Shhhh! New solution for old problem no one admits

When driver Greg Biffle made reference to his "love-hate relationship" with Martinsville Speedway at one point this past weekend, one thought immediately came to mind.

Biff, my man, you are not alone.

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On one hand, you've got to love Martinsville. The races, including the Goody's Cool Orange 500 won there Sunday by Denny Hamlin, usually are entertaining and packed with the kind of action that too often is missing at some of the other places where the Sprint Cup Series runs events.

Martinsville is a .526-mile short track, configured like a paperclip and so therefore unique unto itself. There is no other place exactly like it. In an era where the short tracks have been disappearing, the layout is a refreshing and much-needed change of pace during the 36-race Sprint Cup schedule.

On the other hand, the place is old and lacks many -- indeed, most of -- the types of amenities of the newer venues, which is to say all of the other tracks currently hosting Sprint Cup events. Plus it is difficult to get to from seemingly all points of the compass outside of the Martinsville city limits; and it has encountered increasing difficulty in filling its modest total of 65,000 grandstand seats during recent years.

Let's not even get started on the one road that leads to Martinsville from Greensboro, N.C., from where many race fans flock. All that needs to be noted is that when one looks up "speed trap" in the dictionary, there is a picture of Route 220 as it meanders out of the state of North Carolina and into the foothills of the Virginia countryside, leading to the track's front door.

A little history

The long-running debate is whether or not this aging place, which has been hosting NASCAR events since the organization was founded, deserves to keep the two race dates it currently has. It seems inevitable that one eventually will be shipped to another more state-of-the-art facility (read: a place that can accommodate -- and consistently draw -- bigger crowds), whether it is next year, two years from now, or five.

And once they lose one, the second date might not be far behind if the fans don't start filling the seats on a more consistent basis. Just ask the good folks in Rockingham, N.C., about that, as they found out with North Carolina Speedway a few years back.

That is what gets folks like track president Clay Campbell all worked up in a furious and, frankly, sometimes irrational lather when the subject of his track losing even one date routinely comes up. They not only don't like to talk about it, they like to act like no problem exists in their little world. Discussing possible solutions would be to admit there is a problem. (Continued)