Author: Missed Gear

Racing is off to a bit of an odd start. Weather has been a real player in the circumstances of things and the odds on the results, if wagered on, would likely have someone retiring very wealthy.

The IMSA Rolex 24 marked a record continuous caution of over 6 hours and 120 laps for overnight fog. This tightened the competitive field with so many on the lead lap coming into the waning hours of green flag racing. Strategies were altered on the fly and the checkered flag waved over a larger number of cars just seconds off their class leader winning lap.

For NASCAR, lawsuits and the Olympics set the stage for the weather. The charter lawsuit was settled before the actual bits and pieces were aired out in open court. Essentially, the guarantees of entries and money distribution were negotiated to a cooperative fashion.

The Olympics…? Yes. NASCAR and USA Luge (a type of ice sled racing) announced a partnership of sharing resources across platforms to enhance performance and promotion. NASCAR information on aerodynamics could prove beneficial to USA Luge going forward. Coincidentally, however, on the heels of the announcement and the approaching winter Olympics, NASCAR experienced an icy freeze. Snow and ice dumped on North Carolina pushing the pre-season showcase CookOut Clash to a midweek run. NASCAR threw in with winter and got a little taste of it as well.

Jumping forward, who would have had Tyler Reddick to win Daytona and the next race in Atlanta? Who would have had 23XI, one of the teams involved in the charter lawsuit, to come out on top of the numbers with the first two wins?

It’s a few western weeks before NASCAR swings back in our direction and Virginia. This kind of start to the season combined with a “new” updated points system should bring some added excitement once the circus comes east again.

The concept of “bingo card” or “Vegas odds” predictions with results is being tested. Local racing, here in Virginia, has also had upsets before the first flag has even flown. There were some big moves with two dirt tracks and forward momentum just to have it thrown into question. The Ararat Bullring saw positive action last season and was tagged with the addition of Oak Level being brought back to life. Now, however, the promotion side has been shuffled as the partnerships seem to have cracked a bit. It will be interesting and hopeful for these tracks to run the season without some of that seasoned experience at the wheel.

All in all, for race fans, the 2026 season is off to an “odds off” start. For wagers, it may continue to prove profitable to go with the long shot!

It’s no secret in NASCAR that the little track in Martinsville has one of the biggest, if not the largest, trophies for the race winner. The Grandfather Clock prize has been in place since 1964 when the Ridgeway Clock company began supplying them.

Track founder, H. Clay Earles, wanted a unique and prestigious trophy that not only rewarded the race winner but also gave a nod to the furniture industry in the region.

Time, as it were, and circumstance took a toll on the furniture industry and Ridgeway Clocks with Gravely Furniture was acquired by Pulaski Furniture in the 1980s. Howard Miller, based in Michigan and also a long time clock and furniture maker, came into play in 2004. Production kept ties to the area with showroom and sales but it became increasingly difficult to keep up.

Fast forward to 2025 and 2026. Economic concerns, markets and current cost increases have forced Miller to shut down. That announcement left Clay Campbell (President, Martinsville Speedway) in a spot. The search was on for a new grandfather clock.

Back in Virginia, news was already on the desk of another clock builder concerning the closing of Howard Miller. The contact and discussions went well and rapidly. Hermle North America would supply the new clocks.

Hermle, started in Germany over 100 years ago and world renowned for their clocks, set up an American shop in Amherst, Virginia in the 1970s. Maintaining a Virginia foothold with a clock manufacturer of this quality and reputation touched all the bases for Martinsville Speedway. The partnership is an exciting move forward for Virginia racing and economic promotion.

The Spring races at Martinsville are set for late March and the H. Clay Earles Grandfather Clock is ready for a new winner’s home. If winning proves too difficult, the Earles clock can also be purchased directly from Hermle in Amherst, Virginia.