The More Nascar Changes The More Martinsville Speedway Stays The Same

It’s NASCAR’s oldest track, built even before NASCAR became NASCAR. In the 1940s H. Clay Earles carved out a paperclip shaped short track in a farmer’s field just north of Ridgeway, Virginia not far from Martinsville. The idea was motivated by Earles’ entrepreneurial spirit after he’d seen crowds watching auto racing at temporary tracks at fairgrounds.

In 1946, Earles purchased 30 acres and by September the following year thousands of people filled the track which at the time only had 750 seats to watch the first race at the .526-mile track. NASCAR was officially formed in February 1948, Martinsville Speedway held Its first NASCAR sanctioned race that July and has been doing so ever since.

The track is the only one that remains on the schedule that was there when the sport started. And it shows no signs of going away any time soon.

Martinsville Speedway is marking its 75^th anniversary this year. It’s the first NASCAR track that can do so. It’s not only celebrating 75 years, but also the fact that it remains very relevant in a world, and a sport, that has grown around it.

H. Clay Earles passed away in 1999 and his grandson, Clay Campbell took over as the Speedway’s president. Campbell started working at the track as a youngster picking up trash, cutting grass, and whatever else needed to be done.

“I don’t think when my grandfather started it in 1947, he ever, in his wildest dreams imagined that it would go 75 years and still be going strong,” Campbell said.

Through the years, the surrounding area has changed little and Ridgeway and Martinsville remain the small towns they have always been. And while the track has upgraded the facilitates, improved the seating, the suites and such, there’s still very little room to expand leaving the track with the old school charm that comes from being 75 years old.

That doesn’t mean they still don’t work with the space they do have. In the past few years, the track has added such things as the ‘SkyDeck’ above the press box in Turns 1 and 2 in 2018, and ‘The Brake Pad’, with seats right beside the track installed outside Turn 3 last year. And in 2017 the track held its first race under a new $5 million LED lighting system, the first of its kind in a sports stadium.

“We’re still continuing to grow,” Campbell said. “And actually, it seems to me that we’re actually kicking into high gear now.

“I’ve told many people that I worked here from, you know, an early age working in the maintenance department, and we would build something one year, we’d build something next. And about each time I would think, ‘well, this is about as far as we can go. I don’t know what else we can do’. And little did I know we weren’t even scratching the surface.”

That includes the tracks most recent project which was to remove the lower concrete grandstands in Turns 1 and 2 and add new grass berms that will be used for the first time this coming weekend.

Still the track doesn’t really have the room to add such things as a glitzy fan zone in the infield like Daytona International Speedway, or a ‘Neon Garage’ like Las Vegas Motor Speedway. However, Campbell points out that Martinsville can give fans something other tracks can’t.

“I think we provide that historical aspect to the sport,” Campbell said. “You know, even though the track itself is identical to what it was when it was carved out of the cornfield in 1947, everything around it has grown.

“We’ve done what we were able to do with what we were able to do with… we can’t do some of the things other bigger tracks can do, nor do we really want to. I think we have a special place here that people respect; the tradition, the heritage.”

That doesn’t mean the speedway can’t provide the same level of amenities the big tracks do.

“We’ve got to take the size of what we have and still make it comfortable; appealing to our fans and, and give them what they want,” Campbell said. “But we will never be a shining palace like some of the places are. And, and that’s okay. That’s okay because what we have is different than what they have and that’s what actually makes the whole sport better.”

Among the things Martinsville Speedway has that other tracks don’t are the unique trophies awarded to race winners. In 1964 Earles wanted to honor the local Martinsville area, famous for making furniture and began awarding grandfather clocks made by Ridgeway Clocks nearby.

Then there are the hot dogs.

While other, newer, tracks have food offerings created by award winning chefs with fancy names, and pricing, Martinsville has an iconic hot dog. For over 50 years the red colored hot dog topped with mustard, chili, slaw, and onions, is a must have from the tracks concession stands not just for fans, but those in the NASCAR industry on race weekends. And for as long as anyone came remember, that loaded hot dog costs just $2.

Even with inflation rising across the country, the track has no plans to increase the price of that famous hot dog.

“That wouldn’t be good,” Campbell said chuckling. “People are used to the Speedway hotdog costing two bucks…That is our signature product, and that signature product comes with a steady price. It hasn’t gone up, hasn’t gone down: two bucks.

“You don’t talk to somebody about Martinsville Speedway too long until they mention either the word hotdog or the clock,” he added. “That’s pretty cool.”

Perhaps the key to Martinsville Speedway’s success, in addition to cheap hot dogs and a cool trophy, is the same philosophy that H. Clay Earles began with, and one that Clay Campbell continues to this day.

“H. always wanted to make it a place where families wanted to come enjoy a great afternoon,” Campbell said. “And he taught me a lot. He taught me about the value of someone coming in here and spending money with us, that didn’t have to. There are many places a fan can go to spend money. If they choose to spend it with Martinsville Speedway, we need to respect that and give ’em what they pay for.

“And that’s what I learned from him. And that’s what’s been going on here for 75 years.”