Edsel Ford to serve as honorary pace car driver at Martinsville
Ford, who also serves as a board member for the Ford Motor Company, will drive the Ford Shelby 350GT pace car at the start of the race.
"Martinsville Speedway has shared a great relationship with the Ford Motor Company for many years and to have someone like Edsel Ford be able to drive the pace car is truly an honor," Campbell said. "I was talking with him in Daytona and he mentioned to me that he had never been to Martinsville, so I figured what better way to welcome him than to invite him to be our Honorary Pace Car Driver."
For Ford, the chance to do not one, but two things he's never done before has him excited.
"It's wonderful," Ford said. "I'm very excited about the opportunity. Frankly, I don't think I've ever driven a pace car before and to drive it at Martinsville, a track that I've never visited, is a really unique and very special opportunity.
"I've known Clay for a couple of years now and the opportunity to come to Martinsville, drive the pace car and potentially greet a Ford in victory lane would be a very special Sunday for me personally."
Racing returns to Martinsville Speedway this weekend.
This year the historic track celebrates its 70th anniversary.
The weekend starts on Friday with Virginia Lottery Pole Day and continues on Saturday with the Alpha Energy Solutions 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be in action on Sunday with the running of the STP 500.
Ticket prices start at $55 and tickets in the Bill France Tower are $60.
The race is the first short-track race of the season and marks the series' return to the east coast after the "West Coast Swing."
Last year Kyle Busch became the first driver in the tracks storied history to win both the Truck and Premier Series races in the same weekend.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 877.RACE.TIX or online at www.martinsvillespeedway.com. Martinsville Speedway