Travel Log: Martinsville

It was Sept. 25, 1949, when Red Byron parked his '49 Oldsmobile in Victory Lane at the tiny half-mile dirt track called Martinsville Speedway. He beat Lee Petty by three laps that day in a field of just 15 cars. To the average fan, few other names would be recognizable.

That's not true of Martinsville, though.

The hometown feel of the tiny town -- population 15, 416 -- is unmatched on the NASCAR schedule. Martinsville measures just 11 square miles. It became an independent city just 20 years before it held its first NASCAR-sanctioned race.

Yet Martinsville is the strongest tie to NASCAR's roots. Dirt-track racing eased the sport into the city, and it's never left.

Blue Ridge Parkway -- Yeah, it's odd to have a scenic drive to be the highlighted selection of a weekend trip, but this isn't your average scenic drive. Labeled "America's Favorite Drive," it's a popular route within the NASCAR garage as well. Martinsville is a small town, and to prep for the laid-back way of life, there's no better way than to soak in the scenery and sun-filled twists and turns of the Blue Ridge Parkway. So driving visitors should hop on the parkway before heading East on Highway 58 to Martinsville.
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RDOF_Posse -- The Wood Brothers Racing museum is located at 21 Performance Drive, Stuart, Va., 24171, just 30 minutes from Martinsville Speedway, just off Highway 58 in the Industrial Park.

They are open weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. They are also open the Saturdays of the Martinsville races. There is no admission fee. There are racing souvenirs available; I purchased last year's Motorcraft long sleeved white shirt made by Cutter & Buck for just 10 bucks! You just might get to meet Glen Wood himself and his wife Bernece is always there. This is not a gigantic place but they have all sorts of interesting memorabilia. Click here for a photograph.

My wife reminded me that we've been to Clarence's Restaurant on Route 220 in Ridgeway. I remember it being very crowded after the NCTS race. The service was good and the food was strictly American as I remember. The quality overall was quite adequate. The one unusual element in the experience was that, at the time, they took only cash.

HARPERS57 -- I'll tell you what I'm not doing. Having one of them gross hotdogs they smother with gunk to cover the taste. You got to sell Oscar Meyer wieners there. OK.

AMP88GUARD -- The only time I went to Martinsville, I remember the hospitality package with meet and greet. Never start drinking beer at 11 a.m. I don't remember anything but the race. I have never done that since, and never will again. Oh wait, one more memory -- I seriously sunburned my head. Did not realize it until the next day though. Ouch!

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Thursday: Partly sunny with a high of 74 degrees, low of 47
Friday: Partly sunny with a high of 79 degrees, low of 44
Saturday: Mostly cloudy with a high of 56 degrees, low of 36
Sunday: Cloudy with a high of 54 degrees, low of 41
Complete Forecast

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• Directions and aerial map of Martinsville

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