Sept. 20. 1998 is a date that has been forever engrained in the mind of Dexter Canipe Jr., as he got to watch his father, Dexter Canipe Sr., make a late charge and hold off Jason York and Franke Deiny Jr. to win what was then the Taco Bell 300 at Martinsville Speedway.

The younger Canipe has been actively trying to join his father as a winner in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 for over a decade, but following a strong showing in the official test session on Thursday evening, he is optimistic that he can finally make that dream a reality.

“I’d love to bring home a grandfather clock,” Canipe said. “After watching my dad win here many years ago, I’ve always wanted to get one here myself, but in order to do that, you need to have the right setup and the right motor.”

Canipe’s struggle to find speed in his first two attempts in 2008 and 2009 ultimately prevented him from qualifying for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, but his dedication finally rewarded him in 2011 when he earned a 29th-place starting position for the 200-lap main event.

Canipe was forced to survive a chaotic event that featured 17 cautions and only had 15 of the 42 starters cross the start-finish line, but he managed to keep his #6 Dexter’s Detailing Chevrolet out of trouble and came home in 4th place.

After finishing 19th in the 2012 edition of the race, Canipe would take a brief hiatus from competing in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 until he successfully qualified for the race in 2018, but he would see a potentially strong run get derailed by a mechanical issue that relegated him to 31st.

Canipe is hoping to avoid similar misfortunes in this year’s race and brought in Late Model veteran Greg Marlowe, who was a rival to his father in the 1990s, to assist his program and provide a necessary push that he hopes will propel them into a legitimate contender on Saturday evening.

“We did really good [on Thursday,]” Canipe said. “Everything went really well, but I have to credit Greg Marlowe and my dad for doing such a good job with everything. They are both working really great together right now.”

Canipe also understands that patience and luck will play a factor in where he finishes, as last year’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 went to three green-white-checkered attempts and finished under caution after several accidents eliminated contenders such as Josh Berry, Layne Riggs, Peyton Sellers and Lee Pulliam.

Despite several rules changes that include eliminating the Last Chance Qualifier and establishing the competition caution with 50 laps remaining, Canipe still plans to focus on qualifying so that he can stay in front of the carnage and put himself in a solid position to be among the contenders battling for the win.

“I need to stay on my game and hit my marks,” Canipe said. “Most importantly, I just have to stay focused on what’s in front of me, but at the end of the day, I just really appreciate everyone that’s helped me out, and hopefully we can pull it off next Saturday.”

Canipe will face stiff competition as he tries to bring home that elusive first victory in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 on Saturday, which will include drivers such as Lee Pulliam, Timothy Peters and Tommy Lemons Jr.; all of whom are trying to join Philip Morris as three-time winners of the race.

Cover photo by Corey Latham.