The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series are back in action this week after the Easter bye. They come to one of the oldest tracks on the schedule in Martinsville Speedway. The weekend of racing at the half-mile short track will culminate with the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 on Saturday night. For only the second time in the track’s storied history, they will be racing under the lights. This time, there will be fans in the stands.
Check out our updated NASCAR Cup Series standings and stats article ahead of this weekend’s racing at “The Half Mile of Mayhem!”
Martinsville Speedway Overview
Martinsville Speedway opened in 1947. The first NASCAR race at the track came on July 4, 1948. The track is .526 miles in length. It is banked at 12 degrees in the corners, making it one of the flattest tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. In 1976, Martinsville Speedway was repaved. This included the addition of concrete in the corners. Up until 1999, the track had two different pit roads. That changed in 2000 when they added pit boxes in turns 3 and 4 and blended pit road into one.
In 2004, Martinsville Speedway was once again repaved after a piece of the track came loose and damaged Jeff Gordon’s car in the middle of a race. In 2016, the track announced that they would add lights, and in October of 2017, they were officially installed. The track hosted its first night race on June 10 of last year. That race was won by Martin Truex Jr.
The King Holds Several Martinsville Records
Over the course of the many races in the history of Martinsville Speedway, Richard Petty is the leader in a whole bunch of statistical categories. He has 67 career starts at “The Paperclip”. In those races, he accumulated 15 wins and 30 top-five finishes. Both marks lead all drivers who have ever raced here. Jeff Gordon has the most top-10s with 38. He has also led the most laps at the track of any driver with 3,779.
NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway | Weekend Racing Schedule
Cookout 250
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Date: Friday, April 9, 2021
Start Time: 8 P.M. EST
Coverage: FS1
Distance: 131.5 miles
Laps: 250
Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Date: Saturday, April 10, 2021
Start Time: 7:30 P.M. EST
Coverage: FS1
Distance: 263 miles
Laps: 500
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