Martinsville Speedway: The Yankee Stadium of NASCAR

Just as Yankee Stadium is the Mecca for New York baseball fans, Martinsville Speedway holds the same reverence amongst NASCAR fans.  Although the old Yankee Stadium has seen its last game, the racing faithful will again flock to Martinsville this weekend to witness race six of the ten race championship play off.

So, what do these storied sports venues have in common?  Interestingly enough, they have much more in common than just the diehard fan devotion.

Both Martinsville Speedway and Yankee Stadium were built in the same era of the early 1900s.  Yankee Stadium was built in 1923 and Martinsville Speedway followed a little later in 1948.

The first game played at Yankee Stadium was on April 18, 1923 and it featured the soon-to-be famous rivalry between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox (the Yankees won).  The first NASCAR-sanctioned race at the Martinsville Speedway was held on July 4, 1948, featuring the fewest number of race cars finishing the race in any race held at the Speedway.

Both venues also have a history of attracting the fans to capacity. Yankee Stadium was originally built to hold about 58,000 fans.  It was, however, often oversold, with close to 80,000 fans showing up for a game.

Martinsville Speedway also was built to hold about 65,000 fans.  The International Speedway Corporation, who now owns the track, has plans to increase that seating capacity to 85,000 fans. 

In fact, the track owners even negotiated with the Norfolk Southern railroad, which runs close to the track, to move their route to accommodate this expansion.  To date, however, the expansion is on hold, according to track officials.

Both Yankee Stadium and Martinsville Speedway are also unique in their design and shape.  Martinsville is known as the "paper clip" of NASCAR racing, due to its unique shape.  One of the longest tracks originally, Martinsville is now the shortest track on the racing circuit.

Yankee Stadium is also unique in its shape and style.  It was the first three-tiered sports facilities in the country.  In fact, its unique dimensions were designed to accommodate Yankee great and left-handed Babe Ruth with the outfield measurements.

Stars of both sports have graced the two venues.  Names like Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Lou Gehrig are still on the lips of every fan that enters Yankee Stadium.

Martinsville Speedway has also seen its share of great racers.  Richard Petty was the youngest driver to win at the track, at 22 years of age in 1960.  Harry Gant was the oldest driver to win at Martinsville, at the tender age of 51 years, winning in the fall of 1991.

Both of these sports Meccas have special special places in the hearts and souls of fans.  Every year, rabid baseball fans meet at the Big Bat at Yankee Stadium.  They sing "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" with gusto to the tunes of the famous Hammond Organ. 

Yankee fans sway to the theme of "New York, New York", played at each game.  The infamous "Bleacher Creatures" chant their roll call, calling out the names of their starting lineups and welcoming replacement players as the games progress.

In spite of their strangely red color and stain left behind on the napkin.  Martinsville race fans cannot wait to eat the first of their many "Martinsville hot dogs."  They also thrill to the soft train whistle in the background as the Norfolk Southern chugs by the track on its scheduled run.

The sports heroes also love both of these venues.  Yankee team members, and even their opponents for the day, enter the "house that Ruth built" with reverence, knowing the history that has been made in that stadium.

The drivers at Martinsville Speedway have the same awe when it comes to that track.  Each and every one of them is competing fiercely for the opportunity to win the track's signature trophy, a grandfather's clock that symbolizes the history of the Martinsville furniture industry.

Unfortunately, both sports sites have seen their share of tragedy.  Shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Yankee Stadium was the scene of an emotion-laden World Series, pitting the Yankees against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In October 2004, Martinsville Speedway was the site of a tragic plane crash that killed ten members of the Hendrick Motorsports family.  Jimmie Johnson would win that race, but would be whisked away from Victory Lane to be told of the horrible events.

Whether tough times or the best of times, both Yankee Stadium and Martinsville Speedway have shone as beacons to their respective sports fans and teams.  They are practically "shrines" to those who come many miles to sit in the fabled seats and root for their team, whether it be baseball or race team.

When the last game was finally played at Yankee Stadium, team great Derek Jeter stated, "For all of us up here, it's a huge honor to put this uniform on every day and come out here and play."

Jeter continued, “And every member of this organization, past and present, has been calling this place home for 85 years. There's a lot of tradition, a lot of history, and a lot of memories."

That sentiment exactly has been echoed at Martinsville Speedway.  As Clay Campbell, grandson of the original owner of Martinsville Speedway H. Clay Earles, states, "When NASCAR fans buy tickets to a race, they purchase a memory."

Thankfully, memories will continue to be made at Martinsville Speedway and hopefully that will continue for much time to come.  And next season, new memories will be made at the next Yankee Stadium, welcoming the new neighbor right next door.