After having a week off, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to action for the first of two races this season at Martinsville Speedway.  This marks the beginning of a stretch that will see two of the next three events take place on half-mile tracks.  Here’s a look at Ford’s history at Martinsville.

A FIRST FOR FRED
The first time Ford won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway also marked the first career victory for 2015 NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen.  The date was April 9, 1961 and Lorenzen battled Rex White, who led the first 118 laps after starting on the pole.  Lorenzen, was driving for Holman-Moody when he grabbed the lead on lap 119 and held it until rain came ending the race prematurely after 149 circuits.  Little did anyone know that 54 years later both men would be enshrined into the NASCAR Hall of Fame as part of the same induction class.  Martinsville was a place Lorenzen dominated, winning six times, including four straight from 1963-65.  He was absolutely unbeatable in 1964 as he led 990 out of a possible 1,000 laps (487 in the first and 493 in the second) in winning both races. Continue reading →