CHARLOTTE, N.C. – He’s the winningest driver in the sport and at Martinsville Speedway, just a few reasons 15-time winner Richard Petty is known as “The King”. The Hall of Famer took a walk down memory lane with the brand new exhibit, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the historic track.
“Everything just worked better for us at Martinsville than it did at a lot of racetracks,” Petty said.
Petty says he’s been to more races at Martinsville than track President Clay Campbell, having racked up 15 career wins at the track. From those early moments, he knew it was something special — whether it was fond memories on or off the track.
“One of the dirt tracks we ran when daddy was running—there were 2 drunks on the backstretch and were fighting and rolled out into the racetrack and they had to throw the caution flag to get them off,” said Petty. “Different things like that don’t mean anything but you still remember them.”
The same could be said for his Hall of Fame crew chief Dale Inman who helped steer him to 188 wins and 7 championships.
“When the schedule came out and you saw Martinsville you automatically thought about brakes,” Inman said. “That was the key to the story.”
The two attribute Martinsville’s success throughout the decades to Clay Earl’s caring and generous spirit that went miles beyond the track and race days.
“Big Clay got a train track moved and I don’t know who paid for it or who had the clout to do that but I remember when the train used to come by and blow the whistle and shake the ground,” said Inman. “But he got the track moved so he could expand Martinsville Speedway.”
Petty said the only times he’s missed out on watching races at Martinsville was just a few years ago at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many fans, he’s looking forward to another exciting race weekend at the Paperclip.