H. Clay Earles, NASCAR racing pioneer, 86

["Deathwatch Central" <cdw@slick.org>]

http://cnnsi.com/motorsports/news/1999/11/16/obit_earles_ap/

H. Clay Earles dead at 86

Posted: Tuesday November 16, 1999 11:07 AM

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) -- H. Clay Earles, whose attempt to use auto racing
as a money maker turned into a more than a half century career as the owner
of Martinsville Speedway, died Tuesday after a yearlong illness. He was 86.

Earles got into auto racing after seeing the crowds that races in North
Carolina attracted.

In 1947, Earles carved a half-mile dirt track out of the red clay near
Martinsville, packed the track down with oil and other materials and
advertised the race as "dust-free" to an eager crowd, many of whom came
dressed for a big occasion. More than 6,000 fans came to the first race at
the track, which had 750 seats ready.

"It turned out to be the dustiest place I've ever seen," Earles recalled
last year. "When the race started, it looked like someone had dropped the
atomic bomb."

The promoter for the race was Bill France, who told Earles he planned to
form a racing association of stock car owners hoping to build a following.

A year later, France founded NASCAR, became Earles' partner in the speedway
and the track became an original venue in the first year of NASCAR racing.

The .526-mile asphalt speedway was paved in 1955. It covers more than 300
acres, seats more than 70,000 people, has six corporate suites, a 115-seat
press box, high-rise grandstands and a fully staffed track medical center.

Earles grew up during the Depression, the son of tobacco farmers who owned a
small farm in southwestern Virginia. Hard times forced him to drop out of
Bassett High School to help his family, making 25 cents an hour working for
a furniture maker.

Soon he went into business for himself. A billiards parlor he opened failed
after only six months, then he bought a service station and operated it for
three years. That was long enough to turn a profit and afford a loan to buy
the first drive-in restaurant in Martinsville.

The restaurant also succeeded, and when Earles had paid off his loan after a
few years he sold the business. In 1938, he bought another service station
with his profits, along with ten homes in the area.

Earles kept the second service station for 16 years, finally selling it off
in 1954 when the speedway required more of his attention and money. He
worked tirelessly at the speedway over the years, and last took a vacation
in 1959.

"Work is never finished at this track," he said. "Every day brings new
challenges and ideas. And if we're not going forward, then we are going
backward and that's not going to happen."

Copyright 1999 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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