Martinsville Speedway

View from turn two bleachers
Location	340 Speedway Road, Martinsville, Virginia, 24112
Time zone	GMT-5
Capacity	65,000
Owner	International Speedway Corporation
Operator	International Speedway Corporation
Opened	1947
Major Events	NASCAR Sprint Cup Series NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
Oval
Surface	Asphalt/Concrete
Circuit Length	.534 mi (.847 km)
Turns	4
Banking	Turns 12° Straights 0°
Lap Record	0:18.746 (Greg Sacks, , 1986, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour)

Martinsville Speedway is an International Speedway Corporation-owned NASCAR stock car racing track located in Martinsville, Virginia. At 0.526 miles (847 meters) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved "speedways" in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. The track is often referred to as paper clip-shaped and is banked only 12° in the turns. The combination of long straightaways and flat, narrow turns makes hard braking going into turns and smooth acceleration exiting turns a must. The first NASCAR sanctioned event was held on July 4, 1949. In 1951, only 4 cars were running at the finish, the fewest of any race held at the speedway. The track was paved in 1955 and in 1956 it hosted its' first 500 lap event. In 1960, Richard Petty became the youngest winner at Martinsville, at 22 years, 9 months, 8 days, to date Petty has the most wins (15). In 1991, Harry Gant became the oldest winner at 51 years, 8 months, 12 days. It was Gant's fourth win in a row, earning him the nickhame Mr. September.

Ownership of the track was a joint venture of brothers Jim and Bill France, Jr., and H. Clay Earles, the majority owner, along with daughters Dorothy Campbell and Mary Weatherford, and Dorothy Campbell's children, Sarah Fain and Clay Campbell. In 2004, the track was sold exclusively to the France family for $192 million as a result of an estate sale following the death of Weatherford.

Plans had existed to add an additional 20,000 seats along the back stretch, boosting capacity to over 85,000 seats. In 2005-2006 the Norfolk Southern railroad behind the track was moved 200 feet to make way for the added seats, but nothing more has been officially mentioned regarding this by track management since the sale of the track to ISC.

From 1982 until 1994, and again in 2006, the speedway hosted Nationwide Series events. This occurred first with 200- and 150-lap features (200 laps for the two races with Whelen Modifieds, 150 laps with the September Winston/Nextel Cup race), then 300 laps from 1992 until 1994 as part of a Late Model/Busch Series doubleheader, and 250 laps in the one-off in 2006. The venue was dropped from the Busch Series schedule for 2007 and a race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal was run on the open date.

Currently, Martinsville hosts two Sprint Cup Series races - the Goody's Cool Orange 500 in April and the Subway 500 (race six in the Chase for the Sprint Cup) in October - along with Craftsman Truck Series, Whelen Modified Tour which is labor day weekend under the lights, and Late Model races. Winners of the Nextel Cup and Whelen Modified Tour events receive a longcase clock as a trophy, a nod to Martinsville's famous furniture industry.