"Old School" Still in Style Say Martinsville Fans

MARTINSVILLE On a recent afternoon, Martinsville Speedway officials invited the local chamber of commerce to come by for lunch. There, chamber members would get a chance to meet Tony Stewart, one of NASCARs biggest stars, and ask him a few questions about racing.

It was the kind of community event the speedway might have done 30 or 40 years ago. The only difference these days is where they held it: in the sparkling Club 47 overlooking the frontstretch a full-service luxury suite that opened last October.

Balancing corporate obligations and grass-roots appeal is one of the greatest challenges a racetrack has. Perhaps nobody strikes this balance quite like Martinsville, which is why the speedway has a better foothold in the NASCAR scene than it has had in years.

So many of the characteristics that once were viewed as negatives for the track during the NASCAR boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s too small, too slow, not enough seats suddenly have become positives.

Once criticized for being too old-school, the track is now revered for it.

Once thought to be in danger of losing one or both of its dates on the Sprint Cup schedule, Martinsville is now decidedly secure.

I dont care how old it gets and how far down the road it gets, Stewart said, this is not a track that I ever see leaving the schedule. Its got too much history. Its got too much personality.

History and personality havent always been enough, though. Ask Rockingham. Ask North Wilkesboro. For years, as NASCAR expanded westward and saw its profile rise among casual sports fans, the story line here was constant: When will Martinsville lose a race?

Track president Clay Campbell used to bristle at these annual discussions. Why, he thought, must they pick on what we have here? Every year, Martinsville was spending money to improve the track. Couldnt anybody see that?

Campbell said that only one time did he believe losing a race was a legitimate possibility: in 2010, when it became clear that Kansas Speedway was going to be awarded a second date. Kansas and Martinsville both are owned by International Speedway Corporation, and the realignment would have to come from within the ISC family.

So I knew that was not just rumor, speculation and talk, Campbell said. That was fact. That was reality. We were mentioned along with Auto Club Speedway [in Fontana, Calif.] as losing a date.

Thats as close as Ive ever wanted to get to the reality of losing one. So we got to work on working with the state and finding various ways to put everything together to keep our dates.

They succeeded. Auto Club Speedway surrendered the date.

Martinsville soldiered on as usual, with Cup races in the spring and the fall.

Now, as NASCAR attendance lags and fans bemoan the cookie-cutter style of racing at newer, 1.5-mile tracks, such a threat to Martinsville seems distant. Abstract.

Its not because Martinsville has become particularly cutting edge, nor has it changed the nature of its races. Just the opposite, in fact. If you took an aerial photograph of the speedway today, the track would look exactly the same as it did 66 years ago when it was first plowed into a field.

The only things that have changed are the surroundings: the suites, the grandstands, the amenities.

We changed everything that we could without affecting the racing, without affecting that kind of personal feel that you get, Campbell said.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. still gets it every time he arrives here.

You park your car in the driveway of the first house on the corner, NASCARs most popular driver said. That house has been there for I dont know how many years. Just everything about the entrance and your first impressions bring you back to the mid-70s, and things look pretty much the same.

So does the promotion. Sure, Martinsville has a Twitter account that pushes ticket sales, but Campbell also still goes on radio talk shows every Monday, hawking his tracks events.

Old school.

We just do things probably a lot like we used to, Campbell said. Were not out putting up [ fliers] on telephone poles, but if I thought that would work, wed still do that, too.

A few weeks ago, a race at Bristol was run in front of half-filled grandstands.

Bristol, which once had a sellout streak of more than 50 races in a row.

Bristol, which once had a two-year waiting list for tickets.

Its a tough economy, Campbell said. Were doing things now that we never thought wed be doing. But on the flip side of that, here at Martinsville, were probably doing things more in line with what weve always done. And until somebody proves to me that it doesnt work, well keep doing it that way.

Perhaps there will be a packed house at the Cup race today. Perhaps there will be some empty seats. Either way, though, this seems clear: The NASCAR circuit still has a place where the past and present merge.

Martinsville Speedway is it.