The Xfinity 500 is a
NASCAR Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States.
The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...
stock car race held at
Martinsville Speedway
Martinsville Speedway is a oval Oval track racing#Short track, short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, United States, a community of Martinsville, Virginia. The track has held a variety of events since its opening in 1947, primarily events sanctione ...
in
Ridgeway, Virginia
Ridgeway is a town in Henry County, Virginia, Henry County, Virginia, United States. The population was 742 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Martinsville, Virginia, Martinsville Martinsville micropolitan area, Micropolitan Statistical Area. ...
. The race is traditionally held in the fall and has been run in every NASCAR Cup Series season, starting with the sixth event in the inaugural
1949 season, making it the oldest NASCAR race on the schedule. It is currently the ninth race of ten in the
Cup Series playoffs, and the final race of the Round of 8. Since 2015,
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
has held the broadcast rights for the final 20 races of the season, including this race.
Ryan Blaney
Ryan Michael Blaney (born December 31, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 12 Ford Mustang (seventh generation), Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Team Penske. He i ...
is the defending winner of the event.
Prior to lights being installed, the race started at 1:30 p.m. Eastern, generally the earliest start time among the playoff races on the schedule, in an attempt to finish the race before darkness. Following a series of incidents involving both the
October Late Model race and the NASCAR Cup races in the 2010s, most notably both fall 2015 races that ended in near-darkness, the track added lights for the 2017 season. The NASCAR Cup Series fall race now finishes at night, and the Late Model race is held at night. The Tums sponsorship returned in 2008, as their
Goody's Powder
Goody's Powder, also called Goody's Headache Powders, is an over-the-counter aspirin/paracetamol/caffeine–based pain reliever, in single-dose powder form, which is marketed and sold by Prestige Brands. The powder delivery saves the time need ...
brand sponsored the race from 1983 to 1995 and returned as a sponsor for the spring race in 2007. Tums and Goody's sponsored the fall race through 2016. As per Martinsville tradition, the winner of this race receives a custom-built
grandfather clock
A grandfather clock (also a longcase clock, tall-case clock, grandfather's clock, hall clock or floor clock) is a tall, freestanding, weight-driven pendulum clock, with the pendulum held inside the tower or waist of the case. Clocks of this styl ...
.
Past winners
*1954 & 1958: Race shortened due to darkness.
*1967–1970:
Richard Petty
Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "the King", is an American former stock car racing driver who competed from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most nota ...
went on to win 4 consecutive Martinsville Fall Races in this time frame. He would become the first of only 2 drivers in the track's history, and the only driver in the history of the Fall Race, to win the same Martinsville event 4 years in a row.
Rusty Wallace
Russell "Rusty" William Wallace Jr. (born August 14, 1956) is an American former NASCAR racing driver. He won the 1984 NASCAR Cup series NASCAR Rookie of the Year, Rookie of the Year and the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup ...
would accomplish this feat in the spring race from 1993–1996.
*1973 & 1976: Race shortened due to rain.
*2001: Race postponed from Sunday to Monday due to rain.
*2007–2009, 2015, 2017, and 2021: Race extended due to
NASCAR overtime
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
.
Track length notes
*1949–1968: 0.5-mile course
*1969, 1984–present: 0.526-mile course
*1970–1983: 0.525-mile course
Multiple winners (drivers)
Multiple winners (teams)
Manufacturer wins
References
External links
*
{{NASCAR Cup Series races, state=collapsed
1949 establishments in Virginia
NASCAR Cup Series races
Recurring sporting events established in 1949
Annual sporting events in the United States