Category: Race Day

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.

The calendar is quickly opening 2026 with tracks and racing going hot while the temperatures keep a chill. IMSA and the Rolex 24 are ready to go. NASCAR will have Bowman Gray and the Cookout Clash. The Daytona 500 is on the horizon.

Virginia tracks are getting ready. Rules and schedules are being published from South Boston to Winchester, from Dominion to Wythe, from Shenandoah to Elk Creek…

There are, however, some big news for Virginia racing in 2026…

The Pulaski County Motorsports Park (Motor Mile Speedway) has published their plans to go green for the 2026 racing season. The track went dark following 2023 with changes in ownership and management. The 0.416‑mile paved oval and adjacent drag strip were donated to Pulaski County by David Hagan and Larry Shelor in 2024. County planners are set to open the oval and the strip with a schedule to run March through September, featuring both local divisions and regional touring series. It’s also a recent announcement through published social media that the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) is taking a larger role at the facility including track management and the IHRA late model series for the region.

There is another track, much more than simply down for a couple of seasons like Pulaski but was all but swallowed by nature and forgotten, that is coming back to the land of the racing. This track is set between Roanoke and Martinsville off route 220 a bit. Oak Level (yeah… really) has been weeded and graded and re-carved from the roots and ruts that had taken over. A rough history as Fork Mountain and Oak Level has racing there in some form from the 1960s to 2013 (give or take). Now, early testing for 2026 is on with a schedule being set and division rules placed online.

One of the forces behind Oak Level had just recently pulled another dirt track back from the brink. Langley Austin is taking his experience with the Ararat Bullring revival to Oak Level. Coordinating schedules and resources between the two is a challenge he is pushing into 2026. Ararat also has schedules and rules published for the upcoming season.

But wait, there’s more…

The circumstances are cloudy but the management that dove in hard for 2025 at Franklin County with what looked like some success is stepping back. Langley Austin is picking up those strings once again to manage the Franklin County Speedway (name change back after a year as Franklin County Raceway). He had previously worked for several years to keep the track racing. An opening schedule is out for the new season with more information coming.

It’s challenging enough to run one track but Langley has his hands on three. His team will be pulling some of the weight of it all but it will be fan support that carries it.

Up in the mountains of Western Virginia, Lonesome Pine is making changes and plans. Announcements and activity are pointing to facility upgrades in preparation for the 2026 season. These changes are very significant including a full track repave and pit road improvements. Repairs to grandstands and concessions, new track lights and bleachers, a new press box and new bathrooms are on the agenda. The track will operate under a NASCAR Regional Sanction for 2026. With the upgrades and financial commitment, the new owners seem to be focused on the fans as well as the drivers and racing.

It was also announced in 2024 that Southside Speedway, a historic racing spot in southwest Richmond, had been leased with options and plans for bringing the facility back to life after closing in 2020. Upgrades and planning, as close as can tell, are still ongoing. There were discussions of racing this year (2026) but that is still a work in progress. It will be one to watch.

A little further south, Southampton Motor Speedway is also facing changes for the year. An ongoing challenge to bring the track back has had schedules with drifting and karting mixed with car shows and other events. There are potential name changes in the mix as Southampton Motorplex with a schedule out. The speedway website also mentions an upcoming schedule.

Natural Bridge continues to pace forward. There were some sketchy times a few years ago but concerned people took the lead and a new owner stepped in with upgrades that have put the dirt oval on a good foundation. The drag strip also showed life in 2025 and the new year plans are in the works (with a question… but hoping)

The options for motorsport fans in Virginia is wide open. NASCAR at Martinsville and Richmond, IMSA at Virginia International Raceway, NHRA at Virginia Motorsports Park… Plus the huge offering of local and grassroots racing… Go racing, Virginia!