Martinsville Speedway

Martinsville Speedway stands as a living museum of stock car racing. Opened by H. Clay Earles in 1947, it is the only track that has been on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule since the series' inception in 1949. This 0.526-mile paved oval is famous for its unique "paperclip" shape, featuring long 800-foot straightaways connected by tight, nearly flat turns banked at only 12 degrees. This distinct layout places a tremendous emphasis on hard braking and strong acceleration, leading to the physical, "beating and banging" style of racing for which Martinsville is renowned. A victory at Martinsville is highly coveted, with winners receiving a traditional grandfather clock, a nod to the region's furniture-making industry—a practice started in 1964. The track's configuration has remained fundamentally unchanged since it was paved, providing a consistent benchmark against which generations of cars and drivers have been measured.