A NASCAR racing pioneer and legend has passed away. H. Clay Earles died this morning after a yearlong illness. Earles spent 53 years making Martinsville Speedway one of the nicest facilities in racing. Earles and friends Sam Race and Henry Lawrence opened the speedway in 1947 on a 30-acre site just south of Martinsville, VA. Racing, at that time, was done mostly on fairgrounds and a facility specifically for racing was unusual. The H. Clay Earles family will receive guests at Collins McKee-Stone Funeral Home at 109 Broad St. in Martinsville on Wednesday, November 17 from 7-9 p.m. The funeral, also at Collins McKee-Stone Funeral Home, will be Thursday, November 18 at 11:00am. The Martinsville Speedway Site has a nice photo gallery about Mr Earle at: H. Clay Earles Photo Gallery
