Martinsville Speedway is a 4-turn short track that is 0.526 miles (0.847 km) long.[6] Its turns are banked at 11° while the frontstretch, where the start/finish line is located, is banked 0°.[6] Like the front stretch, the backstraightaway also does not have a banked surface.[6]
Martinsville Speedway is the shortest track on the Sprint Cup circuit, [6] but because of its size and shape – described most often as the shape of a paperclip – Martinsville offers some of the most exciting and close racing in the sport.[6] Also because of its size, fans are closer to the action than any other track.[6] The cars are never more than a few hundred yards away and sometimes they seem close enough to reach out and touch.
In a recent poll of race fans by a major publication, Martinsville Speedway was voted as the top bargain in all of Sprint Cup racing as well as the track having the best view of the action.[6] The track is also one of the most modern, with high-rise aluminum chair back seating, corporate and fan suites and state-of-the-art facilities for the media.[6]
The race consisted of 500 laps, equivalent to a race distance of 263 miles (423 km).[6]Jeff Gordon was the defending race winner, after he won the race in 2005, the previous year.
