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Martins at Martinsville: A history of Martins racing at Martinsville Speedway
By Steve Luvender | Published: April 8, 2021 19
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Martinsville Speedway is filled with rich NASCAR history, dating all the way back to the birth of modern stock-car racing back in the 1940s. The famous half-mile paperclip-shaped short track, cleverly dubbed "The Paperclip" has also hosted a handful of drivers named Martin over the years — names awfully close to "Martinsville," wouldn’t you say? Let’s take a trip through time and explore the deep history of Martins who raced at Martinsville. Why? Look, we had an off-week. We had to fill the time somehow.
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Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images
1949-1953: The year 1949 marked the first NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway. Otis Martin, one of the drivers who actually competed in the first-ever Strictly Stock race in 1949, competed in the inaugural Martinsville venture. Unfortunately for the Virginia native, he only completed 16 of the race's 200 laps, finishing dead last (bummer). He’d go on to make starts again at Martinsville in 1951 and 1953.
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Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images
1981: Young up-and-coming local-racing hotshot Mark Martin made his first start at Martinsville in the NASCAR Cup Series, finishing third — his best-career finish at the time — in just his fifth-ever start. But, spoiler alert, it’s far from his last.
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Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images
1981-2013: That Mark Martin guy went on to make 50 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville between 1981 and 2013. And we’re pretty sure he never aged the entire time.
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Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images
1989-1990: A new Martin arrives on the Martinsville Speedway scene! Martin Truex (yes, Truex Sr.) made three starts at the ville of his namesake in what’s now the NASCAR Xfinity Series between 1989 and 1990 — while future NASCAR Cup Series champ Martin Jr. was under the age of 10.
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Photo by ISC Archives/CQ-Roll Call Group via Getty Images
1992: A breakthrough for Martins everywhere! Mark Martin won a NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway (with a lovely head of hair).
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2000: Mark Martin wins again at Martinsville. He admittedly wasn’t much of a fan of the track at the time, but it’s hard to hate a track where you win (and also bears a name similar to your own).
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2000: The year 2000 was a big year for Martins at Martinsville. In addition to Mark Martin doubling his number of grandfather-clock trophies, the Camping World Truck Series hosted both a Marty (Marty Houston) and a Martin (Kenny Martin) in the Martinsville race held the very next day — on a Monday afternoon after a rain delay. Marty Houston went for a spin on Lap 181, finishing 19th.
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...and Kenny Martin finished 31st after a crash with under 50 laps to go.
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Chris Graythen | Getty Images for NASCAR
2006: Mark Martin, who simply refused to retire, ran a portion of the Truck Series schedule in 2006, including both stops at Martinsville. Martin finished fourth in both races. Thank the famous Martinsville hot dog.
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Chris Graythen | Getty Images
2006: Martin Truex Jr., son of 1989-1990 Xfinity Series Martinsville starter Martin Truex Sr., makes his first start at Martinsville, jumping right to the big leagues, the NASCAR Cup Series.
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Todd Warshaw | Getty Images
2016-2013: Marvelous Martins! Martin Truex Jr. and Mark Martin race together in the NASCAR Cup Series 10 times between 2006 and 2013. The two were teammates in 2008, but unfortunately for the Martin name, Mark skipped the Martinsville races that year as part of his second retirement.
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Jason Smith | Getty Images
2011: You can’t keep a Martin away from Martinsville. After deciding he had a few more years left in the tank, Mark Martin makes his 800th NASCAR Cup Series start — at Martinsville, of all places.
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Tom Pennington | NASCAR via Getty Images
2013: Semi-retired Mark Martin returns to Martinsville to sub for Denny Hamlin.
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Chris Trotman | NASCAR via Getty Images
2013: Mark Martin, super sub, steps in at Martinsville again — this time, for Tony Stewart.
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Drew Hallowell | Getty Images
2016: The future of Martins arrived in 2016, when Tommy Joe Martins made a Camping World Truck Series start at Martinsville, driving for Martins Motorsports.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
2019: A second Martin victor at Martinsville! Just one fall Martinsville race removed from a tough loss, Martin Truex Jr. scored a win at his ‘ville (in name only; the New Jersey native’s real home track varies depending who you ask).
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
2020: Martin Truex Jr. does it again, bringing the Martin win count at Martinsville to four in the NASCAR Cup Series.
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Twitter: @TeamMartins
2021 and beyond: There’s potential for more Martin success in this year’s trip to Martinsville. Tommy Joe Martins and Martins Motorsports will race in Friday’s Xfinity Series event, while Martin Truex Jr. is the oddsmakers' favorite to win at Martinsville for the third year in a row.