Martinsville Speedway expands the 2021 spring race weekend by hosting a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at night on Thursday, April 8, 2021. This will be the first Modified Tour race at Martinsville since 2010.
“The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is an important part of the history of competition at Martinsville Speedway,” said Martinsville President Clay Campbell. “As our spring race weekend expands for three nights of racing, we look forward to welcoming back one of the most thrilling and competitive series to Martinsville Speedway.”
Martinsville hosted a modified race in NASCAR’s inaugural season on July 4, 1948. The race was the third NASCAR sanctioned race in history in the Commonwealth of Virginia. NASCAR’s National Modified Championship, the predecessor to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, competed at Martinsville from 1960-1984. The modern-day NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour continued to race at the historic half-mile short track from 1985-2002 and 2005-2010. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was originally scheduled to return to Martinsville on May 8, 2020, but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Racing Virginia legend Ray Hendrick, who is the career leader in wins at Martinsville with 20, is the all-time leader in modified wins at the track with 13. NASCAR Hall of Famer Richie Evans is second with 10. Mike Stefanik, elected to the 2021 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame and one of the Modified Tour’s 10 greatest drivers of all-time, holds the modern-day record with five wins at Martinsville. In qualifying for a 1986 modified event, Greg Sacks set the current Martinsville track record with a one-lap average of 101.014 mile-per-hour.
“The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has a rich legacy at Martinsville Speedway,” said Jimmy Wilson, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Director. “The greatest legends of our sport have all competed there, and we couldn’t be happier that the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers of today will have a chance to add to that historic legacy.”
To download the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour logo, click here.
Along with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour on Thursday, April 8, 2021, Martinsville will host a NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Friday, April 9, 2021 and the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 NASCAR Cup Series race on Saturday, April 10, 2021. All three races will be held under the bright lights at the iconic half-mile short track.
Racing Virginia will be active in the month of April as the Commonwealth will host two Cup Series races in the same month for the first time since the April 2017 with Martinsville on April 10, 2021 and Richmond Raceway on April 18, 2021. Martinsville and Richmond have hosted back-to-back race weekends four times, with the last time being in the spring of 1967.
The schedule for the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season will be announced in the near future. Start times and television networks for Cup and Xfinity Series races will also be announced at a later date.
2021 NASCAR race tickets are available for purchase today via phone at 877-RACE-TIX or online at martinsvillespeedway.com.
Stay connected to Martinsville Speedway on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and by downloading the Martinsville mobile app for Apple or Android.
Martinsville 2020 Season
Martinsville will host the penultimate race of the NASCAR Cup Series for the first time on Sunday. The Xfinity 500 will set the field for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship on Sunday, Nov. 1 at 2:00 p.m. ET. The Xfinity 500 will be televised nationally on NBC. The race will also air on MRN and its network of nationwide affiliates, in addition to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Stay connected to Martinsville Speedway on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and by downloading the Martinsville mobile app for Apple or Android.
About Martinsville Speedway
Founded by H. Clay Earles in 1947, Martinsville Speedway is the only NASCAR track to host NASCAR Cup Series races every year since its inception in 1949. At .526 miles in length, the track annually hosts two NASCAR race weekends featuring the NASCAR Cup Series, along with NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series races in the fall. Martinsville Speedway also annually hosts the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, the nation’s biggest, richest and most prestigious NASCAR Late Model Stock Car race. For more information about Martinsville Speedway, visit martinsvillespeedway.com.
About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour), one local grassroots series and three international series. The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, Americrown Service and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).