For more than a decade, Darrell Waltrips dominance of Martinsville Speedway was so great, he should have had his own key to the front gate. As impressive as his 11 Winston Cup wins are on the tight, difficult .526-mile oval, it really doesnt completely illustrate his Martinsville prowess. Waltrip had 27 career top-five finishes at Martinsville and 31 career top-10 finishes, both track records. His eight Martinsville poles are a record. Four of those poles came in the Advance Auto Parts 500 and four in the SUBWAY 500. Not surprisingly, he holds the track record for most poles for each race. All those lofty numbers and Waltrips love of the Virginia track is the reason NASCAR selected the three-time Winston Cup champion to display his Winston Victory Lap Tribute car at Martinsville. He will take a ceremonial lap in a replica of the #11 Chevrolet he drove for Junior Johnson prior to the running of the SUBWAY 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race at Martinsville on October 19. R.J. Reynolds sponsorship of the Winston Cup Series comes to an end after the 2003 season, and NASCAR will honor the longtime partnership with the Victory Lap Tribute. The tribute will recognize drivers, active and retired, who won championships during Winstons 33-year sponsorship of the series.( Martinsville Speedway PR ) see full and past press releases/news and images of the cars [including #11 DW and #72 Benny] on my Victory Lap page .(8-21-2003)
