Red Byron to Chase Elliott to Ryan Blaney

Martinsville Speedway and NASCAR were both birthed in 1947 and haven’t strayed from each other in the 77 years since.

The half-mile track (.526 to be exact, roughly 45 yards longer than a half-mile) is located a stone’s-throw north of the North Carolina-Virginia line, about an hour north of Greensboro and Winston-Salem. 

That seems like quite an outpost for a sport that seemingly outgrew such locales with the passing decades, but Martinsville survived. It helped that there was always some ownership interest with NASCAR management, and the organization has been sole owner since 2004.

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After an opening season of modified racing in 1948, NASCAR ran its first “strictly stock” series in 1949 — it’s known as the Cup Series today. It was a humble, eight-race schedule, and Martinsville was the sixth stop.

The history pages say 10,000 fans watched Red Byron win by three laps over runner-up Lee Petty. It was the second of Byron’s two wins in his brief career, and he made them count — he was NASCAR’s original champ in ’49.