Martinsville Odds & Ends

At Martinsville Speedway:

History

·         Opened in September 1947 by H. Clay Earles, Martinsville, originally a dirt track, is one of the oldest continuously-operating race tracks in the United States.

·         The first NASCAR-sanctioned race at Martinsville was on July 4, 1948.

·         The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was Sept. 25, 1949.

·         The track was paved in 1955.

·         The first 500-lap event at Martinsville was in 1956.

·         Concrete corners were added atop asphalt in 1976.

Notebook

·         There have been 125 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway, one in the inaugural year and two races per year since 1950.

·         Curtis Turner won the pole for the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville in 1949.

·         Red Byron won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

·         56 drivers have won poles, led by Darrell Waltrip with eight. Jeff Gordon, with seven poles, can tie that mark this weekend.

·         Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Darrell Waltrip share the consecutive pole record, each with three.

·         46 different drivers have won, led by Richard Petty’s 15.

·         Jeff Gordon leads active drivers with seven wins. Jimmie Johnson has six and Denny Hamlin has four.

·         19 races have been won from the pole, the last by Denny Hamlin in October 2010.

·         Petty Enterprises has won 19 races, more than any other organization. Hendrick Motorsports, with 18 wins, can tie that mark this weekend. If HMS does win this weekend, it will also be the team’s 200th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory.

·         Kurt Busch won the 2002 fall race from the 36th starting position, the furthest back a race winner has started.

·         Three active drivers average a top-10 finish: Jimmie Johnson (5.6), Denny Hamlin (6.6) and Jeff Gordon (7.0).

·         There were 31 lead changes in the April Martinsville race this season, a track record.

 

Martinsville Speedway Data

Race #: 33 of 36 (10-30-11)

Track Size: .526 mile

Race Length: 500 laps/263 miles

·     Banking/Corners: 12 degrees

·     Banking/Straights: 0 degrees

·     Frontstretch: 800 feet

·     Backstretch: 800 feet

 

Driver Rating at Martinsville
Jimmie Johnson	121.9
Jeff Gordon	119.7
Denny Hamlin	113.0
Tony Stewart	102.4
Dale Earnhardt Jr.	98.9
Kyle Busch	94.3
Kevin Harvick	93.1
Jeff Burton	89.3
Mark Martin	89.3
Ryan Newman	88.8

Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2011 races (13 total) at Martinsville Speedway.

 

Qualifying/Race Data

2010 pole winner: Denny Hamlin (97.318 mph)

2010 race winner: Denny Hamlin, 71.619 mph, 10-24-10)

Track qualifying record: Tony Stewart (98.083 mph, 19.306 seconds, 10-21-05)

Race record: Jeff Gordon (82.223 mph, 09-22-96)

 

NASCAR in Virginia

• There have been 273 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Virginia.
• 162 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as Virginia.
• There have been 18 race winners from Virginia in NASCAR’s three national series:

Driver	NSCS	NNS	NCWTS
Joe Weatherly	25	0	0
Ricky Rudd	23	1	0
Jeff Burton	21	27	0
Curtis Turner	17	0	0
Denny Hamlin	17	11	0
Ward Burton	5	4	0
Glen Wood	4	0	0
Elliott Sadler	3	5	1
Emanuel Zervakis	2	0	0
Lennie Pond	1	0	0
Wendell Scott	1	0	0
Tommy Ellis	0	22	0
Jimmy Hensley	0	9	2
Rick Mast	0	9	0
Hermie Sadler	0	2	0
Elton Sawyer	0	2	0
Stacy Compton	0	0	2
Jon Wood	0	0	2