2026 SPECIAL SESSION I

ENROLLED

SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 2037

Commending the Martinsville Missile.

Agreed to by the Senate, June 22, 2026

WHEREAS, the Martinsville Missile, a 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona engineered by Franklin County native Joey Arrington and driven by Ridgeway native Tommy Hurley, set a new land speed record for a stock car on March 23, 2026, at John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida; and

WHEREAS, the endeavor to set a new land speed record originated with Joey Arrington and Danny Turner, a former mayor of Martinsville, who pursued support for the attempt from the VA250 Commission and the VA250 Car Project, which is part of a national motorsports engineering initiative commemorating the 250th birthday of the United States; and

WHEREAS, Joey Arrington, a graduate of the former Laurel Park High School in Martinsville, provided critical expertise for the Martinsville Missile project, having worked on the engine for the car that set the previous land speed record of 244.9 miles per hour at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in 2007; and

WHEREAS, Tommy Hurley, a graduate of Magna Vista High School, who currently works as a mechanic at his father's business, Hurley's Auto Sales in Ridgeway, was selected as the driver for the Martinsville Missile, which is powered by a 358-cubic-inch V8 engine producing more than 1,000 horsepower; and

WHEREAS, the Martinsville Missile's record-setting run took place on the John F. Kennedy Space Center's three-mile Shuttle Landing Facility runway; Tommy Hurley took approximately 34 seconds to reach the target speed of 250 miles per hour and topped out at the new record of 253 miles per hour before deploying twin parachutes and bringing the vehicle to a rolling stop; and

WHEREAS, the Martinsville Missile is a source of great pride for the Southside Virginia community, demonstrating not only the vision, technical prowess, and skill of everyone involved with the project, but also the heritage and ongoing importance of motorsports to the region; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate of Virginia, That the Martinsville Missile hereby be commended on setting a new land speed record for a stock car; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare copies of this resolution for presentation to Joey Arrington and Tommy Hurley as an expression of the Senate of Virginia's admiration for their historic achievements with the Martinsville Missile.