Chad Eby, President of Hermle NA and 1922 Commercial Furniture Co., Jeff Painter, vice president of 1922 Commercial Furniture Co., and Clay Campbell Martinsville Speedway president show off the new grandfather clock from Hermle that will be awared to winning drivers starting in 2026, Friday at Martinsville Speedway.
Greg Engle, Forbes
It’s a tradition in NASCAR that’s unmatched — one that sits somewhere between the absurd and the brilliant. Ask most race winners where they keep their trophies, and you’ll hear the usual: a glass case in the den, maybe their race shop or office.
Except if that trophy was earned at Martinsville.
There, winners don’t get a shiny cup or some sculpted chrome symbol of speed. They get furniture — a working grandfather clock. It ticks, it chimes, and it’s easily the most domestic thing ever awarded in motorsport.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell owns one — earned it when he won the fall race in 2022.
“It is actually the one trophy that I keep in the living room,” Bell said. “All my other trophies are either at my race shop or in my office.”
Bell smiles when he adds, “It’s a bit more home décor than the other trophies.”
It’s also the one his wife approves of.
“I think it’s kind of expected that we don’t have trophies in the living area, but then the Martinsville clock is a little bit different,” he said. “It’s a grandfather clock. But yeah, we have a pretty good place for it and there’s another perfect place for the second one, too.”
That “second one” might have to wait — and not just because Martinsville isn’t easy to win. Earlier this year, the company that built those iconic clocks, Ridgeway Clocks, announced it was shutting down. After 61 years of producing what might be the most famous timepiece in racing, the company founded in 1926 as The Gravely Furniture Company decided time had, quite literally, run out.
The culprit: the usual modern villains — tariffs, slumping housing markets, and an economy that seems allergic to craftsmanship. Suddenly, NASCAR’s most distinctive prize became an endangered species.
That left Martinsville Speedway in a predicament. Sure, the track is known for its elbows-out short track racing, but it’s equally famous for the trophy that stands taller than most crew chiefs.
Fortunately, in a rather fitting twist, time was on Martinsville’s side.
MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA – OCTOBER 30: Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 DeWalt Toyota, and his wife Morgan Bell celebrate in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 30, 2022 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
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On Friday, the speedway announced that a new company — Hermle North America — will take over as the official maker of the Martinsville grandfather clock trophy beginning in 2026.
The news was not only a relief for the track but also for Jeff Painter, vice president of 1922 Commercial Furniture Co., a subsidiary of Hermle. Painter is also a childhood friend of Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell, which gave this whole deal a small-town racing storybook feel.
In the 12 years Painter has been with the company, he’s had to watch his old friend hand out clocks made by someone else. When Ridgeway closed, he didn’t need a second to make the call.
For Campbell, Ridgeway’s closure was an unpleasant surprise — one that landed without warning.
“The conversation with Jeff and us happened the very next day,” Campbell said. “And then we started talking and then the whole company got involved with it and their executives like Chad (Chad Eby, President of Hermle NA and 1922 Commercial Furniture Co.).
“So, long story short, it was very brief once we made the connection… they sent over information, pictures of the clock, and we knew there that this is the right place to be.”
Painter admitted the news was bittersweet.
“Well, unfortunately, some folks had to lose their jobs when the other company closed,” he said. “So that’s not… it’s not a happy time by any means.
“But I had sent information to Clay a couple of times in the past,” he added with a smile. “No response. Busy guy.”
Eventually, persistence — and perhaps a bit of friendship — paid off.
“And you know the old saying, it’s not who you are, it’s who you know,” Campbell said. “I’ve known Jeff since he was a kid. We went to high school together and he knows me. So Jeff called and said, we make clocks. We may be the right fit for you. We set up a meeting and there you go. There’s the end results of that conversation.”
Now Hermle, also based in Virginia, will continue the legacy started by Campbell’s grandfather back in 1964.
“I think we take it for granted how cherished and sought after a grandfather clock is to the winners of these races here,” Campbell said. “But it is, I’ll say it and I’ll say it until I’m dead that this is the most sought-after trophy in motorsports and what better clock could we have to represent that stature in this sport. So we’re very excited about it.”
And so, the grandfather clock — that glorious, ticking symbol of short-track warfare — will continue to stand in living rooms, offices, and race shops, chiming away every hour to remind drivers of the day they beat 35 others and time itself at Martinsville Speedway.