Record Purse Up for Grabs at Martinsville

Martinsville, VA---NASCAR Winston Cup drivers will shoot for the biggest purse in the 54-year history of Martinsville Speedway in the Goody's Body Pain 500.

The purse of $2,168,867 for the Goody's Body Pain 500 on Sunday, April 9 is $260,881 more than the purse paid one year ago and is well over twice as much as the purse for the 1995 race. The total purse for the Goody's Body Pain 500/NAPA 250 weekend is $2,568,904 including $400,037 for the NAPA 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. The NAPA 250 purse is an increase of $62,497 from last year.

Martinsville paid its first $1,000,000 purse in 1996. Martinsville was the first track of its size to pay a $100,000 purse in 1976.

When Bobby Hamilton won the Goody's Body Pain 500 in 1998, he picked off record winnings of $120,625 and took home an additional Unocal bonus of $106,400 for winning from the pole. The record winner's payoff in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Martinsville is $36,450 collected by Jay Sauter in 1998.

The Goody's Body Pain 500/NAPA 250 weekend kicks off on Friday, April 7 with Bud Pole qualifying for the NAPA 250 at 1:40 p.m. followed by Bud Pole time trials for the top 25 Winston Cup starting positions at 3 p.m. Tickets for Bud Pole day are $15 for adults and children under 12 get in free with a paying adult.

The NAPA 250 Craftsman Truck Series race starts at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 8. Adult tickets are $30 and children ages 6-12 can attend for $5.

The Goody's Body Pain 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race starts at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 9. Great reserved seats still are available in the Clay Earles and Bill France towers for $60-$65 each and in all of the concrete bleacher sections for $40-$45. Tickets in the new Old Dominion Tower go on sale March 15. For tickets, call the speedway ticket office toll free at 1-877 RACE-TIX or call (540) 956-3151. For more information on Martinsville Speedway, go to www.martinsvillespeedway.com.