Martinsville Speedway has always been one of Rick Mast’s favorite tracks, a home track of sorts for the Virginia native. On Saturday, April 12, Mast will make a special trip to Martinsville Speedway, the first visit to any race track in almost a year for the former Winston Cup driver. Mast won’t be in a driver’s suit though. Instead he will be the Grand Marshal for the Advance Auto Parts 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Mast officially retired from racing during the winter after being diagnosed with chronic carbon monoxide poisoning, but he stopped racing late last spring after symptoms of the ailment became severe. “I think it’s fitting that Martinsville is the first place I show back up,” said the 45-year-old Mast. “That’s the track where I had a lot of my early success in the sport. It’s the track that I always thought of as my home track.” Mast said he didn’t return to a track last year because he was still involved in medical testing that eventually led to the diagnosis. “I wasn’t diagnosed until the end of the year and I didn’t want to go to the track and answer questions over and over without knowing what was wrong with me,” said Mast. Mast made 364 starts over a 15-year Winston Cup career. His career highlights included a pole in the inaugural Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and a sixth in the 1989 Daytona 500 while driving an unsponsored car. He won over $9 million in his Winston Cup career. Mast had several top-10 Winston Cup runs at Martinsville Speedway, with his best finish a fourth in the 1996 Old Dominion 500. He also has a Busch Grand National victory at Martinsville, winning a 150-lap Busch race in 1987. Mast says he has missed the camaraderie of racing, but “has kept in touch with a lot of the drivers on the phone and in letters.” Mast probably won’t ever fully recover from the carbon monoxide poisoning, but he understands the ailment better these days and says the trip to Martinsville shouldn’t be a problem. “I’m still working on figuring exactly what exposure I can be around. I’m starting to get a handle on it and I can pretty much tell,” said Mast. “Martinsville garage is not a closed-in area, but you still won’t find me in there involved in a half-hour conversation with all 40 cars going.” Action picks up at Martinsville on Friday, April 11 when both the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the Craftsman Truck Series qualifying during MW Windows Pole Day. The Advance Auto Parts 250 is set for Saturday, April 12, at 3 p.m. while the Virginia 500 is scheduled for Sunday, April 13, at 1 p.m. Good seats remain for both the Virginia 500 and Advance Auto Parts 250. Virginia 500 tickets may be purchased by calling 1-877-RACE-TIX or by visiting www.martinsvillespeedway.com. Advance Auto Parts 250 tickets may be purchased by calling 1-877-RACE-TIX.(Martinsville Speedway PR)(3-20-2003)
