{"id":565648,"date":"2026-03-28T02:27:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T02:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/565648\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T02:27:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T02:27:08","slug":"martinsville-gears-up-for-nascar-race-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/565648\/","title":{"rendered":"Martinsville gears up for NASCAR race weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

RIDGEWAY, Va. \u2013 Race weekend has arrived at Martinsville Speedway<\/a>, with tens of thousands of fans expected for NASCAR\u2019s biannual stop and a significant economic boost for the region.<\/p>\n

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the historic short track for its annual spring race, continuing a 77-year streak of hosting the sport\u2019s top series. Each race weekend draws more than 40,000 fans, with some estimates projecting an economic impact of more than $100 million for Martinsville and surrounding communities.<\/p>\n

Track President Clay Campbell said the influx of visitors is already being felt across the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hotels are full. Restaurants are doing a great job. It\u2019s just so important to the community to have this influx of patrons for a week,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Fans often arrive days in advance, turning the area into what Campbell described as a growing hub of activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a small city that just keeps getting bigger and bigger every day. it\u2019s a crescendo, really,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

With large crowds expected, officials are urging fans to plan ahead and arrive early to avoid traffic delays.<\/p>\n

\u201cFans need to understand there\u2019s a lot of people coming in here. Be patient. Follow the directions of the state police and Henry county sheriffs department once you get on the property and enjoy the day,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Beyond the racing, the speedway offers a variety of attractions, including a fan zone outside Turn 4 featuring racing simulators, show cars and giveaways, as well as scheduled driver appearances throughout the weekend.<\/p>\n

One of the track\u2019s most recognizable traditions is also back: the Martinsville hot dog. Speedway officials expect to sell about 70,000 of them during the weekend \u2014 enough to circle the track 13 times.<\/p>\n

On the track, Campbell said fans can expect tight competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the beauty of Martinsville. There\u2019s so many competitors that have this place figured out. And it\u2019s not just one or two that can win. It\u2019s probably ten,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cExpect the unexpected on the racetrack. that\u2019s why so many people are here to begin with,\u201d Campbell added.<\/p>\n

The first race of the weekend is set to take the green flag Friday, with full race coverage and highlights airing on WSLS.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WSLS 10 – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RIDGEWAY, Va. \u2013 Race weekend has arrived at Martinsville Speedway, with tens of thousands of fans expected for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":565649,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,66047,26793,634,218050,82],"class_list":["post-565648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-martinsville","tag-martinsville-speedway","tag-nascar","tag-ridgeway","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=565648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565648\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/565649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=565648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=565648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=565648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}