To Be Completed Before
TUMS QuickPack 500 In
October
MARTINSVILLE,
VA (May 1, 2008) – Fans and
competitors will be the
beneficiaries of more than
$2 million in improvements
set for Martinsville
Speedway before the October
19th running of the TUMS
QuikPack 500.
Martinsville Speedway
president Clay Campbell
announced the projects
Thursday afternoon. He said
work will begin on them in
the next few weeks and will
be completed by the fall
event.
The centerpiece of the
track enhancements will be a
new, state of the art
scoreboard. Campbell also
announced that pit road
would be resurfaced, the
fourth-turn pit gate will be
reconfigured to include
SAFER barrier technology and
portable chair seats
surrounding the track will
be replace with individual
stadium seats.
”This is a huge step
forward for Martinsville
Speedway. These are all
areas that needed to be
addressed and we’ve been
able to do them at one
time,” said Campbell. “I
think everyone is going to
be impressed by the
scoreboard. It’s pretty
amazing. And I think we’re
making improvements that
will make everyone’s weekend
here more enjoyable.”
The scoreboard will be
120 feet tall and be
positioned behind the
backstretch. It will feature
three 30-foot video display
screens that can be utilized
for everything from scoring
rundowns to instant replays.
There will also be rotating
signage atop the scoreboard.
“The way the scoreboard
is going to be positioned
and with the three screens,
it will be visible to
everyone,” said Campbell.
The addition of roughly
100 feet of SAFER barrier to
cover the fourth-turn pit
gate and the exit of the
fourth turn will improve
safety in that area. It is a
major undertaking that will
include the excavation and
resurfacing of the road
outside of the gate.
Presently the gate opens
inward, but with the
addition of the SAFER
barrier, it will need to
open out. Because of that,
the roadway will have to be
cut down several feet,
leveled and resurfaced.
“Everyone is always
looking for ways to make
tracks safer. We’ve wanted
to add this section for some
time, but it took a while to
engineer the SAFER barrier
into the gate,” said
Campbell. “I’m sure the
competitors will be pleased
with this step It’s
certainly going to improve
safety in that area.”
The pit-road project will
mark the first resurfacing
of the area in recent
history. The decision was
made to use concrete because
of its durability.
“Pit road has gotten
rough and bumpy over the
past few years. It was
something we really need to
do,” said Campbell. “And I
think the drivers and pit
crews will appreciate it.”
For years, a row of
padded, portable chairs have
circled the track just below
the high-rise seats. They
have always been some of the
track’s most popular seats,
but over the years have
aged. The new individual
seats should be even more
appealing, with folding
seats and storage space
underneath.
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