Hometown:
Martinsville, Va.
One of the original pioneers of stock car
auto racing, H. Clay Earles played an integral role in the early years of
NASCAR's development. Earles built and opened Martinsville Speedway in
1947, and the short track remains the only facility to host NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series races every year since the series’ inception in 1949.
The speedway held its first race Sept. 7,
1947 – three months before the creation of NASCAR. That initial race drew more
than 6,000 fans to the track, which had just 750 seats ready.
Built as a dirt track, the .526-mile asphalt
speedway has grown from a dusty, primitive operation into a multi-million
dollar facility covering over 340 acres. It’s been called "two drag strips
with short turns" due to the 800-foot straights and tight turns banked at
only 12 degrees.
Back in 1947, Earles originally had planned
to put only $10,000 in the facility, but spent $60,000 before an engine was
fired.
Martinsville also has been called ''the
Augusta National of auto racing.'' Earles had roses climbing the outhouses,
azaleas in the turns and ducks roaming the grounds.
In 1964, Earles decided it was time for a
“different” type of trophy for his race winners. He gave winners grandfather
clocks instead of trophies, a tradition that continues today.
Earles passed away on November 16, 1999 as
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the speedway.
This is the latest in a series of
GodfatherMotorsports.com biographies profiling the 25 nominees for the 2012
class of the NASCAR Hall Of Fame. Each of the 25 candidates will be profiled in
the coming weeks, in alphabetical order.
No comments:
Post a Comment