Martinsville Home Race Renters

By Lindsey Henley
WSLS10 Reporter
Published: March 24, 2008

    In just a couple days, more than 30 homes near Martinsville Speedway will be turned into hotels for race fans.
    It’s something Yvonne Givens calls a win-win situation.
    “It allows the homeowner to make a little extra money, and the race fan gets a chance to stay somewhere they feel secure,“ Givens said.
    Givens works for Race Lodging, LLC.
    She’s rented her house for the past seven years and is now helping people in Martinsville market their homes to fans needing a place to stay.
    Many of the homes are within a couple miles of the track, but Race Lodging will market houses within a 30-mile radius.
    “Often it’s businesses that can’t find lodging locally or race fans that don’t want to stay at the hotels and would like to stay away from the hustle and bustle a little bit,“ she said.
    Some of the houses go for up to $12 hundred a night.
    According to Givens, that’s not all.
    “The homeowners don’t have to claim it as a part of their income tax, because there’s a federal loophole that says up to 14 nights you don’t have to claim it,“ she said.
    So this weekend in Martinsville the driver who makes a trip to victory lane won’t be the only one coming out a winner.