The installation of a lighting system at the historic Martinsville Speedway has been completed.
The $5 million project, announced in October and begun in December, installed 19 LED light poles around the half-mile track as an “insurance policy” for future NASCAR Cup Series races.
This spring’s NASCAR Cup and Camping World Truck Series races will not be run at night. The first full event to be held under the lights will be a Sept. 23 NASCAR Late Model Stock Car race.
The Oct. 29 Cup race is set to start at 3 p.m. ET, meaning the 500-mile race will likely finish with the lighting system illuminating the track.
Track president Clay Campbell told Fox Sports a full test of the lighting system was held last Thursday. The track tested four light poles back in January.
“We had all the key stakeholders there, and the TV people said, ‘All we can say is it’s awesome. We’ve never seen anything like it,’” Campbell told Fox Sports. “You can do so many things with those lights, but there’s not a shadow on the track. It’s better than daylight.”
The track will hold a ceremony on March 2 to turn on the full lighting system.