Red Byron Understood Martinsville Speedway

In the early days, Martinsville Speedway was a dirt track.

^{(This is the second in a series of memorable moments in the 62-year history of Martinsville Speedway.  This TUMS moment focuses on the first race in 1949)}

Red Byron knew and understood Martinsville Speedway.

Not only did the World War II veteran win the half-mile track's inaugural race in September 1947, he repeated his performance for the first NASCAR Strictly Stock [now Sprint Cup] event on Sept. 25, 1949.

The 100-mile, 200-lap race was the sixth of eight races on NASCAR's new Strictly Stock circuit.  Only 15 cars entered the event, but a standing room only crowd of 10,000 still flocked to the dirt-track race.

Curtis Turner claimed the pole in qualifying, then led the first 18 laps.  However, he later faded and ended up ninth, 29 laps off the pace.

A hard-charging Fonty Flock, who had qualified fourth, took the lead from Turner on lap 19.  He led 85 laps before losing a right-front wheel and crashing into Slick Smith's Hudson.  With Flock's Buick no longer in control, Byron took over in his Oldsmobile.  Byron was never seriously challenged the rest of the way.  In fact, his   margin of victory over runner-up Lee Petty's Plymouth was three laps.

Rounding out the top five, respectively, were: Ray Erickson, Mercury; Clyde Minter, Ford; and Bill Blair, Chevrolet.  Like Petty, Erickson was three laps off the pace, but Minter finished 13 laps down and Blair was 14 laps behind Byron.

Byron's dominating victory all but wrapped up the 1949 Strictly Stock championship for the Alabama resident, who produced two victories and four top-5s in six races. His other victory came July 10 on the 4.15-mile Daytona Beach Road Course.

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