Martinsville Speedway
Circuit info:
- Address:
Martinsville Speedway
PO Box 3311
Martinsville
VA 24115
USA- PH:
- (1) 540 956-3151
- Fax:
- (1) 540 956-2820
- Circuit length:
- 0.526 miles/0.846 km
- Circuit type:
- Permanent oval course
Circuit history:
Opened in 1947 under the direction of H. Clay Earles, Martinsville Speedway is a unique short track. Today, the speedway - located near the North Carolina border - has some of NASCAR's deepest roots. The .526-mile asphalt speedway, built as a dirt track in 1955, has grown from a dusty, rough-hewn operation into one of the most beautiful and modern racing facilities around.
Martinsville now covers more than 300 acres, seats more than 70,000 people and has become a multi-million dollar facility. The track has six corporate suites, a chalet village for tent entertainment, a 115-seat press box, high-rise grandstands, free parking and a fully staffed infield medical centre.
The evolution of the facility has been immeasurable, but in many ways it still retains all the personality and flavour it had when Red Byron won the first race there in 1947. Martinsville is a driver's track where exchanging paint is common and no car completes an event without being fully tested. The same is true of the drivers who keep coming back year after year.
The circuit is now owned by the International Speedway Corporation, which bought the facility in 2004.
