7 replies to this topic

[buddyt]

Just a 1/2 mile oval in the southern foothills of virginia built in 1948 and now the last of the originial tracks that NASCAR raced on in the begining. The lovely and I went down to the "Old Dominion 500" race this past weekend. What does that have to do with the Nostalgia forum you ask?..Sunday was a rainout..race ran on monday. In 1963 at the age of 11 my father took me to the racetrack to see my heros, "Fireball" Roberts and Fred Lorenzen, Marvin Panch and Ned Jarrett race. Sunday during the rain I walked into the grandstand and sat on the same concrete seat off of turn four that Dad and I sat in many years before and looked down on a track that had changed little since then. Oh, a new pit road and new garages have been built, but the menu at the consession stand is still pork barbecue, hot dogs, potato chips and pepsi. In 1993 I took my son age 13, to see his heros Davy Allison, Waltrip, and Dale Earnhardt race, we sat in turn four. In this ever changing world it feels good to be at a place that has changed little, and relive good times. Now the wife and I have seats in the first turn, Dad is gone and my boy is a young man with his own life. Oh, did I tell ya I have a two month old granddaughter, I wonder who she will cheer for in a few years, when I take her to MARTINSVILLE.

[Rob G]

Nice to see that some things never change. It's a shame that North Wilkesboro disappeared from the schedule. Hopefully some traditions will stay alive despite all the new tracks in big markets that are clamoring for dates.

[Joe Fan]

Originally posted by buddyt
What does that have to do with the Nostalgia forum you ask?

Everything! You felt nostalgic!

[Pikachu Racing]

Someone got to revive North Wilksboro. Bring in modified, ARCA, BGN series, even IRL if possible. I miss the track.

[Joe Fan]

Originally posted by Pikachu Racing
Someone got to revive North Wilksboro. Bring in modified, ARCA, BGN series, even IRL if possible. I miss the track.

I agree. I was watching ESPN Classic the other day and they showed a North Wilkesboro Winston Cup race from the late 80's. This track, if repaved, would be better than both Richmond and Martinsville IMO.

[Graham Clayton]

In this ever changing world it feels good to be at a place that has changed little, and relive good times.

Buddyt,

Are the outhouses at either end of the infield still in place?

H Clay Earles, the founder of Martinsville put the outhouses at either end of the infield. In an effort to spruce up their appearance, he planted roses around the outhouses.
But the roses attracted hordes of bees. In order to get to the outhouse, you had to run through the bees. Quite a few people got stung.

"Fields of Thunder: The Story of the Kansas Speedway", Jim Pedley, Randy Covitz, Kansas City Star Books, 2001, page 38.

[kartman24]

I was lucky enough to get to drive round the track at Martinsville when doing a `NASCAR holiday` in the states about 12 years ago. It was when they were modifying the pit lane and i had a chat with the guys working on it and when they found out i had come from England they let me do a couple of laps in my hire car on the proviso that i didn`t hit the wall! There was also a couple there doing a tour round the NASCAR tracks on their honeymoon, i took a picture for them with the turn four stands in the background behind them. I visited Charlotte, Martinsville, Hickory, Darlington, Bristol, Talladega, and North Carolina (Rockingham). The atmosphere at Charlotte fot the `Winston` and Coca Cola 600 was something i have never experienced at a race meeting before and i have been to F1 and Le Mans.............Awesome!
.........Martin

[arttidesco]

The atmosphere at Charlotte fot the `Winston` and Coca Cola 600 was something i have never experienced at a race meeting before and i have been to F1 and Le Mans.............Awesome!
.........Martin

I have also been to Grand Prix and Le Mans Events they are all very different from one another but for sheer hoopla nothing not even the Indy 500 compared to the Aarons 499 I went to in April 2009.

On my to do list is sample the famous Martinsville Hotog