar career.

∎ ARCA has been racing at Michigan continuously since 1980. The list of winners includes a Keselowski (Bob), Earnhardt (Kerry), Wallace (Steve) and Kenseth (Ross).

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR Michigan past from Pearson to Harvick to ... Jelly Roll