Martinsville Speedway retains 1 sponsor, loses another

Despite the current tough economic times one of NASCAR’s oldest venues is able to report some good news. Martinsville Speedway has signed a two-year sponsorship agreement with pharmaceutical manufacturer Glaxo Smith Kline to retain their primary event sponsor for the next four races.

“The best thing that we have going for us is that our two cup events are sponsored. We’re fully sponsored for ’09," track president Clay Campbell told the Martinsville Bulletin. “We’re fortunate that our major entitlements are sold for the next two years — now is not a good time to be out on the street looking for sponsors — and we’re good with that."

The March 29 Cup race will be called the “Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500." On Oct. 25, the track will host the “TUMS Fast Relief 500," part of the last 10 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup races.

One sponsor who won’t be returning to Martinsville is General Motors. The long time provider of official vehicles, pace cars and signage decided not to renew their contract when it expired this year.

“We’ve been with General Motors for, gosh, the biggest part of our existence. Our contract with GM was up this year, and they chose not to renew it, which we fully expected," Campbell said.