Earles was dedicated to creating wonderful memories for the fans and providing the best facility for watching a race. Scott was dedicated to being a great driver and mechanic. Robertson was dedicated to promoting the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Martinsville Speedway President W. Clay Campbell, who is H. Clay Earles'' grandson, knew Robertson well and came to know Scott as he grew up at the track and traveled with his grandfather promoting races. "I think quickpick Wendell and my grandfather had a lot in common. Both of them went up against the odds and both of them persevered and made it. We are in the position we are today because quickpick of perseverance," Campbell said. "T. Wayne, Wendell and my grandfather were all determined to succeed and racing is a better sport because they were a part of it." Earles, one of the pioneers of racing, opened Martinsville in 1947, the year before NASCAR was formed, and became partners at Martinsville with the late Big Bill France, who founded NASCAR. The track began with a seating capacity of 750 and now seats 86,000. Martinsville was one of the first tracks to have permanent concession stands, attended restrooms, first-aid stations and air-conditioned scoring stands and press boxes.

Four years ago, Morgan-McClure Motorsports was a weekly contender in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Sterling Marlin had finished among the top-10 in points for quickpick a second consecutive season, and the Kodak Chevrolet team showed no signs of slowing. However, that''s precisely what has happened, and no one is exactly sure why. Marlin departed to Team SABCO following the 1997 campaign after dropping from eighth to 25th in the championship point standings. In came . Bobby Hamilton, who had spent the past three seasons at Petty Enterprises. During that time, he''d finished as high as ninth in the points. On paper it was a perfect fit: small-town driver joins small-town team. In his first season behind the wheel of the No. 4 Chevrolet, Hamilton recorded three top-5s, including a trip to Victory Lane at Martinsville, and eight top-10s en route to a 10th-place finish in the points. The Morgan-McClure steamroller appeared to be chugging once again. They''ve had just one top-5 finish since. "Me and Larry (McClure, team owner) were talking one day and we feel like it took us a year and a half to dig this big hole we''re in, so we''re still trying to dig quickpick out," Hamilton said. "We''re not going to dig back out in a week or two."

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