Martinsville Speedway: History

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.

·        There have been 129 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway, one in the inaugural year and two races per year since 1950.

·        591 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville; 372 in more than one.

·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty has the all-time most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Martinsville with 67 starts; Terry Labonte has the most among active drivers with 53.

·        Curtis Turner won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Martinsville Speedway in 1949.

·        57 drivers have Coors Light poles at Martinsville, led by NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip with eight; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with seven.

·        12 drivers have won two or more consecutive Coors Light poles at Martinsville Speedway. Four of the 12 have won three consecutive poles at Martinsville: Glen Wood (Fall of 1959 and 1960 sweep); Darrell Waltrip (1979 sweep and spring 1980); Mark Martin (fall of 1990 and 1991 sweep); Jeff Gordon (2003 sweep and spring 2004).

·        Youngest Martinsville pole winner: Ricky Rudd (4/26/1981 – 24 years, 7 months, 14 days).

·        Oldest Martinsville pole winner: Morgan Shepherd (4/26/1987 – 45 years, 6 months, 14 days).

·        47 different drivers have won at Martinsville Speedway, led by Richard Petty with 15; Jimmie Johnson leads the series among active drivers with eight wins.

·        23 drivers have multiple wins at Martinsville Speedway only five active drivers have multiple wins:  Jimmie Johnson (eight), Jeff Gordon (seven), Denny Hamlin (four), Tony Stewart (three) and Mark Martin (two).

·        Hendrick Motorsports leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in wins at Martinsville Speedway with 20.   

·        21 of 129 races (16.2%) at Martinsville Speedway have been won from the Coors Light pole; seven of those 21 wins came from active drivers: Tony Stewart (2000), Jeff Gordon (2003 twice), Jimmie Johnson (2008, 2012, spring 2013) and Denny Hamlin (2010).

·        The Coors Light pole is the most proficient starting spot in the field at Martinsville producing more wins (21) than any other starting position in the field.

·        36 of the 129 (27.9%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Martinsville Speedway have been won from the front row: 21 from the pole and 15 from second-place.

·        94 of the 129 (72.8%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Martinsville Speedway have been won from a top-10 starting position.

·        Five of the 129 (3.8%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Martinsville Speedway have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

·        The deepest in the field that a race winner has started was 36th, by Kurt Busch in the fall of 2002.

·        Youngest Martinsville winner: Richard Petty (4/10/1960 – 22 years, 9 months, 8 days).

·        Oldest Martinsville winner: Harry Gant (9/22/1991 – 51 years, 8 months, 12 days).

·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt leads the series in runner-up finishes at Martinsville Speedway with seven; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with four, followed by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson with three.

·        Richard Petty leads the series in top-five finishes at Martinsville Speedway with 30; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 26, followed by Jimmie Johnson with 16.

·        Richard Petty leads the series in top-10 finishes at Martinsville Speedway with 37; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 33, followed by Terry Labonte (27) and Mark Martin (26).

·        Jeff Gordon leads active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Martinsville Speedway with a 7.195. Ryan Newman is the only other active driver with an average starting position at Martinsville in the top 10 (9.087).

·        Three active drivers have a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series average finish in the top at Martinsville: Jimmie Johnson (5.348), Jeff Gordon (6.976) and Denny Hamlin (8.200).

·        There have been five NSCS green-white-checkered finishes at Martinsville Speedway: fall 2007 (500/506), fall 2008 (500/504), fall 2009 (500/501), spring 2010 (500/508), and spring 2012 (500/515).

·        Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions eight times in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway; the most recent was the fall race of 2011.

·        Jeff Gordon has participated in the most NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Martinsville Speedway without a DNF (41).

·        Tony Stewart (4/18/1999) and Scott Riggs (4/10/2005) won their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light poles at Martinsville Speedway.

·        Mike Bliss (9/27/1998), Travis Kvapil (10/24/2004), Michael McDowell (3/30/2008) and Scott Speed (10/19/2008) made their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career starts at Martinsville Speedway.

·        12 NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers have posted consecutive wins at Martinsville Speedway. Fred Lorenzen won four NSCS races straight (the most) from the fall of 1963 through the spring of 1965.  

·        All 10 active NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers who have won at Martinsville Speedway participated in at least two or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Tony Stewart won at Martinsville with the fewest previous appearances (three).

·        Ryan Newman competed at Martinsville Speedway 20 times before winning in the spring of 2012; the longest span of any the 10 active NASCAR Sprint Cup winners.

·        Four drivers have made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Martinsville Speedway: Mark Martin (12); Bobby Labonte (18), Kevin Harvick (19) and Ryan Newman (20).

·        Terry Labonte leads the series with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Martinsville Speedway without visiting Victory Lane at 53.

·        Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway is the 4/1/2007 race won by Jimmie Johnson with a MOV of 0.065 second.

·        Danica Patrick is the only female driver to compete at Martinsville Speedway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Driver	Starting Position	Finishing Position	Date
Danica Patrick	32	12