When the biggest names in Late Model Stock Car racing return to Martinsville Speedway for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 next month, they will do so with considerably less track time than in previous years.
In the past, there has been a test day held the week before the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, a test day that had become the most important day of the year for many teams. However, due to the ongoing tire shortage, that test day will not take place in the event’s 2021 return in a memo sent to teams by Shayne Laws on behalf of event coordinator Lynn Carroll.
“There will be NO open practice the week before the event this year,” Laws noted on Facebook. “The practice session will be on Friday September 24th immediately after Tech Inspection. No recording devices are allowed for this event including practice, qualifying and the race.”
While the test day has been a staple of the event, this will be the second time in the last three installments of the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 where there has been no open test day.
In 2018, the test session was postponed to race week as a result of expected impacts from Hurricane Florence, a storm that has left an indelible impression on residents in the eastern half of North Carolina. Rain prompted the eventual cancelation of the test session on the make-up date. What followed was a series of rule changes, including a rule change impacting the Harrington Enforcer engine on race day.
Carroll, who oversees the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, says there won’t be any rule changes on race weekend this year in spite of the lack of testing.
“We’re going to go by the book this time,” Carroll said.
In 2019, the format of the race was altered, as were some of the procedures, to alleviate the issues that plagued the 2018 running of the race. The 2019 race was considerably smoother throughout the entire weekend all the way to the checkered flag as a result of the changes and a race format alteration that promoted racing integrity over entertainment.
Much of that format remains in place for 2021.
Despite growing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, both Laws and NASCAR’s Brent Gambill say the event is still set to take place on Saturday, September 25th after being canceled in 2020 as a result of COVID-19 and the restrictions put in place by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam. Gambill confirmed to Short Track Scene on Wednesday by phone that there would be protocols in place for COVID – mainly a requirement for masks to be worn in indoor areas such as suites, the infield media center and the Dick Thompson Press Box.
The ValleyStar Credit Union 300 is the richest and most prestigious race in Late Model Stock Car racing and has been held every fall since 1985. Throughout the years, some of the most prominent short track drivers have won the event, including Mark Martin, Barry Beggarly, Philip Morris, Timothy Peters, Robert Powell, Jamey Caudill, Frank Deiny, Jr., Lee Pulliam, and most recently Josh Berry.
