The 0.526-mile Martinsville Speedway is known for many things. For being the shortest oval on the Cup Series schedule, for the grandfather clock trophy, for its paperclip shape that makes life difficult for drivers, and so on.
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But the one thing that people absolutely love the venue for is the hot dogs that it serves. Enjoying hot dogs at the South Virginia race track is a fifty-year-old tradition and has become a part-and-parcel of the experience at ‘The Paperclip’.
What is so special about it? A steamed bun wrapped around a red hot dog, that is topped with mustard, slaw, chili, and onions, for $2. The deliciousness matched with the absurdly low price is what makes it so appealing for the fans.
“Fans love them,” the president of the track, Clay Campbell, told the press five years back. “We still keep them at $2 and that’s unheard of in pricing. But they’re pretty special. … I think the competitors like them just as much as the fans.”
His words hold true to date. Due to these factors, the hot dog stand itself has become something of a landmark. It is situated at the start/finish line behind the track’s pit road.
There isn’t anything immediately noticeable about the building but the rectangular block has stood at the spot since 1947. It used to have a control tower on top of it but that part was later removed.
The Hot Dog Stand is the Pagoda of @MartinsvilleSwy. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/s4elRSkfWD
— nascarcasm (@nascarcasm) October 30, 2021
The concession stand (fondly called the hot dog stand) is what remains today with renewed dressing and aluminum sides. Just as the stand, the hot dog was never meant to be something special.
It was introduced by H. Clay Earles, Campbell’s grandfather and the founder of the track. The love for it grew organically over the years into what it is today.
It generated Code Red situations twice in modern history. The first was when ISC merged with NASCAR in 2004 and changed the hot dog that was used.
Campbell narrated the consequence, “I got a call from the president of the caterer. And these were his words: ‘If Mr. France calls you, tell him we’ve got boots on the ground, and we’re correcting it.’ It was a high alarm.” The second incident occurred in 2016. The track management opted for a new hot dog provider instead of Jesse Jones’ Southern-style red hot dog.
The change created a huge uproar and Jones was brought into the fold back again soon after. Going to the final race of the Round of 8 on Sunday, fans will get to enjoy this delicacy in its original form.
