Historic moments at Martinsville Speedway

Martinsville Speedway, the oldest track on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit, has seen no shortage of historic moments over the years. We take a look back at some of the sport's top moments at the 0.526-mile facility.

Sept. 25, 1949
The first NASCAR race at Martinsville Speedway occurred more than 70 years ago and didn't have a name. The field was 15 drivers, and the length was 200 laps. Red Byron took the win in what was called the NASCAR Strictly Stock Series, leading 97 laps in his 1949 Oldsmobile at the then-dirt track.

Sept. 27, 1987
Only three cars finished on the lead lap, but they combined to create a last-lap sequence among the best in track history. On the final lap, Dale Earnhardt led Terry Labonte and Darrell Waltrip. Coming out of Turn 2, Labonte tried to pass up high and Earnhardt blocked. That allowed Waltrip to get in the inside groove, and he held his line when Labonte came back down. The contact sent Labonte into the wall and also knocked Earnhardt off course, allowing Waltrip to win there for the eighth time in his career.

Sept. 24, 1989
The cars were in Virginia, but Dale Earnhardt was in North Carolina. Hurricane Hugo caused extensive damage to his farm, and the driver had to clear out trees and put up fences before trekking up to Martinsville Speedway. With Earnhardt temporarily unavailable, the team asked local driver Jimmy Hensley to qualify the famed No. 3 Chevrolet. Hensley surprised everyone by putting the car on the pole minutes after Earnhardt showed up to the track.

Sept. 22, 1991
Harry Gant led 226 of 500 laps in his No. 33 Oldsmobile, winning for the fourth consecutive race. That tied Gant for the fourth-longest streak in NASCAR Cup Series history, although it would end the next week at North Wilkesboro Speedway when Gant finished second. The driver was 51 years old when he took the checkered flag at Martinsville Speedway.

April 18, 1999
John Andretti led only four laps in the afternoon, but they were the final four laps. That was enough to put the driver in Victory Lane for the second time in his career. What makes this moment stand out is it was the 198th time the No. 43 -- sporting the traditional Richard Petty red and blue -- won a race.

Oct. 24, 2004
Jimmie Johnson wins for the first time at Martinsville Speedway, but tragedy quickly overshadows his victory. There was no post-race interview, no appearance in Victory Lane. Instead, Johnson learned an airplane carrying key members of the Hendrick Motorsports staff had gone off radar. It was later confirmed as a crash, and all 10 people on the plane died.

Oct. 22, 2006
One veteran's championship hopes ended, while another up-and-comer launched a title path unlike anything the sport had ever seen. Jeff Burton, the series points leader, made it just 217 laps before his engine expired and ruined his championship hopes. Jimmie Johnson would win the race, anchoring a run of five consecutive finishes of second or better en route to his first of five consecutive titles.

Oct. 30, 2011
Tony Stewart wins for the third time in his career on the 0.526-mile track, and it was the manner in which he did so that makes this so memorable. With a swagger that carried over into his post-race interviews, "Smoke" brazenly declared points leader Carl Edwards "better be worried" about his eight-point edge in the standings. Counting Martinsville Speedway, Stewart would win three of the season's final four races to edge out Edwards (in a tiebreaker on wins) for his third NASCAR Cup Series title.

Oct. 26, 2013
Bubba Wallace makes history on this sunny Saturday, pulling away from the field late for his first career victory in a NASCAR national series. In doing so, Wallace became the first Black driver to ever win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and joined pioneer Wendell Scott as the only African-Americans to win a NASCAR national event. Wallace would win this race again in October 2014.

Oct. 26, 2014
Dale Earnhardt Jr. really wanted a grandfather clock, the famed keepsake from winning at Martinsville Speedway. In 29 previous tries, he hadn't won at the short track, but that all changed in October 2014. While he had been eliminated from the NASCAR Playoffs the week before, that didn't stop Junior's drive. Grabbing the lead back from Tony Stewart with four laps to go, Junior held on to earn his first clock.

March 28, 2015
With his first victory in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in March, Joey Logano becomes the 26th driver to record a victory in all three NASCAR national series. Logano edges out Matt Crafton for the victory in a green-white-checkered finish at the Virginia short track.

Nov. 1, 2015
An emotional Jeff Gordon scored the 93rd and final victory of his full-time NASCAR Cup Series career to punch his ticket into the Championship 4. The scene saw Gordon celebrating with his family and team like it was his first victory and the four-time champion made his way into the stands to celebrate with fans.

April 3, 2016
In a single weekend, Kyle Busch went from having zero grandfather clocks to having two, thanks to wins in both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the NASCAR Cup Series. He led 352 of 500 laps in the premier series for the dominating victory.

Oct. 30, 2016
Jeff Gordon filled in on the No. 88 Chevrolet for eight races in 2016 for a sidelined Dale Earnhardt Jr. The fall Martinsville Speedway race marked the last of those starts and his last national series start to date. Gordon finished sixth in the race.

Oct. 30, 2016
Jimmie Johnson punched his ticket into the Championship 4 of the NASCAR Playoffs by earning his ninth career victory at Martinsville Speedway. That paved the way for his record-tying seventh title, matching Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.

April 2, 2017
In the spring of 2017, Brad Keselowski earned a special victory for Team Penske in its 1,000th start. The win also snapped a Martinsville Speedway dry spell for the organization, winning for the first time there since Rusty Wallace accomplished the feat in 2004. The victory was also Keselowski's first at the track.

Oct. 29, 2017
The track celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2017 with a new enhancement. The fall NASCAR Playoffs race at Martinsville Speedway finishes under the lights for the first time. Martinsville completed its $5 million project earlier in the year to add lighting with a new LED lighting system, consisting of 19 poles around the paperclip-shaped track.

Oct. 29, 2017
Chase Elliott was three laps away from his first NASCAR Cup Series win and a spot in the Championship 4. Contact from Denny Hamlin sent Elliott up the track and took his damaged No. 24 Chevrolet out of contention. An on-track confrontation came during the cool-down lap and Elliott's popularity soared. Both drivers failed to advance to the Championship 4.

Oct. 28, 2018
Martin Truex Jr. got by Joey Logano coming to the white flag during the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, while trying to secure his place in the Championship 4. But after Truex took the lead, Logano did a bump-and-run in Turn 3, continuing to go door-to-door through Turn 4. Truex turned sideways just steps away from the checkered line. Logano won, Denny Hamlin slipped by into second and Truex fell to third.

Nov. 1, 2020
Chase Elliott -- needing a win to advance to his first Championship 4 -- delivered at Martinsville Speedway with a blistering performance that saw him lead 236 laps en route to the victory (and a title a week later).

Apr. 11, 2021
Josh Berry scored an emotional first NASCAR national series win at Martinsville Speedway in the second NASCAR Xfinity Series race there in 15 years. Berry had an earned a partial schedule with JR Motorsports after winning the Advance Auto Parts Weekly Championship in 2020.

Oct. 31, 2021
One of the most memorable images from the entire 2021 season came when Denny Hamlin interfered with Alex Bowman's victory celebration after hard racing to the end — with the No. 48 driver claiming the checkered flag. It led to the No. 11 driver calling Bowman a "hack" after the race, and a whole lot of T-shirts being printed afterward.

Oct. 30, 2022
With his back against the wall in the Round of 8 Cup Series playoffs, Christopher Bell clinched his spot in the Championship 4 with a win after passing Chase Briscoe in the closing laps at Martinsville Speedway. The victory mirrored his triumph at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course in the previous round to advance to the Round of 8.

Oct. 30, 2022
Have you ever? In a once-in-lifetime move by Ross Chastain, the No. 1 Chevrolet rocketed along the wall in the final corner at Martinsville Speedway to pick up five positions and punch his ticket to the Championship 4, eliminating Denny Hamlin by just four points in the process.