MARTINSVILLE, Va. –
Drivers and fans are revving their engines for the big race weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
Brandon Wiggins and his father Chris, came up from North Carolina for the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 and the First Data 500.
“I just love the track itself," Brandon said. "It's not typical NASCAR racing, big tracks, you think. This is a lot smaller, a lot more strategy.”
For the past 17 years, the Wiggins family has come to the track. The Wiggins' love for NASCAR started with Chris' father, when Chris was 12 years old.
"When my sons got older, 5 or 6 years old, they started coming with us, so it’s a family tradition,” Chris said.
The Wiggins family always makes one pit stop.
"I love, of course, the Martinsville hot dogs. I'll probably going to down, like, 20 of them this weekend," Brandon said.
Other fans said they love the excitement.
“The crashes! It’s fun," said April Goodman, a vendor from Tennessee.
"It’s exciting. It’s good people. It’s good weather. Hopefully, it will not rain this weekend," said Denise Booth, a NASCAR fan from Cleveland, Ohio.
There is rain in the forecast, but track officials said fans don't need to worry because they have special equipment that can dry the track in an hour and a half. Plus, the track has lights, so drivers can race at night. Fans said they’ll be in the stands, rain or shine.
“We don’t leave 'till Monday, so we're just going to stick it out and, hopefully, it'll still race in the evening," Booth said.
“I've heard it was going to rain all day tomorrow. I've heard it's going to rain in the morning. We’re here 'till Monday, so we’ll see what happens," Chris said.
Brandon said he is waiting for his older brother to get to Martinsville on Friday night, and then it will be time to kick back, relax and enjoy the weekend with his family.
“It’s home base. Everything here, everybody’s so friendly and nice," Brandon said. "You’re here for the race and it’s, it’s home.”