{"id":42445,"date":"2023-04-11T10:50:34","date_gmt":"2023-04-11T15:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=42445"},"modified":"2023-04-26T16:07:01","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T21:07:01","slug":"75th-anniversary-feature-martinsville-speedway-has-been-making-memories-with-nascar-from-the-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2023\/04\/11\/75th-anniversary-feature-martinsville-speedway-has-been-making-memories-with-nascar-from-the-start\/","title":{"rendered":"Martinsville Speedway has been making memories with NASCAR from the start"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain<\/em><\/p>\n

NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Richard Petty\u2019s dominance and Darrell Waltrip\u2019s great run of success ultimately gave way to Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson\u2019s modern-day records of triumph on the half-mile \u201cpaperclip\u201d Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. And for all of its competitive challenges, Martinsville roasts a rare combination of sporting popularity \u2013 adored by fan and driver, alike.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

A general view of racing during the NASCAR Cup Series Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 at Martinsville Speedway on April 09, 2022 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

From the iconic Martinsville hot dogs served at concession stands on the property, to the high drama on track \u2013 from Red Byron\u2019s three-lap victory in the inaugural Martinsville NASCAR premier series race in 1949 to Ross Chastain\u2019s \u201cHail Melon\u201d last-lap, wall-hugging move to earn a position in the 2022 Championship 4 Round last Fall – so much of the action at Martinsville Speedway has become the stuff of NASCAR legend.<\/p>\n

There are a certain few race tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule that have not only survived the test of time, but provided hugely significant moments and milestones in the 75-year history of the sport. Martinsville Speedway, which hosts the NOCO 400 Sunday (3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is unquestionably in that category.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been hailed the \u201cHalf Mile of Mayhem\u201d but generally known as \u201cThe Paperclip\u201d for its long straightaways and tight, slightly banked corners. It\u2019s bright red \u201cMartinsville Hot Dogs\u201d \u2013 topped with mustard, chili, slaw and onions \u2013 are as famous as its one-of-a-kind trophy, the grandfather clock.<\/p>\n

It is the only current venue that has been on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule since NASCAR began and this week will host its 149th premier race.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was important to win that race and of course, I loved that track,” NASCAR Hall of Famer and 11-time Martinsville winner Darrell Waltrip said of his great success there. \u201cIt just meant the world to me to win there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose clocks are special. With the Azealia bushes that used to be there and parking on the back straightaway with the coaches, it\u2019s evolved, but it\u2019s still Martinsville, same old race track.\u201d<\/p>\n

Waltrip recalled a certain open-wheel champion, who was set to make his Martinsville debut, figuring the half-miler was going to be \u201ceasy\u201d compared to larger tracks on the NASCAR schedule.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember Juan Montoya went there and he said, \u2018this place looks like a piece of cake\u2019 and he went out and nearly wrecked and came back in and said, \u2018well it\u2019s not as easy as I thought it was going to be,\u2019 Waltrip said with a laugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told me one thing I always thought was a great observation, \u2018in like a lamb and off like a lion.\u2019 It looks easy, two long straightaways and two loops, it\u2019s a paperclip. But it\u2019s probably one of the most difficult tracks you\u2019ll ever go to.”<\/p>\n

That may explain a Martinsville trend. For generations, when a driver figured out how to win at Martinsville, he won so much the clocks filled their homes.<\/p>\n

Twelve drivers have won back-to-back races at Martinsville with NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson doing it three different times. Seven drivers have won three consecutive races at Martinsville, including current driver Denny Hamlin (2009-10).<\/p>\n

NASCAR\u2019s \u2018King\u2019 Richard Petty holds the all-time record for wins (15) and starts (67) at Martinsville. Waltrip\u2019s 11 trophies makes him the only other driver with double digit victories and his eight pole positions are most ever.<\/p>\n

Former Hendrick Motorsports teammates Gordon and Johnson each have nine wins at Martinsville. The Hall of Famer Gordon has an incredible mark of 38 top-10 finishes in 47 Martinsville starts \u2013 80.8 percent of the time he took the green flag, he finished among the top-10. Johnson leads all drivers with three victories from pole position.<\/p>\n

NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace has seven Martinsville wins while fellow Hall of Famers Cale Yarborough and Dale Earnhardt have six each. Morgan Shephard and the late John Andretti scored their first (Shephard) and final (Andretti) career wins at the track.<\/p>\n

Joe Gibbs Racing\u2019s Hamlin leads all active drivers with five Martinsville grandfather clocks to his name; the Virginia-raised driver winning three straight in the 2009-10 seasons. His JGR teammate Martin Truex Jr. has three victories and is the last driver to win back-to-back Martinsville races (2019-2020).<\/p>\n

Gordon, now an executive with Hendrick Motorsports, concedes it took a lot of work to learn the track and the art of victory there. He remembers his team making change after change to the car during the old days of testing, hoping to improve his lap times. But ultimately, he said, \u201cI realized maybe I need to start trying something different.”<\/p>\n

\u201cAt one particular test, I can\u2019t remember when exactly, all of a sudden something clicked and the next race we went to after that, I don\u2019t know if we won it, but I remember going, \u2018aha.\u2019 I\u2019d found something that was working.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause Martinsville is a track where aerodynamics aren\u2019t as important and horsepower is not as important and it\u2019s a track where over the years it\u2019s changed the least amount \u2013 up until this new car – if you found something you could do in your setup or driving, it would last and typically work most of the time,” Gordon continued. \u201cEven if a tire changed or something, it didn\u2019t change so drastically, you could still apply what you learned, and the team learned. You might have to adjust a little bit here and there and make it last a long time. For me, I was fortunate, I was able to make it work for a while.”<\/p>\n

Indeed, he did. And that kind of dedication to craft is something Waltrip whole-heartedly agrees made all the difference at Martinsville.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a drivers track,” Waltrip said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to have the best car, you just have to be the best driver.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes a lot of finesse and 500 laps around that joint, is a lot of laps so you have to learn how to pace yourself, what your car is capable of, know you\u2019ll have chances to work on the car and make it better. It\u2019s a race with a lot of strategy \u2013 it might not look like It, it looks like a short track where you beat and bang, but it\u2019s a race with a lot of strategy and I think the best driver always wins the races.”<\/p>\n

Although, arguably, it\u2019s the fans that walk away the biggest winners. It\u2019s no easy feat for a facility to stand the test of time and Martinsville Speedway certainly has.<\/p>\n

\u201cThankfully, it\u2019s the fans that make that happen,” Gordon said. \u201cFans enjoy what they\u2019re seeing and like the environment and the nostalgia of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see the incredible action it creates. In order to make a pass, you have to be daring and take risks. And when you do that, you might make a mistake and that mistake might turn into something that gets people on their feet. So, I get it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Richard Petty\u2019s dominance and Darrell Waltrip\u2019s great run of success ultimately gave way to Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson\u2019s modern-day records of triumph on the half-mile \u201cpaperclip\u201d Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. And for all of its competitive challenges, Martinsville roasts a rare combination of sporting popularity […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":38375,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[407,16],"class_list":["post-42445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-martinsville-speedway","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1390564614-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-b2B","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42445"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42567,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42445\/revisions\/42567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}