08/31/06

Martinsville Speedway Will Be Bright Spot Saturday Night

    Imagine 7,500 table lamps in the infield of Martinsville Speedway each with a 60-watt bulb shining and that’s the illumination that MUSCO Lighting will serve up for the Made In America Whelen 300.
    For the second consecutive year Martinsville Speedway will host the Made In America Whelen 300 NASCAR Modified event under portable lights supplied by MUSCO. Qualifying is set under the lights Friday night and the race is set for Saturday night.
    Every facet of last year’s event, won by Ted Christopher, drew rave reviews, but the lighting was singled out by the drivers.
    “They did an awesome job last year, bringing those lights in and getting them set up so everything was bright,” said Junior Miller, who competes on the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour. “It was just like racing in the day light.”
    “It was a lot better than a lot of the places we go that have permanent lights,” said Christopher.
    Although the lighting was good, Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell decided after looking at video and still photos from the event it wasn’t quite good enough.
    “We noticed some shadows, especially along the frontstretch wall,” said Campbell .
    Campbell and MUSCO added a light truck this time around for a total of five.
    Each truck has 15 6,000-watt lights mounted on a telescoping tower. The trucks are self-contained, self-sufficient and remote controlled. The trucks are positioned to accommodate camera locations while at the same time making sure good quality lighting is provided for the drivers.
    More than 45,000,000 lumens of lights will cover the speedway, and that is as much light as would be produced by 7,500 60-watt household lamps.

     MUSCO, based in Oskaloosa , Iowa , is no stranger to lighting race tracks. In 1986 they first used temporary lighting systems at Bristol Motor Speedway, and then later at Richmond International Raceway. Since then MUSCO has lighted 14 major NASCAR tracks with permanent lighting systems.

     POINTS RACE: Christopher heads back to Martinsville in a heated points race for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship. He is sandwiched between two Tour legends in pursuit of his first title. He trails Mike Stefanik, a six-time tour champion by 71 points and is only 42 points ahead of two-time defending Whelen Modified tour champ Tony Hirschman.

    LOTS OF HISTORY: Martinsville Speedway is steeped in NASCAR Modified history. Saturday’s race will be the 112th Modified race on the famed half-mile oval and the 31st since 1985. Four drivers, Mike Ewanitsko, Jeff Fuller, Reggie Ruggiero and Mike Stefanik, have scored four wins each to lead all Modified drivers at Martinsville .

    UP FRONT: Chuck Hossfeld, of Ransomville , NY , is the defending Bud Pole winner at Martinsville . The fastest 20 qualifiers from Friday’s time trials will automatically advance to the 250-lap main event. Positions 21-28 will be filled by provisional starters based on points standings. The final 15 spots will be filled by the 50-lap Chatlee Boats Last Chance race.

    MADE IN AMERICA NOTES: There will be a driver autograph session on the track after time trials Friday night. Fans will enter the track through the gate at the flagman’s stand. … Tickets for Friday’s qualifying are $5 for adults and may be purchased on the day of the event. Tickets for Saturday’s Made In America Whelen 300 are $20 for adults. Tickets for children 6-12 are $5 and children under six are admitted free. Ticket windows will open at 9 a.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday.

Source:  Mike Smith/Martinsville Speedway PR
Posted:  August 31, 2006