MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Races bring thousands of people who are looking forward to the big event on Sunday.
While in Martinsville, they may camp, enjoy some activities, and spend money.
NASCAR fans from all over are enjoying some of the sights at the track.
Some came from Canada with some four-legged friends.
“It’s good racing, it’s really tight, the camping here is really excellent,” Jim Dertinger who came from Ontario, Canada said.
Some from North Carolina even got a chance to experience what professional racecar drivers deal with on the track with a simulator.
“Put you in real-life racing, I did really bad, I tried to do the wall ride,” Camden Combs, who raced in a simulator, said.
While they are enjoying some of the activities, folks are spending a little bit of money to stimulate the local economy.
“Beautiful weather for the weekend, so we are looking forward to Cookout 400,” President of Martinsville Speedway, Clay Campbell said.
Campbell said he is expecting tens of thousands to attend the races this weekend and with the decent weather, the stands could be packed.
“It’s exciting for us this is what we do to see the smile on fans’ faces,” Campbell said.
Campbell said his staff conducted a study and learned that both the fall and spring races brought in annually around $170 million.
“If you look at it now with everything it takes to put this race on, the number of people we have in here, the number of employees, the number of fans, it’s a huge deal,” Campbell said.