Richmond Raceway

Richmond Raceway
1955–1958: Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds
1959–1963: Atlantic Rural Fairgrounds
1964–1968: Virginia State Fairgrounds
1969–1988: Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway
1989–2017: Richmond International Raceway

Address: 600 E. Laburnum Avenue, 23222 Richmond Virginia
Henrico County , Virginia , USA
Route type:	permanent race track
Owner:	International Speedway Corporation
Operator:	International Speedway Corporation
Opening:	October 12, 1946
Short track oval
D oval
Route data
Important events:	Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 Federated Auto Parts 400 NASCAR Xfinity Series Toyota Care 250 Virginia 529 College Savings 250
Route length:	1.201  km (0.75  mi )
Curve superelevation:	Curves: 14 ° start-finish straight: 8 ° back straight: 2 °
Audience capacity:	112.029
http://www.richmondraceway.com

Coordinates: 37 ° 35 ′ 30 ″  N , 77 ° 25 ′ 15 ″  W.

Turn 4 during the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 2011.

The Richmond Raceway is a three-quarter mile long, D-oval shaped racing circuit just outside of Richmond in Henrico County , Virginia . It is located on the Richmond Raceway Complex , a 3.2 km² multi-function facility. Races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup and the Nationwide Series are held on it. Other events include races of the IndyCar Series and the United States Automobile Club with the "Silver Crown" and the "National Spring Car Series".

The complex hosts a number of other events including the Virginia Golf Show, Bassarama, the Richmond Home and Garden Show, and more. Festivals are also held, such as the Virginia State Fair and a handful more.

Panorama from the main stand.

The first NASCAR race at Richmond Raceway took place April 19, 1953 on the originally unpaved track. Lee Petty won the first race . The first race under temporary lighting took place on March 10, 1964. Until 1968, the route was a completely unpaved 0.5 mile oval before it was converted to a paved route. The conversion to the current length of 0.75 miles took place in 1988. The first race under these new conditions took place in September 1988. Stationary lighting was installed for the 1991 autumn race. In 2010, an LED video tower was built that was able to achieve a higher resolution than all similar large displays that were used in motorsport up to this point in time. More precisely, the tower has four LED screens, measuring 28 by 24 feet, which broadcast live television images during the races and are used for other purposes (such as advertising or driver presentations) during the rest of the time.

Since in the so-called "modern era" since 1971 the track has been able to host 2 races of the highest NASCAR class every year, the track is figuratively part of the inventory of the series. A Camping World Truck Series race was held at the complex until 2005 , but this race was moved to the Talladega Superspeedway from 2006. Until 2009, the Richmond Raceway was also an integral part of the IndyCar Series calendar. In July 2009 it was announced by the Indy Racing League that from 2010 no more races should be held in Virginia. There were no IndyCar races on this oval in the following years either. In 2020 the racetrack should return to the racing calendar. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic , this is only planned for 2021.

Richmond traditionally hosts the final regular season race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup before the annual chase, the series' play-off system. So since 2004 the 26th race on this track with the subtitle "One Last Race to Make The Chase" (one last race to qualify for the Chase) has been held.

Richard Petty holds the record with a total of 13 wins at Richmond Raceway . The next two successful drivers are Darrell Waltrip and Rusty Wallace with six wins each.

In 2017, the name Richmond International Raceway was shortened to the name Richmond Raceway. Modifications to the infield were also announced.

Records

• NASCAR Sprint Cup Qualifying: Brian Vickers , 20.772 s (129.983 mph), 2004
• NASCAR Sprint Cup Race: Dale Jarrett , 2:45:04 (109.047 mph), 1997
• NASCAR Nationwide Series Qualifying: Kyle Busch , 20.874 s (129.348 mph), 2004
• NASCAR Nationwide Series Race: Dale Jarrett , 1:47:13 (104.928 mph), 1995

Web links

• Official website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ NASCAR's rebranded Richmond Raceway announces $ 30 million infield redevelopment project. (No longer available online.) In: richmond.com. Richmond Times-Dispatch, July 11, 2017, archived from the original on April 27, 2019 ; accessed on May 9, 2020 (English).