Martinsville Speedway

Martinsville Speedway stands as the oldest active track in NASCAR, located in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. This historic circuit opened in 1947 and has hosted NASCAR Cup Series races every year since the division began in 1949. NASCAR owns the facility, and Clay Campbell serves as track president. The track's distinctive shape has earned it the nickname "The Paperclip." Fans and drivers respect Martinsville for its challenging layout and rich racing history.

Track Layout and Dimensions

Martinsville measures 0.526 miles (847 meters), making it the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The oval circuit features a paperclip shape with four turns and two 800-foot straightaways. The turns have 12 degrees of banking (some sources report 11 degrees), while the straightaways remain flat. This configuration forces drivers to brake hard for corners after reaching high speeds on the straights. The track surface combines asphalt on the straightaways and upper lanes of the corners with concrete in the lower lanes of the turns. The concrete sections, introduced in 1976 after 21 years of constant repaving, resist wear better than asphalt under racing conditions and winter weather. In 1969, NASCAR changed the official track length from 0.5 miles to 0.526 miles due to a new measurement system.

Historical Development

H. Clay Earles, Henry Lawrence, and Sam Rice built Martinsville Speedway in 1947 as a dirt track. Red Byron won the first race on September 7, 1947. The first NASCAR-sanctioned event occurred on July 4, 1948. The track underwent a major change in 1955 when workers paved the dirt surface with asphalt. Workers installed a $5 million permanent LED lighting system in 2017, which enabled night racing for all major series. Recent improvements have focused on fan experience. In 2018, the speedway added the "SkyDeck" above the press box in Turns 1 and 2 and introduced "The Brake Pad" seating area near Turn 3. In 2022, the facility removed some lower concrete grandstands in Turns 1 and 2 and replaced them with grass berms to create additional fan interaction areas. These changes reduced seating capacity from 55,000 to less than 44,000.

Racing Events and Records

Martinsville hosts two triple-header NASCAR race weekends each year in spring and fall. These weekends feature the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Cup Series races include the Cook Out 400 and Xfinity 500. The fall Cup Series race serves as a critical playoff event that determines the Championship 4 contenders for the season finale. The track also hosts the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, which is NASCAR's largest Late Model Stock Car race. Richard Petty holds the record for most wins at Martinsville with 15 victories.

Unique Features and Traditions

Since 1964, winners at Martinsville receive a grandfather clock instead of a trophy. This tradition honors the local furniture industry. Martinsville's famous hot dogs have become a celebrated part of the race day experience. The track's compact size creates close-quarters racing where drivers must show patience and skill to succeed. The pit road spans both straightaways due to limited space, adding a strategic element to races at this historic venue.