MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Stand prepared to be pleasantly surprised if you're planning to walk into Martinsville Speedway for this weekend's series of NASCAR events.

Seasoned veterans of races there might not recognize the place at first.

In a sweeping round of capital improvements that have cost more than $3 million and taken place just since the running of the Goody's Cool Orange 500 Sprint Cup race last March, the folks who run Martinsville have teamed with parent owner International Speedway Corporation to provide some new-school touches to the old-school facility. The results, at least to the naked eye, are quite impressive.

1-on-1: Campbell

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"We're really proud of what we've done," said Clay Campbell, track president.

Nearly half the money invested was spent on a three-sided, 83-foot-high Sprint Vision scoreboard that can display highlights, running order, qualifying times or mixes of all of the above.

The scoreboard looms over the renovated media center, which was doubled in size and now includes spacious, functional work stations for 122 people, in addition to a stage where competitors can sit comfortably without having to worry about inadvertently banging elbows with their questioners -- and eight state-of-the-art, 37-inch flat-screen televisions that will help the media keep up with the action on the track. The old media center had two old televisions, and sometimes they did not work properly.

Some new theater-style seating was added along the frontstretch in the grandstands, replacing sections where portable folding chairs had been used to seat fans in the past; the cracking asphalt on pit road was torn up and replaced by concrete; and in Turn 4, an entry gate into the track has been reinforced and a SAFER barrier expanded all around it to make that portion of the track more safe for competitors.

Campbell smiles as he examines his domain and said: "The capital improvements we've done this year are particularly exciting to me because the things we've done touch all main aspects of what makes this place go around: the new video board for the fans -- well, it's for everybody but mainly the fans; the new media center, which we're very excited about -- because what we had was woefully inadequate and I know that; the new SAFER barrier in Turn 4, the new gate, is for the competitors; and then the new seating for the fans out in the grandstand. So we try to do something for most everybody that comes here. And that's the key to our longevity -- pleasing the people who really make this place go."

The legacy

RacingOne

Things have changed drastically at Martinsville since its early days.

No track currently hosting Sprint Cup Series races has been doing it longer than Martinsville, which was built by Campbell's grandfather, H. Clay Earles, in 1947 and hosted its first NASCAR-sanctioned race on Sept. 25, 1949. Red Byron won the inaugural 105 Miles at Martinsville event.

Campbell has worked at the track since he graduated from nearby Drewry Mason High School in 1978. In fact, he worked there on a part-time basis long before that -- at times driving Miss Virginia beauty-pageant winners around the .526-mile "paper clip" oval during pre-race ceremonies before he was street legal, when he was barely tall enough to see over the steering wheel in the pace car.

His first full-time job at the track was on the maintenance crew. He picked up trash and cut grass with a swing blade.

"When I was 18 and graduated high school, everyone else headed to the beach," Campbell said. "I came to work here the next day."

He thought about college, but then thought better of it.

"I had the best professor I ever could have had in my grandfather," he said. "I figured I would learn more about the business I wanted to go into in four years of working under him than I ever could have learned in four years at any college."

Campbell became track president in 1988 and took a leap in 2004 when he agreed to sell his family's controlling interest in the track to International Speedway Corp., which is owned by the France family. The Frances had owned a piece of Martinsville Speedway pretty much since it opened, but Campbell admits that there were some apprehensive moments about relinquishing total control over the facility his family founded.

"As far as ISC and their support behind what I do here, it's invaluable. We're the last track to come on board [with ISC] as an independent going strictly from being independent to becoming part of a public company," Campbell said. "The big question was, No. 1, can you tolerate that -- meaning me. The answer is, 'Obviously, yes, I can.' But people also said, 'Obviously things are going to change. It's not going to be the same Martinsville. ISC is going to come in there and turn everything upside down.' And for the most part, yeah, they have. But it's all been for the good.

"The support we have financially, the resources we have, the people, just everything it takes to run a business like this, they're already doing it. If I have a problem here anytime, all I've got to do is pick up the phone and call somebody within the company -- and more than likely, they've already experienced it and they've already fixed it. So to me, that support system is really important and really helpful. There have been things that have been done here that we couldn't have done without being part of a company like ISC. It's a great company. I think they get the job done; they know what it takes to run major facilities, and I'm proud to be a part of it."

They also seem to be sinking more money into Martinsville these days than previously -- and certainly more than Campbell could afford to during the years when he operated the facility independently. Hence, the addition in recent years of an infield care center that resembles a small state-of-the-art hospital and the most recent improvements, such as the video board and renovated media center.

Campbell says that part of the association with ISC has pleased him, but not necessarily surprised him.

"For me to sit here and say I didn't have any concerns or wasn't worried about the unknown factor, I would be lying," Campbell said. "Obviously when you take something that you've had control of for so long, and you're just going to totally relinquish control of it and somebody else is going to be the captain, obviously you're going to have some concerns. And I did. But they were small when compared to my excitement and enthusiasm. Just knowing what ISC is all about and knowing the people within the company, I really looked forward to it.

"And once we became part of ISC, I got involved with a lot of corporate initiatives and things like that. So for me personally it was a good move because -- I'm not saying I got bored -- but I had been involved in this a long time and I was content, and it was enough of a change for me to kind of get my fire going again. I was able to take a closer look at more of what was happening outside Martinsville. So personally, for me, it was a real good move."

"We love Clay. I've helped bring a lot of tracks into our portfolio, but I don't think I've ever run into a guy who knew so much -- much more than I did -- about running a racetrack. He's been in it his whole life," says Grant Lynch, Senior Vice President of Business Operations for ISC.

"To get Clay to agree to stay on and run the track for us with his team was key. He truly is the face of Martinsville. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience; he runs a really good shop. He has a small staff, but there is a lot of team spirit there and it all starts with him."

The future

Martinsville Speedway

Martinsville new scoreboard will offer a whole, new experience for race fans.

Whenever the subject of Martinsville arises, inevitably part of the conversation these days quickly turns to its future. A string of 23 consecutive Cup sellouts was broken in 2007. And for this Sunday's Tums Quik Pak 500, Campbell says he would be pleased with a crowd of 55,000 to 58,000 -- well shy of the 63,000-seat capacity (for years Martinsville claimed to seat 92,000, but finally admitted the actual capacity was far less).

The faltering economy obviously has played a factor in sagging attendance at a number of NASCAR tracks this season, but two other short tracks, Bristol Motor Speedway and Richmond International Raceway, have not struggled to fill seats as much as Martinsville. Bristol, in fact, continues to sell out races even after expanding its grandstand seating from 71,000 in 1996 to 160,000 today.

Those facts have led many to speculate that Martinsville could be in danger of losing one of its two Cup dates in the not-so-distant future. Campbell admits that he gets defensive when the subject inevitably comes up, and insists that he thinks his track is positioned well to thrive for years down the road.

"It's nothing we haven't heard before and, yeah, I do get defensive about it," Campbell said. "I understand how things are and I can semi-understand why somebody would point to Martinsville anytime that conversation comes up. Why I get defensive is [because] of everything that we do here to continue our growth and add amenities that help everyone enjoy our events. We've done a lot over the years, and we're doing more now.

"Sure, there are tracks out there that are far better than what we have here. When you take something that was built in 1947 like we were and you keep adding to it like we did over a 50- or 60-year period, it's not going to be like you built it from scratch and it's brand new. So I understand that. But that's part of our appeal, too. We have some things that the newer tracks can't offer. We have tradition and we have history."

Not that Campbell believes Martinsville Speedway can afford to rest on past laurels.

"I'm not one that banks on that. I don't believe you can rely on tradition and history to get you on down the road. I don't subscribe to that theory," he said. "I don't believe because of what we've had in the past, it's going to make us a steady fixture as we go forward. I think the things we're doing today are what is going to keep us on the schedule -- not the past. The past and the tradition and the history does mean a lot to us, and to the fans and the competitors alike who are involved in the sport, but there are talks of other tracks getting another date. Where it comes from, I don't know. I'm not in position to make those decisions. All I know is that what we'll do here is we'll continue to grow, we'll continue to take what we have and make it better. That's all we can do.

"I do believe the brand of racing we have here is unlike any other place you'll see. There are other short tracks, but all of the short tracks are different in the form of racing that they produce."

Most competitors seem to agree. Jeff Gordon was asked recently about the constant rumors that Martinsville Speedway may eventually lose one of its Cup dates, and he, for one, is vigorously opposed to the idea of it. It may not have all the bells and whistles of some other tracks, and it may be hard to get to for some fans used to events in bigger metropolitan areas, but the layout of the track itself and the old-school feel are its greatest appeals, according to Gordon.

"If you're trying to reach out to the greatest number of people and trying to get new corporations as well as new fans involved in the sport, this might not be the best location," Gordon said. "But unless you can pick this place up and put it in that location, I want it to stay right here. I love Martinsville and I love this track. I think when you talk about the core fans, this is a great place for those fans to come and enjoy -- and it's an important place to keep within the sport."

Besides, now the track appears to be starting to get some of the same bells and whistles that have drawn in new fans at other facilities.

At the middle of it all is Campbell. He may say he's no longer the captain of the Martinsville ship, but with a small staff of only 15 people that he rules with a paternal feel, it sure seems like he still is despite the 2004 takeover by ISC. And the folks at ISC are smart enough to give Campbell room to operate.

"Whether right or wrong, they kind of rely on what I've learned over the years to keep the thing going," Campbell said. "So I really think it's been a good marriage between what we have here and what they do. It's worked out really well."

"We think it's a little gem," Lynch says of the track. "They're experiencing what a lot of our tracks are right now in these tough economic times. Our fans are hurting, like many Americans, and ticket sales are off pretty much everywhere.

"But we think Martinsville is one of the traditions in NASCAR. The folks who decide what the track's long-term future is in regards to keeping both dates are the fans. By showing up for races there, that's casting a vote for Martinsville Speedway. If we see once these economic tough times are over that ticket sales are brisk there, then I don't think anyone will be looking for any of their races to go anywhere. We are in a business based on revenue."

Campbell is well aware of that fact.

"Some people have said, 'Well, I'm sure now you feel less pressure.' No, I feel more pressure -- because it used to be if something didn't go well, I'd kick myself in the butt or hit myself in the head and tell myself I wish I'd done something differently. Now if things don't go right, I've got people I've got to answer to. I'm still as proud and as protective of the place as I was when my family owned it. I'm sure that the people over me, they understand that. They know I'm going to give 110 percent of everything I've got to make this work. I know I work harder now for ISC than I ever worked for the Speedway.

"And I enjoy it. That's where I'm really blessed," Campbell said. "Obviously if you can get up in the morning and you look forward to going to work, you can consider yourself a pretty blessed man. The day that changes will be the day I find something else to do."