NASCAR Cup racecars before the start on the 1/2-mile configuration in September 1984The pits during a 1985 NASCAR Cup raceRichmond Raceway as seen from the stands.
Nicknamed the "Action Track" and "America's Premier Short Track", Richmond sold out 33 consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races before the streak ended in September 2008 due to the Great Recession as well as the impact of Tropical Storm Hanna.[3] Richmond has hosted the final "regular-season" race, leading up to the start of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, each year since the format was introduced in 2004 until 2018 when its second weekend was moved into the playoffs. In 2022, their second race weekend was moved into the Summer.
Before 2019, the raceway had a track seating of 59,000.[1]
History
Early history
Racing sports has a long tradition in Virginia, dating back to colonial English times.[4] From 1898 to the First World War, the Deep Run Hunt Club in the Northside area of Ginter Park was the site of the club's somewhat annual steeplechase race.[5] After a decade hiatus, the annual races were moved to Curles Neck in 1928.[5]
The 1946 AAA Championship Car season was unique in that it was the first post-war IndyCar race and because the Atlantic Rural Exposition had built a new state fairgrounds at the old Strawberry Hill Farm near Ginter Park.[6][7][5] The ½ -mile[8] dirt track would be suitable for both annual "Strawberry Hill" horse races and car races, and was known as the "Atlantic Rural Fairgrounds Track", "Strawberry Hill",[9] and "Strawberry Hill Raceway"[10] On October 12, 1946, Ted Horn gained the distinction of winning the track's first race in an open-wheel Indy-style car.[11]
Two years later, when the NASCAR schedule was being formed, this short track joined several others on the circuit.[12] In 1953, the track began hosting the Grand National Series with Lee Petty winning that first race in Richmond.[13] The original track was paved in 1968.[13] In 1988, the track underwent a major renovation into its present D-shaped configuration, with a wider surface, banking in the turns, and expansion in length to .75 of a mile.[11]
The name for the raceway complex was "Strawberry Hill" until the Virginia State Fairgrounds site was bought out in 1999 and renamed the "Richmond International Raceway". The Strawberry Hill Races, which are a series of steeplechase horse races, were formerly held on the third Saturday of April at the Richmond Raceway Complex. In 2001, the races were moved to Colonial Downs in New Kent County, Virginia's first Thoroughbred racetrack.[14]
Recent history
Track president Dennis Bickmeier announced that RIR was renamed to "Richmond Raceway", part of a $30 million renovation of the infield known as Richmond Raceway Reimagined.[15]
In 2021, after NASCAR partner and online sports gambling company WynnBET launched a mobile betting app accessible to Virginia residents, it was announced that a sports betting lounge would be built at Richmond Raceway.[16]
Former track logo
NASCAR-sanctioned races
Richmond Raceway is home to two NASCAR races in both the Cup Series and Xfinity Series.
There are a pair of spring races, usually held on the first weekend of April. The Xfinity race is currently 250 laps (187.5 miles) and is named the ToyotaCare 250.[17] The NASCAR Cup Series race is currently 400 laps (300 miles) and is named the Toyota Owners 400.[17]
There are a pair of fall races, usually held on the second weekend of August. The 250-lap (187.5 miles) Craftsman Truck Series race is currently sponsored by WWEX and is named the Worldwide Express 250.[18] The 400 lap (300 miles) fall Cup race is currently sponsored by Cook Out and is named the Cook Out 400.[19]
Until 2005, Richmond was home to a fall Craftsman Truck Series race. Starting with the 2006 schedule, that date was transferred to Talladega Superspeedway, and the series did not return to Richmond until 2020.[20]
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