Nascar races on all sorts of tracks, from short to long, oval to road course, concrete to asphalt. Here’s a weekly look at all the tracks of Nascar’s National Touring Series.
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
0.526 mile asphalt and concrete short track
Opened 1947
Lights? Yes
Series: Cup, Xfinity, Trucks
Nicknames: The Paperclip, Half Mile of Mayhem, The Smooth Track with the Rough Crowd
THREE FUN FACTS:
1. Unlike most tracks that give out a trophy to race winners, Martinsville gives out grandfather clocks, decreasing in size from a full-size model for the Cup Series winner to a miniature for Xfinity and Truck Series winners. I’m guessing if they had an ARCA race there they’d get a grandfather wristwatch.
2. Martinsville is the only track in Nascar with a hybrid racing surface, with concrete covering most of the turns. This is a phenomenon only seen outside of racing in 7-Eleven parking lots.
3. Martinsville is also well-known for their famous hot dogs, which would be like if, say, Lambeau Field was famous for its delicious mustard, or if Augusta National was renowned for having really well-balanced sodas.
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