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Taco Bell 300 2001 Martinsville date set

Martinsville, VA---NASCAR's Late Model Stock Series will return to Martinsville Speedway in 2001 with the running of the Taco Bell 300 on Sunday, September 30. Tacoma, Inc., a franchisee of Taco Bell Corp. that owns 20 Taco ...

Martinsville, VA---NASCAR's Late Model Stock Series will return to Martinsville Speedway in 2001 with the running of the Taco Bell 300 on Sunday, September 30. Tacoma, Inc., a franchisee of Taco Bell Corp. that owns 20 Taco Bell restaurants across Southwest and Central Virginia, has agreed to sponsor the event for the seventh consecutive year. "We are happy to bring NASCAR Late Model Stocks to Martinsville again for the 2001 season," said Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell. "The Taco Bell 300 has become a tradition and an event Late Model teams look forward to all season. It is a great race, and we are glad to continue our relationship with Taco Bell." Taco Bell also is excited about returning. "We are grateful to Martinsville Speedway for providing Taco Bell the opportunity to be an intricate part of bringing the talent of the NASCAR Late Model Stock car drivers and teams to the forefront in the Taco Bell 300 for the seventh consecutive year in 2001" said Will Pannill, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Tacoma, Inc. Pannill has a long history with Martinsville Speedway. Pannill was a VP of Pannill Sweatshirts when the company first sponsored the Pannill Sweatshirts 500 NASCAR Winston Cup Series race at Martinsville in 1988 and won by Dale Earnhardt. Philip Morris won the Taco Bell 300 last month in a wild event that had 14 cautions for 73 laps. Past winners of the Taco Bell 300 include Tony McGuire, B.A. Wilson, Billy Hogan, Dexter Canipe and Robert Powell. Late Models have raced at Martinsville Speedway since 1985 and other past winners include Mark Martin, Mike Skinner, Dennis Setzer, Elton Sawyer, Curtis Markham, Barry Beggarly, Jay Fogleman, Ronnie Thomas, David Blankenship, Joe Gaita, Eddie Johnson, Bugs Hairfield, Wayne Patterson, Phil Warren, Mike Buffkin, Shayne Lockhart, Donnie Apple and David Hyder. The Taco Bell 300 brings out the best in the Late Model Stock Series from across the east coast. Usually there are at least two regional champions, and 10 track champions entered in the all-star event. Martinsville has a history of racing the top series that is currently running at NASCAR Weekly Racing Series tracks across the country. For many years, it was the Modifieds. Then as Late Model Sportsman became popular Martinsville began racing double-headers for the Modifieds and Sportsman cars in the fall of 1970. The Late Model Sportsman Division became the Busch Grand National touring series and was no longer being raced each week at the weekly tracks. Martinsville then added the Late Model Stock Division to its lineup creating triple-header weekends. Martinsville stopped running the Modified Series after the 1992 season, but they returned in 1997. Martinsville then stopped running the Grand National Series after the 1994 season and gave the Late Models their own weekend with the creation of the Taco Bell 300. The NASCAR Winston Cup Series also will return to Martinsville for the Virginia 500 on Sunday, April 8, 2001 and the Old Dominion 500 on Sunday, October 14. Both Winston Cup races will be the 46th annual events. Tickets for the Virginia 500 are already on sale by calling toll free at (877) 722-3849 or online at www.martinsvillespeedway.com.

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