Richmond Raceway (RR) is a , ''D''-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

in unincorporated

Henrico County Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico Coun ...

. It currently hosts one

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

race weekend and the

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...

. It formerly hosted events such as the

NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level NASCAR Cup Series, Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a Undercard, support ...

International Race of Champions International Race of Champions (IROC) was a North American auto racing competition, created by Les Richter, Roger Penske and Mike Phelps, promoted as an American-motorsports equivalent of an all-star game. Despite its name, IROC was primarily ...

, Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown, and the USAC sprint car series. Richmond Raceway's "D" shape allows drivers to reach high speeds. 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 The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

as well as the impact of Tropical Storm Hanna. Richmond has hosted the final "regular-season" race, leading up to the start of the NASCAR Cup Series

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, 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. In 2025, the first race weekend was removed, with the Cup Series race moving to Mexico City. Before 2019, the raceway had a track seating of 59,000.

History

Early history

Racing sports has a long tradition in Virginia, dating back to colonial English times. From 1898 to the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the Deep Run Hunt Club in the Northside area of

Ginter Park Ginter Park is a suburban neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia built on land owned and developed by Lewis Ginter. The neighborhood's first well known resident was newspaperman Joseph Bryan, who lived in Laburnum, first built in 1883 and later reb ...

was the site of the club's somewhat annual

steeplechase SteepleChase Records is a jazz record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time. He began recording concerts at Jazzhus Montmartre, ...

race. After a decade hiatus, the annual races were moved to Curles Neck in 1928. The

1946 AAA Championship Car season 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

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. The ½ -mile 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", and "Strawberry Hill Raceway" On October 12, 1946,

Ted Horn Eylard Theodore Horn (February 27, 1910 – October 10, 1948) was an American racing driver. Widely considered one of the greatest racers of his era, he was the first person in history to win the AAA Contest Board, AAA American open-wheel car rac ...

gained the distinction of winning the track's first race in an open-wheel Indy-style car.http://www.the-dispatch.com/article/20150420/COLUMNISTS/304209982 "In 1988, the track was totally redesigned and banked into its present D-shaped configuration." Two years later, when the NASCAR schedule was being formed, this short track joined several others on the circuit. In 1953, the track began hosting the

Grand National Series The name NASCAR Grand National Series refers to former names of the following NASCAR series: *National-level stock car series: **NASCAR Cup Series (the top NASCAR series, known as NASCAR Grand National Series between 1950 and 1970, then the NASCAR ...

with

Lee Petty Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000) was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s. He is the patriarch of the Petty racing family. He was one of the early pioneers of NASCAR and one of its f ...

winning that first race in Richmond. The original track was paved in 1968. 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. 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 Colonial Downs is a Race track, racetrack located in New Kent County, Virginia adjacent to Interstate 64, halfway between Richmond, Virginia, Richmond and Williamsburg, Virginia, Williamsburg. The track conducted Thoroughbred flat racing and Stand ...

in New Kent County, Virginia's first Thoroughbred racetrack.Strawberry Hill Races Traditions
/ref>

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. 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.

NASCAR-sanctioned races

Richmond Raceway is home to one NASCAR race in both the Cup Series and Truck Series. There are a pair of fall races, usually held on the second or third 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 The Clean Harbors 250 is a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Richmond Raceway. The race was initially held from 1995 to 2005 before being removed from the schedule in 2006. The race returned to the Truck Series schedule 14 years later in 202 ...

. The 400 lap (300 miles) fall Cup race is currently sponsored by Cook Out and is named the Cook Out 400. Until 2005, Richmond was home to a fall

Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...

race. Starting with the 2006 schedule, that date was transferred to

Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway (Alabama International Motor Speedway from 1969 to 1989) is a tri-oval superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Built in 1969, the track has hosted a variety of racing events, primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The track is ...

, and the series did not return to Richmond until 2020. Until 2024, there were a pair of spring races, usually held on the first weekend of April. The Xfinity race was 250 laps (187.5 miles) and was named the

ToyotaCare 250 The ToyotaCare 250 was a NASCAR Xfinity Series race that took place at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. The race was first held during the inaugural season for the Xfinity Series in 1982 as a 150-lap event. The race was removed from the sc ...

. The NASCAR Cup Series race was 400 laps (300 miles) and was named the

Toyota Owners 400 The Toyota Owners 400 was a 400 lap NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. From 2007 to 2011, former race title sponsor Crown Royal named the race after the winner of an essay contest during Dayto ...

. The Cup Series date was moved to Mexico City for the 2025 season. With no Cup race to anchor a weekend, the Xfinity race was removed from the schedule.

Races and events

2019 Toyota Owners 400 from frontstretch

Current races

** '' Cook Out 400'' (August) *

** ''

'' (August)

Previous races

* AAA Sprint Cars (

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

–1948, 1952–1953) *

AAA Stock Car The USAC Stock Car division was the stock car racing class sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC). The division raced nationally; drivers from USAC's open wheel classes like Indy cars, Silver Crown, sprints, and midgets frequently com ...

(1952) * ARDC midgets (1946–1948) * Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown (2011–2013) *

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...

** '' Indy Richmond 300'' (2001–2009) *

(2004–2005) *

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly known by other names) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). Races are hel ...

** '' UNOH 100'' (2011–2015) *

NASCAR Convertible Division The NASCAR Convertible Division was a division of convertible cars early in NASCAR's history, from 1956 until 1959, although the signature race for convertibles remained a Convertible Division race until 1962. Two remnants of the Convertible Divi ...

(1957–1959) * NASCAR Grand American (1968–1970) *

NASCAR Goody's Dash Series The ISCARS Dash Touring Series (previously known as the NASCAR Baby Grand National, Goody's Dash Series and IPOWER Dash Series among others) was a stock car racing series created by NASCAR in 1973 in sports, 1973, initially running solely at Nor ...

(1975, 1976, 1979–1981) *

NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southeast Series The NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southeast Series was a NASCAR-sanctioned amateur/semi-pro late model stock car racing series based in the Southeastern United States. The series was formerly known as the Slim Jim All Pro Series; it was founded i ...

(1991) *

(1953–2019, 2021–2024) * NASCAR Sportsman Series (1990) *

(1982-1984, 1990-2020, 2022-2024) *

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) (previously the NASCAR Winston Modified Tour and NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series from 1985 until 2005) is a modified stock car racing series owned and operated by NASCAR in the Modified Division. The Mod ...

(1990–1993, 1997, 1999–2002) * URC sprint cars (1956, 1960) *

USAC Silver Crown Series The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapol ...

* USAC Honda National Midget Championship

Records

* NASCAR Cup Series qualifying:

Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American stock car racing executive and former professional stock car racing driver who currently serves as the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, d ...

, 20.674 sec. (130.599 mph, 210.180 km/h); 2013 * NASCAR Cup Series race:

Dale Jarrett Dale Arnold Jarrett (born November 26, 1956) is an American former race car driver and current racing commentator for NBC. He is best known for winning the Daytona 500 three times (in 1993, 1996, and 2000) and winning the NASCAR Winston Cup Series ...

, 2 hrs. 45 min. 4 sec. (109.047 mph, 175.494 km/h); 1997 * NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying:

Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and par ...

, 20.874 sec. (129.348 mph 208.165 km/h); 2004 * NASCAR Xfinity Series race: Dale Jarrett, 1 hr. 47 min. 13 sec. (104.928 mph, 168.685 km/h); 1995 *

qualifying:

Sam Hornish Jr. Samuel Jon Hornish Jr. (born July 2, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske in 2017. Hornish began his top-ti ...

, 15.3197 sec. (176.244 mph, 283.637 km/h); 2005 * Rusty Wallace Race Experience Fastest Non Professional Driver: Paul Delagrange, 20.894 sec. (129.412 mph): 2020

NASCAR Cup Series records

(As of 9/10/11) * minimum 10 starts

Race lap records

As of September 2020, the fastest official race lap records at Richmond Raceway (formerly Richmond International Raceway) are listed as:

References

External links

Map and circuit history at RacingCircuits.info
*

o
NASCAR.com

nbsp;– Current and Past RIR News
RIR visitor's guide

Richmond Raceway Complex website

Richmond International Raceway Seating Charts
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