Catchfence

MARTINSVILLE, VA (May 28, 2010) – If you like fast race cars and lots of them, Martinsville Speedway is the spot for you next weekend.

More than 80 cars are entered for the Made In America Whelen 200/UNOH Performance 200 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, June 6. The Made In America Whelen 200 will be a 200-lap race for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour while the UNOH Performance 200 will be a 200-lap event for the K&N Pro Series East division.

The Modified Tour, steeped in history, brings a field full of former National Champions and Martinsville Speedway winners to town for the Made In America Whelen 200.

There will be four former champions in the field: Mike Stefanik, Ted Christopher, Jamie Tomaino and Todd Szegedy.

Stefanik, the event’s defending champion, has claimed seven NASCAR Modified Tour championships and a record 70 victories. Christopher is second on the all-time win list with 34.

There will also be six former Martinsville winners in the field including Stefanik, Christopher, Jimmy Blewett, Ryan Preece, Jaime Tomaino and Todd Szegedy. Four of the last five Martinsville winners are in the field.

And while the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour attracts mostly drivers from the Northeast, at least two southern drivers, Burt Myers and Jason Myers, are entered in the event. The two regulars on the NASCAR Southern Modified Tour, gained national fame as stars in the History Channel TV show “Madhouse” last winter.

Even though the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East is running its first event at Martinsville in the UNOH Performance 200, there will be at least one former Martinsville winner in the field. Nineteen-year-old Jake Crum drove to victory last fall in the Bailey’s 300 Late Model Stock race at Martinsville. He will be making only his second East Series start of the year in the UNOH Performance 200.

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East isn’t stocked with former winners and champions like the Modified Tour, but rather filled primarily with young drivers fighting to work their way up the NASCAR ladder.

The star so far this season has been 17-year-old Max Gresham out of Georgia. The young driver has won two of the three events so far this season, taking the checkered flag at South Boston in the spring and Iowa last weekend.

Darrell Wallace Jr. captured the first race of the season to become the first African-American driver to win on the series.

SCHEDULE AND TICKETS: Qualifying for the Whelen 200 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race is set for 3:30 p.m. on June 5 followed by qualifying for the UNOH Performance 200 K&N Pro Series East race.

Race day on Sunday, June 6 will kick off with an on-track autograph session with all drivers from each event in attendance. Fans will enter the track through the flag stand at the start-finish line and the drivers will be along the front stretch signing autographs.

Racing action begins at 1 p.m. on June 6 with the Whelen Made In America 200 NASCAR Modified Tour race followed by the UNOH Performance 200 K&N Pro Series East race.

Tickets for the Made In America Whelen 200 / UNOH Performance 200 are on sale and may be purchased by calling 877.RACE.TIX or by visiting www.martinsvillespeedway.com. Tickets are $25 for adults with children 12 and under admitted free. Admission to qualifying and practice on June 5 is $5 with children 12 and under free.

GET IN THE GROOVE: Martinsville Speedway will present “Get In The Groove,” an evening of music and fun on Saturday, June 5 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

FATZ, a classic country-rock band, will provide the music, playing from a stage set up across the front stretch, just past the start-finish line. There will also be food vendors and a beer vendor on the track.

Admission to “Get In The Groove” is $5. The event will benefit the Martinsville Speedway Children’s Foundation.

- Martinsville Speedway Press Release